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ICPA Event

Annual Conference 2025

26 – 31 October 2025 Istanbul, Türkiye

Call for Papers 

Annual Conference 2025: Wellbeing in Corrections: Initiatives for Staff, ​​Systems, and Communities 

The call for papers will close on Friday 16 May at 11.59 PM (CET).

2025 is a significant anniversary for the international corrections community marking 10 years since the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), providing States with detailed guidelines for protecting the rights of persons deprived of their liberty and limiting the use of incarceration. This was the outcome of a substantial revision of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The Mandela Rules reaffirm the necessity for treating all individuals in the corrections system with respect, humanity, and dignity while addressing their physical, mental, and social well-being. The core principles of the Nelson Mandela rules extend beyond incarcerated individuals to include all people impacted by the criminal justice system. In recognition of this milestone, the International Corrections and Prisons Association’s (ICPA) 2025 Annual Conference, Wellbeing in Corrections: Initiatives for Staff, Systems, and Communities, invites submissions on this theme from a diverse range of voices, including academics, practitioners, NGOs, innovators, and those with lived experience. 
 
Correctional administrators increasingly recognise that maintaining the safety and well-being   of staff and the people we manage is critical to achieving good community safety and rehabilitation outcomes. By centering rehabilitation around safety and well-being, the focus shifts from merely addressing deficits to amplifying the positive dimensions of human life, including a sense of autonomy and self-direction, validation, active community participation, and meaningful connections.  
 
Safety and well-being must be understood and addressed at both the individual and system levels, recognising the interplay between personal experiences and broader systemic structures. At the individual level, safety and well-being focus on the psychological, physical, social and cultural needs of each person. At the system level, it requires the creation of policies, practices and cultures that promote safe and supportive environments. This involves trauma-informed care, procedural fairness, restorative justice practices, evidence-based ​​programming, good design, cultural safety and harm reduction. 
 
ICPA2025 aims to foster a dynamic exchange of ideas, focusing on practical and research-based solutions to improve well-being within the corrections environment. Presentations that address challenges and innovations across staff welfare, systemic reforms, and the integration of correctional communities, including transitions to, and management of, community-based orders. 
 

Sub-Themes 

 
1. Wellbeing for Staff 
 
Staff are essential for well-functioning corrections systems. However, many jurisdictions are facing significant challenges in the recruitment and retention of staff with correctional officers noting high levels of stress, burnout, and mental health challenges. For Theme One, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions for the wellbeing of staff, including in relation to: 
 
  • Staff Recruitment and Retention: Strategies to attract, support, and retain high-quality correctional professionals. 
  • Workplace Safety and Resilience: Addressing physical safety, mental health challenges, and resilience-building for staff. 
  • Training and Development: Enhancing skills and well-being through professional development and training programs. 
  • Workplace Culture and Support Systems: Developing positive, inclusive workplace environments and peer-support systems. 
  • Relationships and Fairness: building high-quality professional relationships between staff and between staff and people serving orders, that are characterised by respect, trust, accountability and fairness 
2. Wellbeing in Systems 
 
​​​Interrelated systems that impact on correctional practice must balance operational efficiency with the provision of humane, rehabilitative environments. For Theme Two, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions that seek to build effective systems that enable improved outcomes for people impacted by the criminal justice system, their families, and the broader community, including in relation to: 
 
  • Healthcare Systems in Corrections: Strategies to provide equitable, accessible healthcare for diverse populations, including those with chronic and acute conditions. 
  • Designing for Wellbeing: Incorporating principles of therapeutic architecture to create spaces that promote rehabilitation and staff safety. 
  • ​​​Youth and Juvenile Justice Reforms: Exploring age-appropriate interventions and justice mechanisms that prioritize rehabilitation and development for young people. 
  • Data-Informed Policies: Using research, data, and technology to inform systemic reforms and measure well-being outcomes. 
  • Sustainability in Corrections: Incorporating environmentally sustainable practices into corrections facility management and operations. 
  • Technological Innovations: Leveraging digital tools, artificial intelligence, and automation to enhance safety, operational efficiency, and access to rehabilitative programs. 
  • Mitigating trauma: through the adoption of trauma informed policy and practice and interventions to address the long-term consequences of complex trauma. 
  • Community supervision: Strategies and systems that enable people to remain or return to their communities under community supervision orders, including probation and parole practices 
3. Wellbeing in Communities 
 
Communities are critical to the corrections ecosystem, from those within prison environments to the broader community impacted by incarceration and reintegration. For Theme Three, we encourage submissions that focus on interventions that examine the experience of people in ​​custody and under community-based orders, the re-entry process, and the role of non-government actors in supporting reintegration, including in relation to: 
 
  • Prison Communities: Creating environments that support rehabilitation and reduce violence among incarcerated individuals. 
  • Re-entry and Reintegration: Programs that support individuals transitioning from custody to the community, ensuring long-term success and reduced recidivism. 
  • Community Supervision (probation and parole practices): Effective management and monitoring of community sentences to foster accountability and rehabilitation. 
  • Restorative Justice Approaches: Encouraging practices that repair harm and rebuild relationships among offenders, victims, and communities. 
  • Lived Experience Leadership: Elevating voices of individuals impacted by the justice system to inform and shape correctional practice. 
4. Nelson Mandela Rules 
 
For Theme Four, we encourage submissions that address broader areas impacting corrections practice, including those derived from the Nelson Mandela Rules:
 
  • Human Rights and Dignity: Ensuring compliance with international standards for the humane treatment of incarcerated individuals. 
  • Equality and Non-Discrimination: Addressing disparities in the treatment of women, minorities, and other marginalized groups in corrections. 
  • Education and Skill Development: Programs that empower incarcerated individuals through education, vocational training, and life skills. 
  • Rehabilitation and Reintegration: Strategies to foster personal growth and reintegration into society, including social connections and employment opportunities. 
  • Technology and Innovation: Exploring tools that enhance safety, monitoring, and access to services within the corrections system. 
  • Family Connections: Initiatives to maintain and strengthen familial relationships during incarceration and post-release. 
  • Cultural Sensitivity: Tailoring programs to meet the needs of Indigenous and culturally diverse populations. 
  • Accountability and Transparency: Building trust through fair and accountable corrections practicShape 
Submission Guidelines 
 
Submissions can be presentations, workshops, or panel discussions and will be selected based on their quality and relevance to the conference themes. Submissions should include references to research, data, and evidence where available.  
 
We welcome submissions from practitioners, academics, researchers, justice officials, international organizations, and others engaged in correctional services who are contributing to the future directions of corrections. Please note that private and not-for-profit organisations are strongly encouraged to consider co-presenting with public sector partners where appropriate. 
 
ICPA’s Programme Committee will strive to have only one presentation per person/organization and to maximize the regional spread of speakers’ origin. In responding to this call for papers, submissions must:  
  • Align with at least one of the conference themes.  
  • Include speaker and co-speaker biographies and photos, an abstract, and an abstract overview. 
  • Include at least three questions for discussions.  
  • Ensure any references to research or outcomes must include sources.  
  • Be non-commercial/non-product focused.  
When submitting the abstract, please specify the theme and type of session. The call for papers will close on Friday 16 May. Should you need additional information, please email us: [email protected].