Advocating for Reform

Prison Official On OverCrowdedness At Prison

From the article in The Inquirer Online (from Liberia): The Coordinator of Access to Justice and Legal Aid in Liberia has criticized the over crowdedness of prison centers across the country. Rev. Francis Kollie attributed the situation to the lack of access to justice and poor justice system in Liberia.

Left and Right Unite to Bring Justice to Drug Laws

From the article by Pat Nolan on the ACS Blog: In an important victory for justice, President Obama today [3 August 2010] signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, putting an end to the 100-to-1 disparity between punishments for crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Promoting Restorative Justice in Panama

Although the authority to use mediation in certain crimes first appeared in Panamanian regulations in 1995, this option has been underutilised by justice system personnel. Subsequent legislation and policies developed by the Ministerio Público have sought to strengthen mediation, including by creating alternative dispute resolution centres in different parts of the country.

Raising Community Awareness in Swaziland

In April, PF Swaziland participated in an awareness raising event aimed to help community leaders in the country’s Lubombo region understand the proposed community service programme. Organised by the Commissioner of Correctional Services, the meeting included several stakeholders: Correctional services, local chiefs, the Swaziland Association for Crime Prevention and the Rehabilitation of Offenders (SACRO), National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS (NERCHA), and PF Swaziland.

PF Malaysia Conducts Two-Day Restorative Justice Symposium for Public Officials and Others

PF Malaysia conducted a two-day symposium on restorative justice on June 1 and 2.

Focus on Reform and Prisoner Rehabilitation in Mozambique

In October, the National Prison Service of Mozambique held a two-day, multi-stakeholder workshop exploring the issues of prison reform, prisoner rehabilitation and reintegration. The goals were to raise awareness and advocate for a new approach that would include both government and civil society organizations working in partnership. In the spirit of such partnership, PF Mozambique took on an organizing role with the workshop and drew upon contacts and resources of other PF national ministries.

Explaining Restorative Justice in Colombia

Dan Van Ness, PFI’s Executive Director of the Centre for Justice and Reconciliation, recently travelled to Colombia to help PF Colombia in its ongoing efforts to promote restorative justice among criminal justice professionals.

Advocating for Restorative Justice in Nigeria

Participants in a recent one-day seminar organized by PF Nigeria discussed the chronic prison overcrowding in that country and explored solutions through alternatives to incarceration based on restorative justice.

Restorative Justice Training for Corrections Personnel

Recently, PF Lesotho sponsored a two-week training event on restorative justice for members of the Lesotho Correctional Service (LCS). Thirty-five participants including prison chaplains and correctional rehabilitation officers participated in the event held at the Lesotho Training Centre.

Crime-Care Conference

In cooperation with Lotsha, a Christian networking organisation, PF South Africa recently hosted a one-day conference for churches with the theme, “Our Offenders, Our Victims, Our Responsibility.”

Constructing Restorative Justice in Lithuania

Recently, the Lithuanian Government approved Resolution 806 paving the way for implementing restorative justice in the country.

Focus on Prisoner Reintegration

The PF New Zealand 2007 annual conference, When Prisoners Come Home… A Community Response to Prisoner Reintegration, highlighted the many issues surrounding a prisoner’s release from prison.

PF Romania Advocates for the Protection of Vulnerable Groups

PF Romania is an organizing member of the European Network on Improving Equal Treatment and Human Dignity of Members of Vulnerable Groups Sentenced for a Penal Offence.

Rethinking Crime and Punishment

It’s a burgeoning problem that many may not even be aware of. The imprisonment rate in New Zealand has reached epidemic proportions—it is 164 per 100,000, double what it was in 1980 and now one of the highest in the world. The New Zealand Department of Corrections estimates that it costs $161.91 (NZD) per day for each prisoner, so the added prisoners result in an extra $141 million per year. And imprisonment does not seem to be changing the criminal behaviour of prisoners because 60 percent of all released prisoners re-offend within two years. As is the case in many countries, the issues surrounding crime and punishment are demanding new solutions.

PF Portugal Highlights Restorative Justice

This year’s Convocation theme of Love and Justice was an appropriate one for PF Portugal to use at its annual nationwide PF Volunteers Meeting. The Portuguese Government recently announced a proposal for an experimental penal mediation programme that would allow for alternative prison sentences in cases of crimes that would have required less than five years in prison.

Promoting Restorative Justice in Pakistan

Recently, PF Pakistan sponsored an introductory seminar on prison ministry and restorative justice for 40 individuals from the NGO Caritas Pakistan. The seminar was a part of a larger PF Pakistan strategy to promote restorative justice in the country.

Police Training in Colombia

In October 2006, PF Colombia Board Chairperson Lácides Hernandez served as an instructor in a training course covering restorative justice theory and practice for Medellín Metropolitan police.

Using Workshops to Advocate for Justice Reform

Justice reform is a priority for Prison Fellowship Ethiopia. One justice reform strategy is the organization of training workshops for all actors in the criminal justice system including police officers, judges, and prison directors. With the goal of building capacity in the justice system, these workshops cover different topics.

Advocating for Victims’ Rights in New Zealand

On September 7, PF New Zealand representatives addressed the New Zealand Justice and Electoral Committee Inquiry into Victims Rights. The PF NZ team recommended that the government strengthen victims’ access to victim offender conferencing and victim offender panels.

Raising Community Awareness about Restorative Justice

Recently, Uvenama Rova of PF Papua New Guinea gave a presentation on restorative justice to a Women’s Fellowship Workshop of the United Church of Papua New Guinea.