Frequently Asked Questions

The Prison Life Index is a composite index whose purpose is to evaluate the respect for the fundamental rights and dignity of prisoners. It is based on the major international instruments on detention. It includes 61 indicators related to the living conditions of prisoners, divided into five categories: “Eating, sleeping, showering”, “Medical care”, “Being protected”, “Being active” and “Being connected”.  

Information on prisons is challenging to access and share. Such a tool makes it clear that bringing this information to the general public’s attention is absolutely necessary. 

This tool will enable prisoners, their families and all those working in prisons to better understand prison conditions. It will allow citizens to compare and evaluate the results of policies in order to take part in public debate, and it will help decision-makers and other individuals working in the field obtain information in order to influence incarceration policies and practices.

The Prison Life Index is based on the major international instruments on detention, which set minimum standards against which the respect for prisoners’ fundamental rights and human dignity will be evaluated.   

It is based on United Nations-adopted texts including the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules, non-binding norms that States recognise as the relevant standards. The index also references relevant international agreements such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as regional instruments. 

Regional human rights courts’ decisions will also contribute to the Prison Life Index, as will UN committee output and other sources such as reports from prison and detention monitoring organisations. These sources’ differing interpretations will help shed light on how the law evolves. 

In total, over 35 international norms were combined to produce the analytical framework, in addition to 65 complementary sources.

The process of evaluating each country involves 5 steps: 

• Documentary research 

This step involves identifying existing information using reports, articles, media productions, first-hand accounts, laws and relevant internal rules and regulations. The information is then organised according to the categories of the Prison Life Index. 

• Identifying experts 

Experts are identified during the documentary research step and via peer recommendations. They are chosen for their independence and their differing backgrounds in order to guarantee a diverse range of perspectives (academia, civil society organisations, members of national and regional mechanisms for the prevention of torture, legal sector, medical sector and education sector, etc.).

• Conducting interviews 

Each of the five categories will include interviews with three experts in order to generate evaluations for each indicator. This process makes it possible to measure the respect of prisoners on an 8-point scale. Are prison conditions in compliance with the minimum standards? If not, what is the frequency and extent of the violations? 

For each Prison Life Index indicator, 3 or more evaluations are collected from 3 different people.

• Calculation of the final evaluations for the 61 indicators 

The resulting evaluations are cross-referenced twice: amongst themselves and with the information collected during the documentary research step. This process leads to the creation of a final evaluation for each indicator.

• Calculation of the final evaluations for the 5 categories and preparation of the final analyses 

Once the evaluations for each indicator have been generated, the final evaluations are calculated using a method inspired by multiple-criteria decision analysis. A unique method was designed to meet the needs of the Prison Life Index. Its development was supervised by the research laboratories associated with the project. Final analyses spanning several pages are then drawn up to accompany the evaluations of each country.

The index will not rank prisons around the world and will not provide an overall country score.

The Prison Life Index comprises five categories of indicators covering the salient aspects of incarcerated life: “Eating, sleeping, showering”, “Medical care”, “Being protected”, “Being active” and “Being connected”. Countries will be rated on these five categories in accordance with international standards, but the index will not combine these five evaluations to produce one overall country-specific score since, for ethical reasons, these categories are not designed to compensate for one another. Human rights are inalienable and indivisible: for example, excessive use of solitary confinement cannot be mitigated by satisfactory living conditions.

This type of tool, whether it be the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index or Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, aggregates large amounts of data to synthesise complex phenomena and enable their interpretation. Indexes speak to citizens and guide policymakers towards reform. 

The Prison Life Index is a unique tool. To date, no such index evaluating the respect for prisoners’ fundamental rights exists.   

Composite indexes seek to simply summarise complex realities. The Prison Life Index will necessarily have limits. The trends will need to be considered at a national level and will not reflect the vast diversity of circumstances that may exist within one country, region, prison, or cell block. The index’s development, and the publicity around it, will tackle these limits. The index will only evaluate the compliance of detention conditions with the minimum standards: it is not designed to express an opinion on imprisonment as a punishment. 

This tool will complement Prison Insider publications (prison-insider.com), particularly the country profiles that provide detailed overviews of the current state of prison policies, their implementation and observed practices.

Every individual is entitled to have their dignity respected. Made vulnerable and put in situations where the State regulates each and every aspect of their daily lives, prisoners are guaranteed specific rights to account for this vulnerability.     

Prison sentences deprive individuals of their freedom of movement but should not, in theory, infringe on other rights. But violations abound, including the loss of family ties, lack of health care, lack of food, poor sanitary conditions, the emptiness of prison time, abusive disciplinary practices, violence, and more. All States are obligated to care for the prisoners in their custody, as respecting their fundamental rights is intrinsically linked to the rule of law. Improving prison conditions is a necessary step in favour of strengthening a country’s democratic health.

Norms such as the Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules were drafted with the intent to evaluate prisoners’ fundamental rights in a universal fashion. They provide countries with directives and set minimum standards in this area.   

These texts do not define an ideal system but set certain minimum standards for prison system management and prisoners’ rights. Moreover, the Nelson Mandela Rules observe that “not all of the rules are capable of application in all places and at all times. They should, however, serve to stimulate a constant endeavour to overcome practical difficulties in the way of their application, in the knowledge that they represent, as a whole, the minimum conditions which are accepted as suitable by the United Nations.” 

The Prison Life Index’s proposed assessment will take local context into account, particularly when gauging correct application of the rules. The frequency of meals and their timing, for example, are considered according to the customs of the country being assessed.   

The index will be created collaboratively, with the expertise of diverse and international leading figures sought to ensure that a variety of perspectives are represented.

The Prison Life Index will describe country-specific prison conditions, as its mission is to observe and question national prison policies.    

The index is not intended to review conditions at every facility but will synthesise details at the national or federal level.

An initial version of the Prison Life Index is planned for late 2024, with preliminary results being published by the end of 2024. It will cover about twelve countries around the world, with the goal of expanding the reach of subsequent versions to the rest of the world.

Prison Insider initiated the Prison Life Index project and coordinates the consortium responsible for its creation. 

Members of this consortium include individuals from civil society, academia and research, public administration and public policy consulting backgrounds as well as research laboratories. 

The consortium relies on a large network of recognised ethics, technical, and subject matter experts. Formerly incarcerated people and individuals with backgrounds in research, civil society or prison administration will also be consulted. 

Through the CIFRE scheme, Prison Insider hired a doctoral student (PhD) whose research, supervised by a public research laboratory, will culminate in the viva of an economics dissertation focused on the creation of the Prison Life Index. Its development process will be documented and made public.

The development of the Prison Life Index is financed by state and private grants and by Prison Insider’s own funds.

In 2021, the project received support from the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Council of Europe. That same year, a CIFRE agreement was signed with the French National Research and Technology Association, enabling Prison Insider to hire a doctoral student studying economics and applied mathematics to work on developing the index. Lastly, in autumn 2021, a crowdfunding campaign on KissKissBankBank raised 20,000 euros to support the Prison Life Index.

In 2022, Prison Insider received biennial funding from a private foundation, enabling the recruitment of a full-time employee for the project’s implementation and coordination. The Council of Europe renewed its support that same year, subsidising the data collection for the pilot country: Ireland.

Prison Insider is seeking funds from international organisations, development banks, official aid providers and private donors, who must be compatible with the index’s ethics and goals. This financial support will enable regular updates to the index. The consortium and experts involved in the project donate their time.

Designed for general use, the Prison Life Index will help members of the public understand how sentencing is carried out in their name.

Prisoners, their loved ones and prison workers will be able to make prison conditions known, citizens will be able to compare and weigh policy results to participate in public debate, and policymakers and other individuals working in the field will be able to arm themselves with information to take action on prison policies and practices.

Indexes are useful tools for raising public awareness. The Prison Life Index provides clear and digestible information on a complex subject that the media will find easy to use.

You can help build the Prison Life Index in multiple ways, including by:   

• making a donation 

• tracking down information  

• sharing the Prison Life Index far and wide   

  If you have relevant proven expertise and wish to contribute to the project, please write to: [email protected].

  If you have any questions about the Prison Life Index, please contact: [email protected].

Chantal Alvarez • Julie Balagny • Hélène Bavarez • Vincent Berthet • Jérémie Bertrand • Philippe Bleicher • Laurence Bolomey • Mathurin Bolze • Bernard Bolze • Carine Bouchart • Olivier Bourgogne • Agnès Brissaud Rey • Monique Chaufferin • Raphaël Chiche • Pascal Décarpes • Bernard Diedriechs • Dominique Dupoirieux • Frédéric Duval • Julien Ferrand • Daniel Fink • Éric Jeantet • Charline Keller • François-Régis Lacroix • Anne Laufer • Pierre Lhopital • Victoria Martin • Léon Meynet • Éric Mirguet • Marie-Rose Moro • Roksana Naserzadeh • Louise Pelletier • François Rapeaud • Béatrice Reix • Jean-Marc Roger • Michel Rohart • Frédéric Sicard • François Theoleyre