Caroline Lim, Director of Rehabilitation and Reintegration with the Singapore Prison Service (SPS), recently presented a workshop on “Community Partnerships and Mobilisation in Corrections” at the American Correctional Association Annual Conference. Her presentation summarized the transformation journey that SPS has taken over the last twenty years. Her presentation was engaging and shared how comprehensive community partnerships and inclusion of both individual and organizational volunteers can assist in the change process with justice-involved individuals. It is noteworthy that during the twenty-year transformation process, SPS has documented a reduction in the two-year recidivism rate … [Read more...] about Community Partnerships and Mobilisation in Corrections: A Focus on Singapore Prison Service

Previous issues of the IACFP Bulletin included a summary of recent research examining the relationship between solitary confinement of adults and mental illness in corrections and the improvements in policy and treatment that have taken place in the Oregon Department of Corrections. In the article summarizing recent research, readers were invited to answer four questions about their experiences, from the perspective of practitioners. Those questions were:Have you changed your policy on placing incarcerated persons in isolation cells over the last five years?Are you aware of criminal justice systems that have either not allowed mentally ill persons to be placed in isolation cells or that … [Read more...] about Correctional Service of Canada: Responding to Mental Illness in Corrections

We've compiled top highlights from recent research, policy, and practice resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for May and June, 2022 include a report on coping with COVID in prisons, new approaches to engaging justice-involved individuals in meaningful activities, the benefits of probation, statistics on youth violence, strategies for addressing trauma in women's prisons, and upcoming conferences. 1. Research "Coping with COVID in Prisons"Over the last 18 months, User Voice and researchers from Queen's University Belfast were funded by the Economic and Social Research Council to conduct one of the biggest systematic studies of … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for May/Jun 2022

In 2017, IACFP began exploring how it could more effectively work as a partner with other organizations throughout the world. One of the strategies adopted at that time was to be the founder of an NGO organization in Europe. The result was the establishment of IACFP Europe, which was awarded a Royal Decree as a Belgium public interest foundation in 2019. Over the subsequent 18 months, IACFP Europe pursued partnership opportunities that were aligned with its mission to bridge research to practice and support practitioners who serve justice-involved juveniles and adults in secure facilities and the community. It focuses on research, professional development, and training.During 2020, IACFP … [Read more...] about IACFP Europe REEDU Project Focuses on Rehabilitation and Education for Justice-Involved Juveniles

We've compiled top highlights from recent news, research, and resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for March and April, 2022 include research and practice highlights on Ukraine, penal reform, good governance, and COVID-19, as well as upcoming conferences. 1. Research and Practice SAGE PublicationsIACFP has had a long-standing agreement with SAGE publishing which supports both the publication and dissemination of Criminal Justice and Behavior. It also provides many other benefits to IACFP members in terms of access to published research in 56 other journals in criminal justice and psychology. SAGE is also an organization that “walks … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Mar/Apr 2022

We've compiled top highlights from recent news, research, and resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for January and February, 2022 include: IACFP updates, emerging research, policy updates, practice highlights, and upcoming conferences. 1. IACFP Updates New Editor-in-Chief for Criminal Justice and BehaviorThe IACFP Board is pleased to announce that they recently selected Mark Olver, Ph.D., as the editor-in-chief of Criminal Justice and Behavior, effective January 1, 2022. Dr. Olver has been an associate editor for CJB the last four years. He is a registered doctoral psychologist with the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists and a … [Read more...] about Research and Resources for Jan/Feb 2022

The last issue of the IACFP Bulletin included a summary of recent research examining the relationship between solitary confinement and mental illness of adults in corrections. Readers were invited to answer four questions about their experiences, from the perspective of practitioners. Those questions were:Have you changed your policy on placing incarcerated persons in isolation cells over the last five years?Are you aware of criminal justice systems that have either not allowed mentally ill persons to be placed in isolation cells or that place an upper limit on their time in this type of confinement?As a practitioner, how do you assess an incarcerated person’s functional impairment? How do … [Read more...] about The Oregon Way: Responding to Mental Illness in Corrections

We've compiled top highlights from recent news, research, and resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for November and December include emerging research, policy updates, and practice highlights. 1. Research Criminological Highlights, Volume 19, Number 5, September 2021  You can view the September 2021 issue of Criminological Highlights here. This issue of Criminological Highlights addresses the following questions: When police speak to Black and White citizens, how do they communicate different messages even if the words are the same? Can you predict how youths will be processed by the criminal justice system by looking at … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Nov/Dec 2021

We've compiled top highlights from recent news, research, and resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for September and October include IACFP updates, recent research and practice highlights, policy updates, and upcoming conferences. 1. IACFP Updates IACFP Community Corrections Project UpdateThe IACFP has initiated a project to advance research on how community corrections agencies in countries throughout the world provide programs and services to individuals experiencing mental health challenges (including serious mental illness). The purpose of the project is to document how programs and services contribute to client well-being, … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for Sept/Oct 2021

Hans Toch, a towering figure in the academic discipline of criminology and criminal justice, died June 18 at his home in Albany, New York. Born April 17, 1930 in Vienna, Austria, Toch escaped the ravages of the holocaust, emigrating initially to Cuba and then to the United States. He earned his B.A. at Brooklyn College in 1952 and his Ph.D. in psychology at Princeton in 1955. He served in the U.S. Navy and was a Fulbright Fellow in Norway, a visiting Lecturer at Harvard, and a member of the psychology department at Michigan State University before being recruited in 1967 as a founding faculty member of the School of Criminal Justice at the State University of New York at Albany, the first … [Read more...] about IACFP Remembers Hans Toch, 1930-2021

We've compiled top highlights from recent news, research, and resources across the world for our latest IACFP International News summary. Our topics for July and August include international resources for treatment of justice-involved individuals, mental health research and training, and upcoming conferences. 1. Treatment of Justice-Involved Individuals Book Revw of CBT with Justice-Involved Clients, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Online May 2021The book review of CBT with Justice-Involved Clients first appeared online in May 2021 and will be included in a future print issue of Criminal Justice and Behavior. The book review was written by Mark E. Olver and Keira C. Stockdale. The … [Read more...] about IACFP International News, Research, and Resources for July/August 2021