Prisons: UK

Action for Prisoners' Families promotes the just treatment of prisoners' families by the prison system and society across the UK.

Angulimala is the Buddhist Prison Chaplaincy Organisation. It aims to make available facilities for the teaching and practice of Buddhism in Her Majesty's Prisons.

The Butler Trust identifies and celebrates the achievements of those who work in UK prisons and have shown exceptional skill or initiative in work with prisoners. It recognises these efforts through a number of major awards.

The Home Office Correctional Services Review features links and downloads which illuminate the official perspective on the range of correctional services, with a focus on effectiveness and value for money in the delivery of services to reduce re-offending, and on improving the ability to manage the prison population.

The Guardian Special Report on Prisons contains many essential articles.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent body which inspects prisons in England and Wales, and reports to the Home Secretary on the treatment and conditions of prisoners.

HMP Kirkham is a Category D establishment designated for short and medium term prisoners, plus a number of long term men nearing the end of their sentences and selected lifers. It has its own website.

HMP Wolds is a Category C training prison for adult males managed by Group 4 Custodial Services under contract to the Home Office. It has this dedicated website.

The Independent Custody Visiting Association promotes the custody visiting process through advocacy, training, publicity and support.  It provides a discussion forum and aims to assist the Home Office, police authorities and other interested bodies in best practice for custody visiting schemes.

The Inside Out Trust develops prison projects based on restorative justice principles. Prisoners learn new skills which they use to provide goods and services to disadvantaged people all over the world.

The IQRA Trust Prisoners Welfare works to promote a better understanding of Muslim inmates' needs in UK prisons. The Trust also provides Islamic books and educational materials for Muslim prisoners and deals with inquires from Probation Officers nationwide.

Mental Health Primary Care in Prison offers a superb practitioner’s guide to mental ill health in adults and adolescents in prison and young offender institutions.

he National Offender Management Service (NOMS) was created in 2004 following a review of correctional services which identified key gaps in the work of prisons and probation. NOMS is a single service which combines the work of correctional services.

Out-Side-In are a UK charitable organisation set up in order to offer friendship, advice and support to gay, lesbian and bisexual prisoners.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigates complaints from prisoners and those subject to probation supervision. The Ombudsman is completely independent of both the Prison Service and the National Probation Service.

The Prison Privatization Research website provides background information and figures on private prisons, and arguments for and against privatisation of prisons.

PrisonReform.org lists government sites, campaign groups, support groups, charities and other organisations related to prison, prison reform and penal reform (mainly within the United Kingdom).

The Prison Reform Trust aims to create a just, humane and effective penal system, by inquiring into the workings of the system; informing prisoners, staff, and the public; and influencing  Government towards reform.

The Prison Rules for prisons in England and Wales (Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 728) can be downloaded in full from this website

The Prison Service website has a wealth of information about out about the work carried out in the 138 prisons in England and Wales.

Prisons Virtual Walkthrough: This virtual tour of a prison is government sponsored. It offers  a chance to see what happens when a man, woman or young offender is sent to prison. It gives some idea of what prison is like.

Prisoners Abroad assist UK prisoners held overseas. They provide advice, information and support to British nationals in prison abroad and their families.

The Reform Remand campaign is calling for an improvement in the treatment of, and conditions for, people held in prison awaiting trial and a reduction in the needless use of custodial remand. It is organised by the Prison Reform Trust.

The Rossbret Prisons website has some useful historical information.

The Scottish Prison Service aims to be recognised as a "leader in prisons' correctional work which helps to reduce recidivism...". Its website offers material for download in support of this aim.

Women in Prison provides welfare and education to women in prison. It believes that prison should be reserved for a small number of violent and serious offenders from whom the public should be protected.

Prisons: International

The American Correctional Association is a professional association for those who work in all disciplines in corrections. It offers comprehensive access to resources in corrections.

The American Civil Liberties Union has a useful section on prisoners’ rights.

CEML is an anti-racist group which fights against the brutality of ‘control unit’ prisons. Prisoners in these prisons are caged for arbitrary lengths of time, sometimes years, in total isolation in conditions that violate the United Nations' Standard Minimum Rules for the treatment of prisoners.  

The Correctional Service of Canada site has information on Canada's federal institutions for men, institutions for women, community correctional centres for offenders on conditional release, and parole offices

The US Federal Bureau of Prisons states that its mission is “to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost-efficient, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.”

Florida Department of Corrections has some interesting and detailed material for download, including material on the death penalty.

Hong Kong Correctional Services deliver custodial and rehabilitative services. They "pledge to work together with the community in an attempt to reduce recidivism in Hong Kong." Their website contains information on individual penal institutions, rehabilitative work and correctional services.

Human Rights Watch’s Prisons website highlights the abusive treatment of prisoners around the world. Human Rights Watch is an independent organisation, which investigates and exposes human rights violations.

Human Writes is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation which befriends and supports people on Death Row in the USA.. Human Writes is not a campaigning or political group, but aims to non-judgementally respond to as many prisoners as they can.

The International Corrections and Prisons Association provides a forum for criminal justice professionals to share ideas and practices aimed at advancing professional corrections.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust is a human rights based advocacy organisation which campaigns for the creation of a more rational and humane penal system, including the increase of community sanctions and the implementation of restorative justice.

The official Israel Prison Service (IPS) site defines the IPS as a “security organization with a social mission within the law enforcement system”.

The Chicago-based John Howard Association supports fair and effective correctional programmes that are responsive to the needs of both offenders and the general community. Its activities include advocacy, monitoring, policy development, and public education.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) offers a huge variety of resources for corrections practitioners, policy-makers, trainers, and researchers. Online resources include downloadable publications and training materials, and taped video programs for Internet streaming.

The New Zealand Department of Corrections manages custodial sentences (imprisonment and home detention) and non-custodial sentences and orders (supervision, community work and parole), provides information to the judiciary to inform decisions, and supports the New Zealand Parole Board.

The Prison Privatization Research Site is maintained by Charles H. Logan at University of Connecticut and has some useful if occasionally outdated material on private prisons.

The Prison Service in Finland has an English language website which covers closed and open prisons, the Prison Mental Hospital and the Prison Personnel Training. You can download English language publications, including Annual Reports of the Finnish Prison and Probation Services, here.

The South African Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has the dual roles of keeping offenders in custody and “supervising and controlling” probationers and parolees, providing rehabilitation. DCS Annual Reports can be downloaded at this website.

The Pennsylvania Prison Society is a social justice organisation that advocates on behalf of prisoners, formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Based in Philadelphia,  it was founded in 1787.

Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR) is a US human rights organization seeking to end sexual violence against men, women, and youth in all forms of detention. SPR supports policies to ensure institutional accountability. It aims to change society’s attitudes toward prisoner rape, and to promote access to resources for survivors. The website highlights that although rape in prison violates international, federal, and state laws, many institutions appear indifferent.

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service's English language website outlines the Service's main tasks: to implement prison sentences and probation, to be supervise conditionally released persons, to implement community sentences and prepare pre-sentence reports in criminal cases.

Tihar Prisons have an impressive history of rehabilitation based on the "New Delhi correctional model”. The Tihar Jail Complex in New Delhi is one of the world's largest prison complexes, and this site offers a fascinating insight into the Tihar regime.

This is the Unofficial Israeli Prison Service site. The English language version offers some useful downloads.

UPROOT (The United Prison Reform Organisation of Tomorrow) has a small website but features some interesting articles on prison reform, with an American focus.

Wackenhutt Corrections Corporation design, construct, finance and manage prisons. At year-end 2002, they managed 42,000 offender beds in North America, Australia, The United Kingdom, New Zealand and South Africa.