Irish Penal Reform Trust

International News

Global Prison Trends 2021

12th May 2021

This report by Penal Reform International and the Thailand Institute of Justice documents key trends over the past year, especially the impact of the pandemic on prison populations and staff, and how prisons worldwide have responded to these challenges.

UK: Covid-19 Transmission in Prison Settings

23rd April 2021

The research by SAGE presents evidence relating to: COVID-19 related-health outcomes of prisoners and prison staff, information on current control measures employed in prisons and their perceived effectiveness, the potential effectiveness of wider/additional control measures such as increased vaccination, considerations and concerns relating to the onward risk of infections and outbreaks in prisons, and the potential for prisons to become infection amplifiers/reservoirs.

UK: A Record of Our Own - Lockdown Experiences of Ethnic Minority Prisoners

31st March 2021

This report by the Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT), in partnership with POPS and the Traveller Movement is an account of the challenges faced by minority ethnic prisoners in prison in England and Wales because of the lockdown measures employed by the prison authorities to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in prisons.

UK: The Impact of COVID-19 Prison Lockdowns on Children With a Parent in Prison

15th March 2021

A new report by Dr. Shona Minson at the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford draws on research undertaken during the first national lockdown and highlights issues faced by children whose parents were in prison during that time.

UK: ‘Angels or Witches’ The Impact of Criminal Records on Women

8th March 2021

The report considers the post-conviction problems faced by women with criminal records.

PRI: Why prioritising staff and prison populations for vaccination matters

18th February 2021

In a blog for Penal Reform International, Oxford University researchers consider why prison populations and staff should be prioritised in national vaccination programmes, what is happening internationally so far, and the challenges to their inclusion in some places.

Scotland: What Works to Prevent Youth Violence

16th February 2021

From mentoring to parenting training and out of school activities, a new report from the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit looks at the evidence of what works to reduce youth violence.

UK: What Happens to Prisoners in a Pandemic

12th February 2021

This thematic review by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) explores the effects of the restrictions introduced in prisons in England and Wales during 2020 in response to COVID-19.

Young Adults on Remand: A scoping study for T2A

1st February 2021

The briefing examines to what extent the specific developmental needs of young adults are taken into account by courts when making decisions about whether to remand defendants into custody.

UK: Disparities in youth diversion – an evidence review

27th January 2021

This literature review by the Centre for Justice Innovation explores how youth diversion can contribute to keeping children and young people out of the formal criminal justice system but, if access to diversion is unequal, it can exacerbate racial inequality in criminal justice outcomes for young people.

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