Irish Penal Reform Trust

International News

Youth (in)justice and the COVID-19 pandemic: rethinking incarceration through a public health lens

18th January 2021

This paper, published by Taylor & Francis Online , focuses on findings from a larger study involving interviews with policy-makers, practitioners and researchers working in youth justice, focusing...

Sentencing Burglary, Drug Importation and Murder: Evidence From Ten Countries

11th January 2021

The Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research (ICPR) has published a report revealing disparities between countries in their approaches to criminal sentencing. The overarching aims of the ten-country project are to understand the drivers of prison population trends, and to devise measures for reducing levels of incarceration.

UK: The Effectiveness of Sentencing Options – A review of key research findings

6th January 2021

The Sentencing Academy (England and Wales) has published a report examining research findings on the effectiveness, particularly in terms of reducing re-offending, of three sentencing disposals.

Managing outbreaks of highly contagious diseases in prisons: a systematic review

23rd November 2020

Researchers in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford have conducted a systematic review on managing outbreaks of highly contagious diseases in prisons. The results of the research suggest that people in prison should be among the first groups to receive any COVID-19 vaccine to protect against infection and to prevent further spread of the disease.

UK: Implementation of changes to criminal record filtering

19th November 2020

In July 2020, progressive changes to the filtering rules in England and Wales were announced by the government. These changes are expected to come into effect on 28 November 2020.

Crest: Prisons and Covid-19 – what went right?

18th November 2020

Professor Nick Hardwick examines for Crest how successful attempts to manage COVID-19 infections in prisons during the first lockdown could help to inform some of the critical decision-making needed in the event of future lockdowns.

CoE: An evaluation of the medium-term impact of COVID-19 on prison populations

10th November 2020

This Council of Europe Annual Penal Statistics (SPACE) study analyses trends in European prison populations during 2020, observing trends as they relate to the pandemic.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons: Minority ethnic prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation and release planning

5th November 2020

The report found, among other issues, that ethnic identity’s influence on rehabilitation is underestimated – one-third of interviewed BME prisoners reported their ethnicity had directly influenced their experience of rehabilitation and release planning.

UK: Avoidable natural deaths in prison custody

5th October 2020

This new report aims to identify how natural deaths in prison might be prevented, where possible, and end of life care managed with dignity and compassion. This report is especially relevant as prisons face new challenges regarding healthcare amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Children Held on Remand in Victoria: A Report on Sentencing Outcomes

2nd October 2020

This report by the Sentencing Advisory Council (Australia) considers the relationship between remand and sentencing, and identifies the proportion of remanded children who did not go on to receive a custodial sentence for their offending.

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