Ms Catherine Heard

In this international comparative three-year project, which commenced in July 2022, and will conclude by January 2026, we are researching prisoner labour and the provision of work, employment and training for prisoners and prison leavers. The jurisdictions comprised in the study are the UK, Brazil and the USA. (Up to four states in Brazil and the USA will be selected for in-depth qualitative research.)

Context: Reoffending rates among ex-prisoners worldwide have been high for decades, placing a heavy economic burden on societies. One of the main drivers of reoffending is unemployment, but ex-prisoners face many challenges finding a job on release. People with prior histories of disadvantage, social and educational exclusion and unemployment are over-represented in prison populations.

Our recent research across a diverse selection of ten jurisdictions has revealed the value that prisoners in many countries place on work and training in custody. Yet prisons rarely receive the necessary resources to prioritise training and employment. Work in prisons is usually in short supply and is either low-paid or unpaid.

This project will produce an evidence base to inform and promote better policy and practice and improved collaboration between public, private and voluntary sectors in the provision of effective, sustainable and ethical work in prisons. This will contribute to a reduction in reoffending, by virtue of greater numbers of prisoners gaining skills and working in paid jobs during their time in custody; and more ex-prisoners receiving support to gain skills and employment on release.

Project team: 
Ben Jarman (PI and project lead), Helen Fair, Catherine Heard and Jessica Jacobson

Jarman, Ben and Heard, Catherine (2023) Labouring behind bars: Assessing international law on working prisoners. London: ICPR

Jarman, Ben and Heard, Catherine (2023) Labouring behind bars: Assessing international law on working prisoners. Appendix. London: ICPR

This two year project concluded in June 2024 and provided research data and advocacy support for campaigns to decriminalize poverty, status and identity in countries across Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and the Pacific.

Laws, policies and practices relating to petty and nuisance offences and their enforcement disproportionately impact poorer or marginalized individuals and groups in much of Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia and the Pacific. 

As part of the project we produced a report, guidance and recommendations for Commonwealth countries on the collection and publication of statistical data on prison populations. 

Project team: Professor Jessica Jacobson, Helen Fair, Catherine Heard (PI and project lead)

Rob Allen and Helen Fair (2024) Prison Data Collection in Commonwealth Countries: A Guidance Note. London: ICPR

Research and policy project: commenced 2017, ended 2021. 

Context: The world has seen unprecedented growth in prison populations in recent decades and today well over 11 million people are in prison, around a third of them in pre-trial detention or awaiting final sentence. While prisoner numbers have been rising, there has been little increase in the resourcing of prison systems. As a consequence, prisons around the world are in crisis. Most countries are running their prison systems well above their official capacity, causing overcrowded, cramped and dangerous conditions.  

Project outline: To explore the causes and consequences of rising prisoner numbers, in 2017 we launched a project examining the use of imprisonment worldwide, focusing on a diverse group of ten jurisdictions across five continents: Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, the United States, India, Thailand, England & Wales, Hungary, the Netherlands and Australia.

The aim of our 'Ten-country project' was to draw transferable lessons on how to reduce resort to imprisonment. 

Over the course of the project we carried out research on several themes including: changing patterns of imprisonment; pre-trial detention; sentencing; prisons and health; and COVID-19 and prisons. 

Working with the NGO Prison Insider, we shared our findings with leading practitioners and reform advocates, and obtained their expert insights on the key priorities for change. A range of materials including videos, articles, blogs and reports incorporating these insights and our project findings can be found at: https://www.prisonstudies.org/ten-country-prisons-project

Project team: Professor Jessica Jacobson, Helen Fair, Catherine Heard (PI and project lead)

(See above description: project was co-funded by two separate donors.)