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 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 Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody is part of the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody. The IAP plays an important role in helping to shape government policy in this area through the provision of independent advice and expertise to the Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody.

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.

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 Privatisation Report International  (PPRI) reports on global developments in the privatisation of prisons, detention centres and other elements of criminal justice systems.

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 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. Their website contains information on individual penal institutions, rehabilitative work and correctional services.

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.

Just Detention International (JDI) is a human rights organisation that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention. It works to protect the basic human rights of all detainees, in the U.S. and internationally.

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.