This volume explores the role that European institutions have come to play in regulating national prisons systems. The authors introduce and contribute to advancing a new research agenda in international penology (‘Europe in prisons’) which complements the conventional comparative approach (‘prisons in Europe’). The chapters examine the impact – if any – that institutions such as the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the European Court of Human Rights have had on prison policy throughout Europe. With contributions from a wide range of countries such as Albania, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Norway and Spain, this edited collection offers a wide-ranging and authoritative guide to the effects of European institutions on prison policy.

This volume offers a European overview of the management of religious diversity in prisons and provides readers with rich empirical material and a comparative perspective. The chapters combine both legal and sociological approaches. Coverage for each country includes historical background, current penitentiary organization, and recent changes or trends. In their exploration of legal aspects, the contributors look at such factors as the status of prison chaplains and regulations concerning religious practice and religious freedom. These include meals, prayers, and visits. The sociological analysis examines religious discrimination in prison, church-prison relations, conversion and proselytism, and more. The European coverage includes countries for which such information is seldom available. The book offers readers a better understanding of governance of religion in prisons. This text appeals to students, researchers and professionals in the field.

This publication examines the rules in force in Europe governing prisons and the treatment of prisoners, including the use of force, the selection of prison staff and the protection of prisoners' human rights, based on Recommendation Rec (2006) 2 on the European Prison Rules (which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in January 2006). It contains the text of the recommendation with a detailed commentary on it, together with a report which considers recent developments and analyses the effectiveness of these rules and of imprisonment as a form of punishment.

In recent years European prison law and policy have emerged as a force to be reckoned with. This book explores its development and analyses the penological and human rights foundations on which it is based. It examines the findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, the recommendations of the Council of Europe, and the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. From these sources it makes the general principles that underlie European prison law and policy explicit, emphasising the principle of using imprisonment as a last resort and the recognition of prisoners' rights. The book then moves on to apply these principles to conditions of imprisonment, regimes in prison, contacts between prisoners and the outside world, and the maintenance of good order in prisons. The final chapter of the book considers how European prison law and policy could best be advanced in future. The authors argue that the European Court of Human Rights should adopt a more proactive approach to ensuring that imprisonment is used only as a last resort, and that a more radical interpretation of the existing provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights will allow it to do so. It concludes that the growing cooperation on prison matters within Europe bodes well for the increased recognition of prisoners' rights across Europe. In spite of some countervailing voices, Europe should increasingly be able to give an international lead in a human rights approach to prison law and policy in the same way it has done with the abolition of the death penalty.

Improve the well-being of prisoners in detention, enable them to change their behavior and attitudes, develop their ability to live together, learn to respect others and abide by the rules, and thus facilitate their reintegration into society, these are the objectives of a prison sports policy. There has been growing recognition of the value of sport by the prison system. Its effects are highly beneficial to those in detention and to prison life in general. However, looking at the objectives through to the challenges, we can see that the link between sport and prison is a complex one, and in order to understand it better and to see what lessons can be learned, an in-depth thinking process is required, based on current scientific knowledge in this field and on state policies and practices being implemented in prisons. In the framework of its activities promoting diversity in and through sport, the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) of the Council of Europe has been working on the subject of sport and prison since 2013, in close connection with the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP). Following an expert seminar organised in Strasbourg in 2013, a pan-European conference was held in Paris in 2014. The results of a survey which highlighted the numerous examples of good practice regarding sports programmes were discussed. The conference highlighted the need to record the different points of view regarding sport in prison at a pan-European level in order to identify the real challenges. Gaëlle Sempé is a lecturer in sociology, sports science and physical education training (STAPS), and teacher-researcher at Rennes University 2. Mr Vivian Geiran, author of the foreword, is chair of the Council for Penological Co-operation (PC-CP) of the Council of Europe. The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) is an agreement between a number of Council of Europe member states (38 as of 1 January 2018) which have decided to co-operate in the field of sports policy. As an “enlarged” agreement, EPAS is open to non-member states. It works in co-operation with relevant organisations, in particular with representatives of the sports movement.

How many inmates are held in European prisons? Among them, how many are women? How many are foreign citizens? How many are not serving a final sentence? How many people enter prison every year, and how long do they remain there? Are there enough places for all of them? What is the ratio of inmates per member of prison staff? How much do prisons cost? If you are looking for the data necessary to provide answers to these and many other similar questions, this is the book for you. The Sourcebook of prison statistics compiles absolute numbers for 30 prison-related measures and computes another 30 indicators which can be used for comparative purposes. The sourcebook should be used together with Volume 1 of the Prisons in Europe 2005-2015 collection, which provides the context and methodology used to produce the data presented here.