Irish Penal Reform Trust

International

The work of IPRT is led by a number of standards developed by international bodies, organisations and courts in relation to imprisonment and wider issues of the State’s penal policy. In particular, our work is based on the commitment to implement in Ireland a human rights-based approach to penal policy.

With this in mind, IPRT’s research, policy and awareness-raising campaigns are developed to support and monitor the implementation in the context of penal policy in Ireland of the United Nations and Council of Europe standards.

The IPRT is also committed to the promotion of best practice examples that have proved effective in other jurisdictions. To this end, we aim to provide a comprehensive library of good practices that can be accessed and used by practitioners, academics, prisoners, and anyone else interested in penal reform and penal policy. The Library is updated on a regular basis to take into account most recent developments in this area.

UK: Youth Justice Statistics 2016/2017

25th January 2018

Youth Justice Statistics for 2016/2017 published by the Youth Justice Board and the Ministry of Justice.

UK: Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile

17th December 2017

The latest edition of the Prison Reform Trust's Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile provides extensive facts and figures on a wide range of key areas within the UK prison system.

UK: Domestic Abuse as a driver to women's offending

4th December 2017

Prison Reform Trust (2017) “There’s a reason we’re in trouble” Domestic abuse as a driver to women’s offending.

The Campbell Collaboration - Policy Brief 4: The Effects of Sentencing Policy on Re-Offending

14th November 2017

The Campbell Collaboration released a fourth Policy Brief, 'The Effects of Sentencing Policy on Re-offending', which summarises information provided in 12 systematic reviews that focused on different aspects of sentencing policy, such as, benefit-cost analyses of sentencing, formal processing of juveniles, and effects on re-offending of custodial vs non-custodial sanctions.

World Female Imprisonment List 2017

9th November 2017

The Institute for Criminal Research published the fourth edition of the World Female Imprisonment List, providing a comprehensive report on the number of women and girls in penal institutions worldwide.

UK: Justice Committee publishes report on disclosure of youth criminal records

27th October 2017

The current system for disclosure of youth criminal records undermines the principles of the youth justice system, says the Justice Committee in a new report published today, 27 October 2017.

Stop Solitary for Kids Compile a List of Resources on US State Legislation and Cases

24th August 2017

Stop Solitary for Kids is a website that highlights developments in particular States within the United States of America (USA) that have passed legislation that aim to limit the use of solitary confinement for children in detention. Currently 18 out of the 51 States in the U.S.A have either developed or are currently developing legislation reducing the use of solitary confinement for children.

UK Report (2017) highlights ‘family ties at the heart of prison reform.’

10th August 2017

Lord Farmer’s report (2017) The Importance of Strengthening Prisoners' Family Ties to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime was undertaken in collaboration with the charity Clinks and commissioned by the UK government. The report aimed to establish a link between a prisoner’s relationship with family and a reduction in reoffending. The report was part of the government’s strategy to overhaul prison policy, and according to Lord Farmer it is intended to be one of the biggest overhauls in a generation. The report was commissioned to act as a point of reference for the Secretary of State as he “rolls out the wider reform programme”.

Juvenile Law Center Launch Report: Unlocking Youth Legal Strategies to End Solitary Confinement in Juvenile Facilities

2nd August 2017

The Juvenile Law Center in their latest report (2017) highlight the issues facing children and young adults in detention who are subjected to solitary confinement. In this report the authors address issues such as the impact solitary confinement can have on the cognitive, social and emotional development of those subjected to solitary confinement during their developmental years. They also highlight the correlation between cognitive development and behaviour labelled as challenging, as well as the impact deprivation of social inclusion can have on the ability to recover from solitary confinement post-release.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Publishes Annual Report 2016-2017

18th July 2017

The Inspector’s report analyses the positives and the negatives occurring in the previous year by highlighting issues that appear in the 86 individual inspection reports on prisons, police custody suites, immigration removal centres and other custodial establishments published by the Inspectorate throughout the year 2016-2017.

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