7th February 2022
On 7 February 2022, IPRT launched Progress in the Penal System: The need for transparency (2021) (or 'PIPS 2021'), the fifth in a series of annual reports benchmarking progress in Ireland's penal system.
Since 2017, the PIPS project has set out a clear vision for the future of the penal system. From the outset, the overall purpose of PIPS has been to promote and assess progress across a broad range of issues in Ireland’s penal system, guided by a set of 35 standards. The reality is, however, that accessing data that relates to the various standards has often been challenging.
In this fifth edition of PIPS, the 2021 report reflects on the past five years of monitoring the Irish penal system – the progress made, the areas where little change has been effected, and the issues about which we still have a limited understanding due to a lack of data. While remaining committed to the achievement of all 35 standards, this edition of PIPS focuses on 13 interacting standards that track a person’s journey through the penal system, from the point of imprisonment through to release.
PIPS 2021 carries out this reflective exercise under one unified theme: The Need for Transparency in the Penal System. The standards reviewed in PIPS 2021 are organised by four thematic areas:
PIPS 2021 strives to address the lack of and/or deficiencies in data for monitoring progress in the penal system by identifying specific areas of inadequate data under the above standards and setting realistic data expectations. The need for quality data collection, recording and publication is highlighted throughout this report and is crucial for the proper evaluation of progress in the penal system going forward.
Read Progress in the Penal System: The need for transparency (2021) online here or download it below.
Read the summary of the PIPS 2021 report online here or download it below.
The Progress in the Penal System project is kindly supported by a donor-advised family fund and the Community Foundation for Ireland.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.