Incarceration Nations Network (INN)
Dr. Baz Dreisinger: Executive Director
INN Founder and Executive Director is Dr. Baz Dreisinger, Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York; author of the critically acclaimed book Incarceration Nations: A Journey to Justice in Prisons Around the World; founder of John Jay’s groundbreaking Prison-to-College Pipeline program; 2018 Global Fulbright Scholar for her work promoting restorative justice and higher education in prisons internationally. Dr. Baz speaks regularly about justice issues on international media and in myriad settings around the world.
EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION
Studies reveal that the overwhelming number of people in prison are the very people who were not given access to educational opportunities in the first place, due to systemic racism and poverty; had they been given such access they likely would not have ended up in prison. Educational programs behind bars are thus a way of righting the educational wrongs that society has inflicted on its poorest, most neglected members.
EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION
Studies reveal that the overwhelming number of people in prison are the very people who were not given access to educational opportunities in the first place, due to systemic racism and poverty; had they been given such access they likely would not have ended up in prison. Educational programs behind bars are thus a way of righting the educational wrongs that society has inflicted on its poorest, most neglected members.
HEALTH & HUMANITY
Overcrowding is a crisis in prisons throughout the globe. According to Penal Reform International’s 2017 Report, prison occupancy levels in 79 countries (40 percent of the world’s states) were above 120 percent capacity and as many as 51 countries (26 percent) had a problem of extreme overcrowding, with occupancy levels above 150 percent. Of the 198 countries for which data was available, 58 percent were operating at over 100 percent capacity.
HEALTH & HUMANITY
Overcrowding is a crisis in prisons throughout the globe. According to Penal Reform International’s 2017 Report, prison occupancy levels in 79 countries (40 percent of the world’s states) were above 120 percent capacity and as many as 51 countries (26 percent) had a problem of extreme overcrowding, with occupancy levels above 150 percent. Of the 198 countries for which data was available, 58 percent were operating at over 100 percent capacity.
EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION
Studies reveal that the overwhelming number of people in prison are the very people who were not given access to educational opportunities in the first place, due to systemic racism and poverty; had they been given such access they likely would not have ended up in prison. Educational programs behind bars are thus a way of righting the educational wrongs that society has inflicted on its poorest, most neglected members.
SOLITARY IS MADNESS
Also known as segregation, isolation, separation or lockdown, a practice that exists inside super-maximum prisons or Secure Housing Units (SHU), solitary confinement is inflicted on people in various incarnations around the world. INN defines it per the Nelson Mandela Rules: the confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact, for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days. This definition is informed by studies showing that the effects of solitary may be irreversible after this period.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.
WOMEN BEHIND BARS
According to Penal Reform International, a disproportionate number of women in prison have experienced violence in their lives, including sexual abuse; this cycle of violence often continues in prison and after release. Linked to this violence are high rates of mental health illness, substance dependencies and susceptibility to self-harm and suicide.