News

From Colonial Control to Modern Exploitation: The Enduring Legacy of Forced Labor in Uganda's Prisons

The Agora Center for Research recently released a report documenting brutal conditions in Uganda's prisons, where thousands of prisoners are forced into unpaid labor and experience violence and degradation. This blog examines how Uganda's prison system, despite more than six decades of political independence, continues to function according to its original colonial design: not as a site for rehabilitation, but as a mechanism for labor extraction and state control.

Landmark reform in California as incarcerated firefighters set to receive a living wage

POSTPONED: Event to celebrate 25 years of the World Prison Brief

The event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the World Prison Brief website has been postponed until early in 2026.

World Prison Brief data cited in Economist article on foreign national prisoners

World Prison Brief data has been cited in an article in The Economist looking at the increasing number of European countries that are renting prison cells in neighbouring countries to reduce prison overcrowding by sending their foreign national prisoners there.

Gulf revealed between law and practice in new briefing on Brazilian prison labour

Cover image of Working prisoners in Brazil: laws, policies and practical realities’

The law, policy and practice of prison work provision in Brazil are explained in a new briefing by the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research.

World Prison Brief data cited in the Gauke review on History and Trends in Sentencing

In January, ICPR submitted evidence to the Independent Sentencing Review led by the Rt Hon David Gauke. The Review panel has now published the first part of its report, making frequent use of our World Prison Brief data and the comparative figures we provided in our evidence.

Female prison population growing faster than male, worldwide

New prison population data reveals that the number of female prisoners has grown much faster than that of male prisoners. Since 2000, the number of women and girls in prison has surged by 57%, compared to a 22% increase in the male prison population.

ICPR submits evidence from its prison labour research to the Justice Committee

We have again drawn on our international prisons research to inform an important inquiry seeking to raise standards in our prison system. ‘Rehabilitation and resettlement: ending the cycle of reoffending’ is the first Justice Committee inquiry of the current parliament.

ICPR submits evidence to Independent Sentencing Review

The prisons research team at ICPR has given evidence to an important review of sentencing policy in England and Wales.

Launch of Prison Insider's Prison Life Index

Prison Insider have launched a new tool to evaluate prison conditions: here, Sara Blanc Thoumine, Florence Laufer and Lola Martin Moro explain some of its key features.

What is the Prison Life Index?

Prison sentences are handed down in the name of the people, yet the reality of incarceration remains hidden from public view. Citizens have the right to understand what life in prison entails, but prison systems are often shrouded in opacity, misunderstood, and rarely scrutinized. To address this gap, Prison Insider, in collaboration with academics and civil society, has created the Prison Life Index.

World Prison Brief

Institute for Criminal Policy Research

Birkbeck - University of London