*Please note that the conference programme is subject to change. This may include speaker cancellations and last-minute speaker confirmations. If you are a speaker and cannot find your presentation listed, kindly check your email for any communications from us or contact us directly for assistance.
Wednesday 22 April
9.35am – 9.45am WEST
ICPA Welcome and Introductions
11.45am – 12.15pm WEST
Ventilation in Detention Facilities: Building the Conceptual and Methodological Foundations for Evidence-Based Improvements (PID072)
Ventilation in Detention Facilities: Building the Conceptual and Methodological Foundations for Evidence-Based Improvements (PID072)
Parallel Workshops
One of the least researched factors influencing systemic resilience, infrastructure performance, and health in detention settings is indoor air quality. There is very little data on airflow behavior, pollutant exposure, and airborne infection risks in these environments, despite the fact that many facilities suffer from chronic overcrowding and poor ventilation. Current research frequently relies on incomplete measurements or concentrates on high-income nations, leaving crucial gaps in situations where operational constraints, climatic pressures, architectural design and building practices characteristics, and resource availability differ significantly. This research highlights the need for a coordinated effort establish the methodological foundations necessary to produce evidence for sustainable improvements and to advance a scientific understanding of ventilation challenges in detention facilities. In addition to protecting the health and dignity of inmates, improving ventilation in these environments is crucial for lowering the risks to the general public's health associated with airborne infections and pollution exposure.The presentation will show how modern technologies can be used in prisons to study air flow, in order to formulate practical recommendations that authorities can implement in existing facilities or incorporate into the onset of new prison design.
Speakers
Sustainability in Prisons – Tackling Climate Change and Enhancing Environmental Outcomes: EuroPris Real Estate Expert Group (PID091)
Sustainability in Prisons – Tackling Climate Change and Enhancing Environmental Outcomes: EuroPris Real Estate Expert Group (PID091)
Parallel Workshops
The presentation will provide an insight into how the European prison community has been advancing their climate and sustainability ambitions and reducing costs as referenced in the recent EuroPris report.
The climate crisis requires us to act and think differently about how we manage our operations and look after our land and buildings. Prisons who have embraced change and taken steps to address climate concerns are now seen as leaders across government.
The presentation will provide real world examples to illustrate how prisons can reduce their environmental footprint, improve energy efficiency, strengthen the management of water and waste, lower their greenhouse gas emissions, support nature recovery and lower costs.
Speakers
Tony McDonnell
11.45am – 1.15pm WEST
Workshop: The Comprehensive Approach to Correctional Facility Planning What do You Need to Know (Plan And Prepare For) Before Designing a New Correctional Facility? (PID056)
Workshop: The Comprehensive Approach to Correctional Facility Planning What do You Need to Know (Plan And Prepare For) Before Designing a New Correctional Facility? (PID056)
Parallel Workshops
A comprehensive approach to correctional facility planning is the foundation for a successful design. In many countries, especially in the developing world, the scope and benefits of facility planning prior to embarking on architectural design is usually not well understood or appreciated. As construction funds are always scarce, it's very important to “right-size” the space requirements, along with ensuring appropriate separation requirements based on gender and age and applying appropriate security levels which have a big impact on construction costs.
We are proposing an interactive 90-minute workshop rather than a traditional session. Speakers come from backgrounds in correctional facility planning, design and operations. The workshop begins with each speaker discussing methods and strategies based on their specific expertise and their approaches to the planning for the development of new, renovated and/or expanded correctional facilities.
The remainder of the workshop will be an interactive process, facilitated by the speakers, to elicit input and priorities from workshop participants around major planning topics. At the end of the workshop, participants will leave with a good understanding of the basis for planning and what questions to ask:
Where will the facility be located?
Who will the facility serve?
How many beds will the facility provide?
What services and programs will the facility offer?
How will the facility operate?
How big will the facility be?
What will the facility “look like”?
How much will the facility cost?
When will the facility come online?
Where will the facility be located?
Who will the facility serve?
How many beds will the facility provide?
What services and programs will the facility offer?
How will the facility operate?
How big will the facility be?
What will the facility “look like”?
How much will the facility cost?
When will the facility come online?
Speakers
Rob Fisch
Olukemi Ibikunle
Marayca Lopez
Kavan Applegate
12.15pm – 12.45pm WEST
Designing for Sustainable Security: Low-Carbon Architecture and Operational Resilience at Sdr. Omme Prison (PID047)
Designing for Sustainable Security: Low-Carbon Architecture and Operational Resilience at Sdr. Omme Prison (PID047)
Parallel Workshops
This paper explores how sustainable design principles can transform the architecture of high-security correctional facilities into resilient, low-carbon systems that balance safety, efficiency, and environmental responsibility. Using Sdr. Omme Prison in Denmark as a case study, the paper demonstrates how differentiated construction methods, lifecycle assessments, material health, and landscape integration can significantly reduce environmental impact while supporting operational performance. The project illustrates that sustainable correctional design is not only compatible with stringent security requirements but can enhance them through intelligent planning, resource management, and partnership-driven innovation. By combining architectural, technical, and biodiversity strategies, the project establishes a scalable framework for sustainable infrastructure in correctional environments.Speakers
Sonia Bom
Jonas Mønster
Modernization of Penitentiary Systems: Technology at the Service of Optimal and Efficient Penitentiary Management (PID065)
Modernization of Penitentiary Systems: Technology at the Service of Optimal and Efficient Penitentiary Management (PID065)
Parallel Workshops
The (DGAPR) is undertaking a large-scale digital transformation aimed at modernizing the management of security, the execution of sentences, and the range of services provided to detainees. As part of this initiative, advanced tools such as electronic monitoring, the visitation platform, and biometric systems are being implemented to enhance security, ensure greater transparency, and enable accurate tracking of detainees. In addition, remote trials and the full digitization of the judicial registry contribute to improved judicial efficiency. Reintegration programs are reinforced through the use of digital tools, while human resources, financial, and healthcare management are modernized through dedicated platforms. Finally, robust cybersecurity measures and optimized prison architecture ensure the overall effectiveness and comprehensiveness of this modernization effort, supporting better management and improved outcomes across the entire penitentiary system.Speakers
Moulay Idriss Agoulmam
12.45pm – 1.15pm WEST
Uncovering Why Progressive Correctional Facility Designs Sometimes Fail to Meet Operational Targets (PID020)
Uncovering Why Progressive Correctional Facility Designs Sometimes Fail to Meet Operational Targets (PID020)
Parallel Workshops
In this session, participants will learn that while purposeful building design can support staff safety and enhance treatment efficacy, design alone is not enough to effect meaningful and sustained change. Hear from a former correctional administrator on why selecting the right design and project team, and the need for early participatory planning with key correctional stakeholders, is critical when designing, retrofitting and/or building correctional facilities. Without these key elements, significant resources will be spent on a beautiful building that does not deliver promised results.
Drawing on real-life examples, participants attending this session will learn (1) what progressive correctional facility design means, (2) why infrastructure alone is not enough to create physical and social correctional environments that safely enhance the humanity and dignity of incarcerated people and the staff that care for them, and (3) how to work towards ensuring that when built, the facility meets targeted operational outcomes.
Speakers
Andrea Monteiro
Reintegration in the Shadow of Technology: Hungarian Prison Innovations from the 1980s to the Smart Prison Concept (PID010)
Reintegration in the Shadow of Technology: Hungarian Prison Innovations from the 1980s to the Smart Prison Concept (PID010)
Parallel Workshops
The study explores how technological innovation, especially artificial intelligence, has influenced the relationship between technology and human presence in the Hungarian prison system. Although AI appears new, automation has long affected decision-making in corrections. Using archival documents from the 1980s, professional experience, and qualitative interviews with prisoners and staff, the research investigates how technology shaped daily institutional practices and perceptions of reintegration.
Findings reveal that from the 1980s onward, Hungary experimented with automation inspired by U.S. models, such as remotely operated cell doors, central communication systems, and motion sensors. While these aimed to reduce staff workload and enhance efficiency, they soon weakened communication, trust, and security, ultimately undermining reintegration. Similar patterns reappeared with later technologies, including mobile phone signal detectors in the 2000s and data-based predictive assessment tools in the 2010s. In each case, technological efficiency gains came at the cost of reduced human interaction and eroded institutional trust.
These lessons are increasingly relevant amid today’s “smart prison” initiatives, where AI-driven surveillance, behavioral monitoring, and automated systems again promise efficiency through reduced human presence. The research concludes that although such tools can optimize operations, they risk damaging the interpersonal, ethical, and psychological foundations essential to humane and effective corrections.
Speakers
Dr Laszlo Huszar
Dr Titanilla Fiath
2.15pm – 2.45pm WEST
Overcoming Infrastructural Challenges in African Correctional Facilities: Lessons from Namibia’s Reform Journey (PID075)
Overcoming Infrastructural Challenges in African Correctional Facilities: Lessons from Namibia’s Reform Journey (PID075)
Parallel Workshops
"This paper examines the innovative strategies used by the Namibia Correctional Service (NCS) to overcome infrastructural challenges in its prison system. African correctional facilities often suffer from a colonial legacy emphasizing custody over rehabilitation, resulting in outdated, overcrowded and inhumane conditions that hinder modern correctional goals and human rights standards.In response, the NCS adopted a comprehensive, evidence-based rehabilitation strategy to guide the renovation and construction of facilities. A key innovation was the establishment of a multidisciplinary Capital Project Committee to integrate diverse operational perspectives into infrastructure design, supported by new policies setting minimum standards for facility planning.
While the transformation faces challenges, particularly in adapting older infrastructures to modern concepts like unit management, the Namibian experience offers valuable lessons for other African nations. It underscores the importance of innovative, strategic approaches to optimize resources and ensure correctional infrastructure effectively supports rehabilitation and aligns with contemporary standards."
Speakers
Lovisa Nampadhi
Balancing Theory and Reality in The Design of a Youth Justice Centre – Is it Even Possible? (PID094)
2.45pm – 3.15pm WEST
Humane and Resilient Futures: Smart Design for Safer and More Effective Environments (PID085)
Humane and Resilient Futures: Smart Design for Safer and More Effective Environments (PID085)
Parallel Workshops
Humane and resilient futures in correctional systems require a transformative approach to the design, management, and operation of prison environments. Within the context of the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS), smart design offers an opportunity to enhance safety, dignity, and effectiveness while supporting the Service’s rehabilitation-focused mandate. This abstract examines how integrated innovations—such as intelligent surveillance systems, energy-efficient infrastructure, digital inmate management platforms, and health-tech solutions—can create safer and more humane spaces for both inmates and staff. Smart design further emphasizes climate-resilient construction, optimized spatial planning, and technology-supported vocational and educational programs that enhance reintegration outcomes. For UPS, adopting these innovations addresses key challenges such as overcrowding, limited resources, security risks, and strained rehabilitation services. By leveraging context-appropriate technologies and sustainable infrastructure models, the Service can build environments that minimize human rights risks, improve operational efficiency, and strengthen institutional resilience. Ultimately, smart design serves as a pathway toward a more secure, just, and rehabilitative correctional future in Uganda—one where prisons function not merely as places of confinement, but as environments that foster transformation, safety, and long-term societal well-being.Speakers
Henry Tiberondwa
From Brain to Building: Towards an Integrated, Humane, and Resilient African Prison Reform (PID082)
From Brain to Building: Towards an Integrated, Humane, and Resilient African Prison Reform (PID082)
Parallel Workshops
Summary (Abstract)
The "From Brain to Building" project introduces the first African framework for prison innovation based on Design Thinking , structured according to the Double Diamond model . It relies on a cross-cutting, two-phase approach:
Phase 1 – Finding the right problem
A thorough exploration based on three diagnostic pillars:
1. Behavioral neuroscience – to understand stress, communication, conflict triggers, and the emotional climate within institutions.
2. Operational governance – to analyze workflows, policy-practice gaps, security vulnerabilities and structural constraints.
3. Architectural design – to rethink prison space as a tool for rehabilitation, in relation to the environment, climate standards and human needs.
A thorough exploration based on three diagnostic pillars:
1. Behavioral neuroscience – to understand stress, communication, conflict triggers, and the emotional climate within institutions.
2. Operational governance – to analyze workflows, policy-practice gaps, security vulnerabilities and structural constraints.
3. Architectural design – to rethink prison space as a tool for rehabilitation, in relation to the environment, climate standards and human needs.
Phase 2 – Finding the right solution
A collaborative ideation process produces integrated interventions : low-cost prototypes, environmental simulations, PRISM-inspired communication routines, modular spatial solutions and an Integrated Correctional Master Plan (ICM) .
A collaborative ideation process produces integrated interventions : low-cost prototypes, environmental simulations, PRISM-inspired communication routines, modular spatial solutions and an Integrated Correctional Master Plan (ICM) .
Speakers
Borhene Dhaouadi
A Breath of Fresh Air: Reimagining Women's Prisons Through Natural Environments and Mental Health (PID018)
A Breath of Fresh Air: Reimagining Women's Prisons Through Natural Environments and Mental Health (PID018)
Parallel Workshops
Women’s prisons worldwide are characterised by punitive designs that limit access to nature—an environmental deprivation associated with poor mental health, high rates of self-harm, and diminished wellbeing. This narrative review explores the impact of integrating natural environments into women’s prisons, drawing together current literature, policy, and practice across criminology, psychology, and design. Synthesising evidence from diverse jurisdictions, the review examines how gardens, green spaces, natural light, and views of the outdoors contribute to improved mental health outcomes for incarcerated women. Key findings reveal that exposure to nature can reduce self-harm and enhance overall well-being, yet significant barriers remain, including institutional priorities, security concerns, and resource limitations. The analysis emphasises the necessity of context-sensitive, gender-responsive design interventions, recommending trauma-informed approaches that centre lived experiences and the unique needs of women prisoners. This poster highlights practical strategies and policy recommendations for architects, administrators, and reformers committed to building humane, resilient correctional environments. By aligning with the conference theme of “Humane and Resilient Futures,” the work urges a shift from purely secure, efficient prisons to restorative, just, and rehabilitative spaces for women worldwide.Speakers
Megan Davidson
3.15pm – 3.45pm WEST
Architectural Design for Special Needs Groups: Rehabilitation- and Child-Centered Approaches (PID083)
Architectural Design for Special Needs Groups: Rehabilitation- and Child-Centered Approaches (PID083)
Parallel Workshops
Today’s enforcement system necessitates the transformation of prisons from closed environments focused solely on the execution of sentences into modern institutions that uphold human dignity, place rehabilitation at the center, and aim to reintegrate individuals into society. This transformation requires not only legal reforms but also a comprehensive restructuring of architectural design, spatial organization, and institutional operations. Architectural models developed specifically for special needs groups offer a humane and scientifically grounded approach that goes beyond traditional enforcement practices. The renewal process carried out since 2002 has reshaped the structural and functional framework of prisons in Türkiye in line with the modern enforcement regime. Institutional spatial standards have been updated to meet contemporary requirements, ensuring the effective implementation of educational, rehabilitative, and psychosocial support activities. Within this framework, the Juvenile Reformatory House model developed for juvenile prisoners stands out as a rehabilitation-oriented structure that balances security with developmental needs and is supported by single-room accommodations, classrooms, sports areas, and shared social spaces. In rehabilitation centers designed for prisoners with substance addiction, specialized spatial planning is implemented to support clinical care, psychological counseling, and behavioral therapy processes. Natural light, air circulation, and calming design elements serve as complementary factors that enhance the effectiveness of treatment within these centers. Overall, the presentation evaluates, from a technical perspective, the balance between security and rehabilitation, the multidisciplinary approach, and the healing role of architecture in the design of prisons for special needs groups. This comprehensive approach constitutes a strategic roadmap for the modernization of prisonsSpeakers
Banu DEMİRCİ ALTAY
Public–Private Partnerships as a Sustainable Financing Model for Prison Infrastructure Development in Africa (PID052)
Public–Private Partnerships as a Sustainable Financing Model for Prison Infrastructure Development in Africa (PID052)
Parallel Workshops
Across Africa, many correctional services still contend with overcrowding, dilapidated facilities, and inadequate resources. Fiscal constraints continue to impede the capacity of governments to modernize prison infrastructure. This paper explores Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) as an alternative and sustainable financing model for improving correctional infrastructure in Africa. Grounded in the world bank framework, it outlines the theoretical underpinnings of PPPs, evaluates their applicability to the correctional sector, and draws lessons from African PPP experiences in Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, and Nigeria. The paper proposes a roadmap for implementing PPP-based prison projects that balance efficiency, sustainability, and human rights compliance under the Mandela Rules, Bangkok Rules, and regional human rights frameworks.Speakers
Dan Obiero
Chest Radiography with AI for Detection of Tuberculosis in The Namibian Correctional Service (PID074)
Chest Radiography with AI for Detection of Tuberculosis in The Namibian Correctional Service (PID074)
Parallel Workshops
As global health systems accelerate the adoption of digital innovation to close diagnostic gaps, correctional facilities remain among the most underserved and high-risk environments, yet they also offer some of the greatest opportunities for transformative impact. This presentation highlights how Namibia has leveraged AI-enabled chest radiography to strengthen TB detection within the Namibian Correctional Service (NCS), aligning directly with global calls to accelerate innovation, improve health equity, and reach populations often left behind.
Across 12 correctional facilities, more than 4,300 inmates and officers participated in a comprehensive TB screening campaign that integrated portable digital X-ray technology with CAD4TB artificial intelligence. This approach enabled rapid identification of abnormal findings, including early and asymptomatic TB that would likely be missed through symptom screening alone. Nearly half of the AI-flagged abnormal chest X-rays suggested TB, leading to the notification of 39 TB cases, most of them detected clinically through radiographic assessment. Incidental findings such as lung masses further illustrated the broader health benefits of imaging-supported screening in restricted environments.
By demonstrating how digital tools can enhance precision, speed, and case detection in high-burden settings, this initiative showcases the potential of AI to advance national and global TB elimination goals. The presentation will explore operational lessons, implementation challenges, and opportunities for scale-up, offering a compelling case for integrating AI-driven diagnostics into routine correctional health services.
Speakers
Paheye Kambinda
Trefina Itengula
4.15pm – 4.45pm WEST
Integrating Technology and Construction: A Guide to ICT Installation within the Prison Estate: A Joint Output of the EuroPris ICT and Real Estate Expert Groups (PID090)
Integrating Technology and Construction: A Guide to ICT Installation within the Prison Estate: A Joint Output of the EuroPris ICT and Real Estate Expert Groups (PID090)
Plenary Session
The rapid evolution of digital technologies is reshaping correctional environments, requiring prisons to create and manage a wide range of ICT systems and then integrate them seamlessly into their physical infrastructure. The presentation will offer an insight into the EuroPris guidance note, jointly prepared by the EuroPris ICT and Real Estate Expert Groups, which explains the fundamental building blocks of establishing and operating ICT solutions within a prison environment.
“Integrating Technology and Construction - A Guide to ICT Installation Within the Prison Estate : A joint output of the EuroPris ICT and Real Estate Expert Groups,”
The presentation will offer prison practitioners a clear commentary on the accepted practices of how to develop, manage and maintain ICT installations within prisons. Drawing on European best practices from around 15 countries, it highlights the importance of early-stage planning, cross-disciplinary collaboration, to ensure that ICT systems, from security and surveillance to communications and digital services, are embedded efficiently and sustainably to provide future ready correctional facilities.
Speakers
Donna Creaven
Tony McDonnell
4.45pm – 5.15pm WEST
The 'Green Prison' Blueprint: A Bulgarian-Norwegian Partnership Integrating Smart Planning, Digital Innovation, and Climate-Adaptive Design (PID021)
The 'Green Prison' Blueprint: A Bulgarian-Norwegian Partnership Integrating Smart Planning, Digital Innovation, and Climate-Adaptive Design (PID021)
Plenary Session
This presentation outlines a pioneering Bulgarian-Norwegian partnership to transform the Belene and Pleven prisons into "green prisons," based on the Norwegian rehabilitative model. Led by Arrogant Architects, this project moves beyond traditional incarceration to create sustainable, socially-engaged entities.
Our approach is built on three pillars aligned with the conference themes.
Our approach is built on three pillars aligned with the conference themes.
Smart Planning: We are using modular, prefabricated construction to create flexible, humane spaces designed for "normalization," education, and vocational training.
Sustainable & Climate-Adaptive Facilities: We are engineering a circular "waste-to-resource" economy. Belene, a flood-prone site, will become an autonomous eco-farm with biogas, PV systems, and climate-adaptive architecture. Pleven will become an urban clean-energy hub, powered by a 1MW solar park and geothermal heat.
Digital Innovation: We are integrating smart Building Management Systems (BMS) for energy efficiency and specifying modern technology for inmate skill-building, including Agri-Tech (precision farming, drones) in Belene and high-tech manufacturing (electronics, renewables) in Pleven.
As the lead architectural partner, our studio is translating this proven philosophy into a practical, replicable blueprint for a future of corrections rooted in sustainability, efficiency, and human dignity.
Speakers
Professor Bozhidar Hinkov
Nadya Radkovska
5.15pm – 6.15pm WEST
Showcases
Thursday 23 April
9am – 9.45am WEST
The 1% Things - Small Scale Design Interventions That Can Have Meaningful Impact (PID028)
The 1% Things - Small Scale Design Interventions That Can Have Meaningful Impact (PID028)
Parallel Plenary
Its well demonstrated that the design of correctional environments plays a huge role in the well-being of prisoners, staff, and visitors. However, building new prison infrastructure is expensive and many jurisdictions are grappling with a established estate of prison infrastructure and very limited funding.
However, small design interventions in existing infrastructure can make a difference. On their own, they might only have a minor impact – perhaps only 1% – but if enough of these interventions are implemented over time, they can create opportunities for meaningful change.
Craig will look at a series of design interventions and modifications, which while seemingly small on their own, can collectively contribute to a more positive and rehabilitative atmosphere within correctional facilities.
Speakers
Craig Blewitt
9.45am – 10.30am WEST
Spatial Analysis of Third Places in Philippine Correctional Facilities: Implications of Purpose-Built Spaces on Re-integration nd Reformation of PDL’s (PID032)
Spatial Analysis of Third Places in Philippine Correctional Facilities: Implications of Purpose-Built Spaces on Re-integration nd Reformation of PDL’s (PID032)
Parallel Plenary
This presentation examines the spatial and sociological dimensions of Philippine correctional facilities through Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the Third Place, analyzing how spatial configurations influence normalization, reformation, and reintegration in accordance with the Mandela Rules. Initial findings reveal that while purpose-built prisons enhance structured compliance and efficiency, they often curtail organic socialization and spatial adaptability. Conversely, older facilities often foster informal communal spaces that are essential to psychosocial well-being, social identity reconstruction, and self-actualization.
Insights from this study shall inform the development of a draft uniform correctional design manual, sponsored by the UNODC, advocating participatory and flexible design strategies that intentionally integrate Third Places. Embedding such principles within national planning standards ensures alignment with normalization objectives and promotes environments conducive to rehabilitation, reformation, and reintegration.
Speakers
Cesar Augusto Concio
CETIP: A Latin-American Prison Management-Driven Technical Guide for Infrastructure (PID048)
CETIP: A Latin-American Prison Management-Driven Technical Guide for Infrastructure (PID048)
Parallel Plenary
In this session, the ICRC will present the CETIP Guide. CETIP is a regional reference developed jointly by eleven Latin American prison authorities with the support of the ICRC. Its purpose is to promote dignified, functional prison infrastructure consistent with the Nelson Mandela Rules.
CETIP offers technical guidance for developing or updating national standards that respect human rights and operational efficiency, and provides criteria for both new designs and improvements. The guide stresses analyzing users, activities, and procedures before defining architectural solutions, anchoring design as an essential element of prison management.
Rooted in a regional, participatory process, CETIP reflects Latin America’s legal, cultural, and operational diversity while promoting shared principles and cooperation. It does not propose prison expansion as a remedy for systemic issues; instead, it advances a management-driven approach where architecture supports more humane and efficient prison systems, in compliance with international human rights standards.
Speakers
Ashwini Jarral
Allan Ramirez Breeuwer
Víctor Manuel Vigas Lagos
11am – 11.30am WEST
Humane Technology in Prisons: AI-Supported Clinical Interventions for Mental Health and Reintegration (PID004)
Humane Technology in Prisons: AI-Supported Clinical Interventions for Mental Health and Reintegration (PID004)
Parallel Workshops
Prisons are often associated with control and security, yet they are also environments where mental health challenges are widespread and rehabilitation is essential. Rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicide remain alarmingly high among incarcerated populations, while limited resources and outdated infrastructure make access to psychological care increasingly difficult.
This presentation introduces a human-centered framework for using artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinical mental health interventions in correctional settings. Rather than replacing human interaction, AI is presented as a complementary tool to strengthen therapeutic services, empower practitioners, and enhance the dignity and well-being of residents.
This presentation introduces a human-centered framework for using artificial intelligence (AI) to support clinical mental health interventions in correctional settings. Rather than replacing human interaction, AI is presented as a complementary tool to strengthen therapeutic services, empower practitioners, and enhance the dignity and well-being of residents.
Drawing on clinical health psychology and digital innovation, the session will highlight three areas where AI can make a meaningful difference: early detection of psychological distress through data-driven monitoring; delivery of accessible, stigma-reducing digital therapies such as therapeutic chatbots and adaptive interventions; and support for reintegration by providing tailored insights to guide rehabilitation plans.
Special attention will be given to ethical imperatives—privacy, transparency, fairness, and cultural sensitivity—ensuring that technology serves human needs rather than undermines them.
Participants will leave with a practical understanding of how AI, when designed responsibly, can become a catalyst for humane corrections: not only safer institutions, but also healthier, more resilient pathways to reintegration and inclusion.
Speakers
Dr Yahia El Karfa
Ahmed Tolba
Rethinking Prison Design: Dignity, Normalization, and the Architecture of Change How Evidence-Driven, Health-Centred Environments Improve Safety, Behaviour, and Outcomes (PID073)
Rethinking Prison Design: Dignity, Normalization, and the Architecture of Change How Evidence-Driven, Health-Centred Environments Improve Safety, Behaviour, and Outcomes (PID073)
Parallel Workshops
This presentation examines how dignity, normalization, and evidence-driven design can transform correctional environments and improve institutional outcomes. Drawing on lessons from the redevelopment of the Nanaimo Correctional Centre (NCC) in Canada, it demonstrates how a health-centred philosophy informed decisions about architecture, operations, and culture to create a safer, more therapeutic, and more humane facility. The session explores key design strategies—including normalized living units, culturally responsive spaces, and supportive sightlines—and shows how these elements work together to reduce tension, improve behaviour, and strengthen outcomes.
The principles highlighted are grounded in rights-based practice and emphasize the role of humane conditions in promoting wellness and institutional stability. Although based on a Canadian case study, the insights are highly adaptable to diverse international contexts. Participants will gain practical tools for applying outcome-focused planning frameworks, leveraging design as a security strategy, and developing facilities that function as long-term community assets and catalysts for reform.
By the end of the session, attendees will understand how health-centred, dignity-focused environments can enhance safety, support human rights, and drive better reintegration outcomes, and how these lessons can be translated into scalable, context-sensitive solutions.
Speakers
Teri DuTemple
Stephen Carter
Scaling Project Vista Across Diverse Correctional Environments (PID027)
Scaling Project Vista Across Diverse Correctional Environments (PID027)
Parallel Workshops
CoreCivic’s Project Vista is redefining correctional spaces through a scalable framework that promotes safety, dignity, and rehabilitation. This session will showcase how Vista’s four guiding principles—Normalization, Biophilia, Carceral Geography, and Trauma-Informed Design—are driving meaningful change across diverse facilities. Attendees will explore real-world examples of incremental design improvements and learn how these evidence-based strategies enhance resident wellbeing, staff morale, and operational outcomes.
The session will feature recent implementations, feedback from lived experiences, and findings from third-party impact analyses, offering a data-driven perspective on why design matters. Whether you manage a single unit or an entire system, this session will empower you to implement humane, effective design strategies that foster safety and rehabilitation—regardless of scale or context.
Speakers
Andrew Dye
Justin Sewell
11.30am – 12pm WEST
The Walls Already Know - Designing for the Cognitive Infrastructure of Tomorrow’s Corrections (PID053)
The Walls Already Know - Designing for the Cognitive Infrastructure of Tomorrow’s Corrections (PID053)
Parallel Workshops
Envisioning the future is difficult, because sometimes you get it right. Ten years can feel like a century in the accelerating world of artificial intelligence and digital transformation—yet a decade is the lifespan of a correctional facility’s design and construction. This session looks beyond the immediate horizon to explore how the next generation of prisons will think, sense, and evolve.
Building on my 2025 ICPA CTC presentation in Thailand on Personal AI in Corrections, this paper extends that conversation into a deeper, forward-looking framework for design, policy, and technology. It proposes that three forces—the rise of Personal AI, the spread of Ambient Computing, and the emergence of Cognitive Infrastructure—will anchor the next decade of transformation.
These shifts introduce new design imperatives: safeguarding digital dignity and rights, creating empathetic and adaptive learning environments, and establishing human–machine governance within increasingly agentic systems. Together, they redefine the correctional facility as a dynamic ecosystem rather than a static structure.
While the pace of technological evolution is global, the path each jurisdiction follows will remain uniquely local, shaped by culture, regulation, and purpose. The challenge—and opportunity—is to embed intelligence everywhere without losing our humanity anywhere.
Because in the decade ahead, the walls themselves will no longer be silent. The walls will already know.
Speakers
Mike Sparling
)Building dignity behind bars: How to create buildings that promote well-being and meet the Nelson Mandela Rules (PID037)
)Building dignity behind bars: How to create buildings that promote well-being and meet the Nelson Mandela Rules (PID037)
Parallel Workshops
Prison environments that support health and well-being are often seen as luxuries that only high-income nations can afford. This presentation challenges that assumption, showing that humane and healthy prison design is not about luxury but about necessity, dignity, and justice. Drawing on the author’s consultancy experience in two Latin American countries, it introduces a practical, affordable framework for improving prison environments in low-income contexts, aligning them with the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules.
The presentation explores how the idea of normalisation—creating prisons that reflect ordinary living conditions—can transform the way correctional facilities are planned, built, and managed. It demonstrates how access to daylight, fresh air, hygiene, and spaces for learning and social interaction can be achieved through simple, low-cost design solutions using local materials and knowledge. Case studies from Latin America illustrate how even small architectural and management changes can significantly enhance dignity, health, and rehabilitation outcomes in overcrowded and resource-limited facilities.
Speakers
Dr Alberto Urrutia-Moldes
Allan Ramirez Breeuwer
What Next? Adaptive Reuse of Decommissioned Prisons - Renew, Recycle, Replace (PID030)
What Next? Adaptive Reuse of Decommissioned Prisons - Renew, Recycle, Replace (PID030)
Parallel Workshops
Like all human made artefacts, Prisons have a finite life. Typically today, in Western societies this is planned as 25-50 years. Most commonly a prison with a design life of 25 years will be ‘fixed up’ to extend that a further 10 years or more before being declared defunct or obsolete. This can arise from of a variety of reasons - building age, functional obsolescence, inability to expand facilities or changing correctional regimes.
In contrast many prisons from past centuries operated for longer or are even still in use because of incredibly robust built fabric and society changed at a slower pace.
The last decade or so has seen a huge social imperative to recycle and operate in the most environmentally sustainable ways. Prisons are generally very active in this area. After all, they are able to take the long view and consider initiative that have 5, 10, 20 year ROIs which is something few businesses or citizens are willing or able to undertake. I contend the missing opportunity is what we should do with prisons that are decommissioned at the end of their design life. How to deliver the best return for the Society in terms of financial, social and environmental considerations. Can Prisons fit in to the ‘circular city’ concept? And what benefits can that deliver to a Prison Service?
In contrast many prisons from past centuries operated for longer or are even still in use because of incredibly robust built fabric and society changed at a slower pace.
The last decade or so has seen a huge social imperative to recycle and operate in the most environmentally sustainable ways. Prisons are generally very active in this area. After all, they are able to take the long view and consider initiative that have 5, 10, 20 year ROIs which is something few businesses or citizens are willing or able to undertake. I contend the missing opportunity is what we should do with prisons that are decommissioned at the end of their design life. How to deliver the best return for the Society in terms of financial, social and environmental considerations. Can Prisons fit in to the ‘circular city’ concept? And what benefits can that deliver to a Prison Service?
Adaptive reuse can be the key to a final, substantive, sustainable impact for a prison.
Speakers
Andrew Thomas
12pm – 12.30pm WEST
AI Behind the Walls: Insights from 100,000 Inmate Conversations with Generative AI (PID041)
AI Behind the Walls: Insights from 100,000 Inmate Conversations with Generative AI (PID041)
Parallel Workshops
What happens when you place cutting-edge generative AI directly into the hands of incarcerated individuals? Over seven months and more than 100,000 real conversations, we discovered an unexpected mix of hope, vulnerability, creativity, and risk. This session shares the results of two groundbreaking inmate-facing AI pilots at a 640-bed jail - a Companion Chatbot designed to reduce loneliness and a Career Guide Chatbot built to support reentry planning. Together, they generated remarkable engagement: an average of 1.4 sessions per user per day, with conversations lasting about eight minutes.
But the story is more than numbers. We’ll explore what incarcerated users actually talk about with AI, the emotional and behavioral patterns that emerged, and what we learned from the best and worst interactions - including the top 10 most common conversation themes and the moments that tested the limits of safety and moderation. Attendees will also gain a first look at a proposed framework of foundational principles for safe, ethical, and human-centered inmate-facing AI, including guardrails that prevent access to prohibited topics such as weapon-making, poison-making, alcohol production, and escape planning.
This presentation invites correctional leaders to imagine a future in which AI can support rehabilitation, mental wellbeing, and reentry readiness without compromising safety, security, or dignity. It’s an honest, data-driven look at one of the most provocative questions in modern corrections: Can AI be a force for good behind the walls - and what does it take to get it right?
Speakers
Christopher Ditto
Eric Gonzalez
Smart but Human: Evaluating Technology’s Role in Prison Performance and Dignity in Morocco (PID043)
Smart but Human: Evaluating Technology’s Role in Prison Performance and Dignity in Morocco (PID043)
Parallel Workshops
Moroccan prisons face challenges in modernizing infrastructure while preserving humane conditions and supporting rehabilitation. This study explores how digital technologies can enhance prison performance and reintegration outcomes without compromising human dignity. Using qualitative interviews and case studies in Moroccan facilities, the research highlights how tools such as e-learning platforms, secure information systems, and data-driven case management improve transparency and operational efficiency. Challenges include digital inequities, potential depersonalization of staff-inmate interactions, and ethical concerns around data privacy. The study proposes a “smart but human” framework, recommending ethical technology training for staff, and monitoring of human impacts. Findings offer insights for Morocco and other African countries aiming to develop sustainable, human-centered correctional systems.Speakers
Farida Tichout
Professor Mariam Cherqaoui
Implementation of the Project ECHO Tele Mentoring Model in the Namibian Correctional Service: An Overview of Early Outcomes (PID076)
Implementation of the Project ECHO Tele Mentoring Model in the Namibian Correctional Service: An Overview of Early Outcomes (PID076)
Parallel Workshops
The Namibian Correctional Service (NCS) implemented the Project ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) model in 2024 to strengthen clinical capacity and improve access to specialized healthcare support within correctional facilities. Using a hub-and-spoke tele mentoring approach, the program established a central ECHO hub, trained multidisciplinary teams, and deployed virtual learning infrastructure across 11 facilities, covering 77% of NCS sites. The curriculum focuses on HIV, tuberculosis, and other priority health conditions, delivered through case-based discussions and mentorship supported by the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Early implementation outcomes show increased participation of healthcare professionals, improved knowledge exchange, and reduced professional isolation among staff in remote facilities. The program has also enhanced service delivery by fostering collaborative problem-solving and consistent clinical guidance. Key challenges include intermittent internet connectivity and operational constraints within facilities. Future plans involve expanding topic areas to include broader correctional service needs, increasing site coverage, and strengthening facilitation capacity. The NCS Project ECHO initiative demonstrates the feasibility and value of technology-enabled mentorship in advancing equitable, high-quality healthcare in correctional environments and offers a scalable model for similar settings across the region.Speakers
Trefina Itengula
1.30pm – 2pm WEST
Automating Inmate Assignment through Stable Matching and Predictive Analytics (PID070)
Delivering the Largest Prison Build Programme Since the Victorian Era: Modern Design, Technology, and Mobilisation for Rehabilitation and Sustainability (PID057)
Delivering the Largest Prison Build Programme Since the Victorian Era: Modern Design, Technology, and Mobilisation for Rehabilitation and Sustainability (PID057)
Parallel Workshops
Building the Future of Prisons: Innovation, Sustainability, and Rehabilitation
England and Wales are undergoing the largest prison expansion since the Victorian era, driven by rising capacity pressures and a commitment to transform correctional facilities for the 21st century. The UK Government’s £2.9bn investment is delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, with the New Prisons Programme at its core—combining cutting-edge design, advanced technology, and sustainable construction.
England and Wales are undergoing the largest prison expansion since the Victorian era, driven by rising capacity pressures and a commitment to transform correctional facilities for the 21st century. The UK Government’s £2.9bn investment is delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, with the New Prisons Programme at its core—combining cutting-edge design, advanced technology, and sustainable construction.
This session will showcase how four new prisons, including HMP Millsike (2025), are being delivered using modern methods of construction (MMC) to accelerate build times and reduce environmental impact. Delegates will gain insight into how these facilities are Net Zero-ready, all-electric, and designed to support rehabilitation through education, training, and family contact.
Technology is central to this transformation: prisons are fully Wi-Fi enabled, with secure in-cell tablets and telephony systems, while AI-driven security solutions enhance safety and operational efficiency. The presentation will feature visual fly-throughs and real-world examples, illustrating the journey from construction site to fully operational prison.
Attendees will learn how this programme balances capacity needs with sustainability and rehabilitation goals, setting a new global benchmark for correctional infrastructure. This is not just about building prisons—it’s about building opportunity, safety, and a future-focused system that reduces reoffending and protects communities.
Speakers
Nick Dann
Leveraging on Technology for Enhanced Correctional Outcomes in Singapore Prison Service (SPS) (PID062)
Leveraging on Technology for Enhanced Correctional Outcomes in Singapore Prison Service (SPS) (PID062)
Parallel Workshops
The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) is advancing its digital transformation to enhance correctional operations and rehabilitation outcomes. Two key IT systems—Facial Recognition System (FRS) and Autonomous Televisit System (ATS)—demonstrate SPS’s commitment to leveraging technology for operational efficiency and inmate engagement.
Deployed since 2019, FRS automates muster checks and movement tracking using intelligent camera systems, significantly reducing manpower demands. This allows officers to focus on higher-value tasks such as rehabilitation planning. Integrated with the Prison Operations & Rehabilitation Tools 2 (PORTS2) system, FRS ensures accurate inmate identification and location verification.
ATS, currently in operational trials, replaces legacy televisit setups with AI-enabled pods that support secure, remote interactions. Designed for multi-use scenarios including legal and family visits, ATS incorporates robust security features and is slated for full rollout by FY2029. Planned enhancements include speech-to-text transcription and cloud migration.
Both systems align with SPS’s strategy to maximise work outcomes through automation and digitalisation. By reducing routine workload, officers are empowered to concentrate on strategic and rehabilitative roles. This shift reflects SPS’s evolving mission and supports a high-performance culture.
Importantly, ATS enhances inmates’ interaction with key stakeholders, a critical factor in successful reintegration. By facilitating frequent, secure communication, it promotes effective rehabilitation.
Implementation challenges such as system integration and operational alignment have been addressed through careful planning and stakeholder engagement. Together, FRS and ATS mark significant milestones in SPS’s journey toward a more intelligent, humane, and effective correctional environment in Singapore
Speakers
Boon Hwee Ong
Jean Chiang
Digital Empathy in Practice – Using AiM to Detect and Respond to Self-Harm Risk in Prison (PID038)
Digital Empathy in Practice – Using AiM to Detect and Respond to Self-Harm Risk in Prison (PID038)
Parallel Workshops
How can technology make prisons more humane? As correctional systems worldwide move toward digital transformation, the question is not just how to digitise, but how to do so ethically and in ways that enhance care, dignity, and safety.
This presentation explores the independent evaluation of AiM (Alert, Intervene, Monitor), a digital tool developed by Unilink to help staff detect and respond to signs of isolation, vulnerability, and self-harm risk in prisons. Drawing on behavioural information, interview responses and self-reported survey data, AiM helps prison staff notice subtle changes and intervene earlier, before distress escalates.
Through interviews with officers, managers, and safer custody teams across male and female prisons, the research reveals how AiM has become a valued part of daily practice. Staff describe it as simple, adaptable, and, crucially, humanising: a technology that prompts conversation, builds trust, and saves lives.
Delegates will discover how ethical digitalisation can support the use of technology in prisons by combining data insight with compassionate practice. This session offers a vision of digital transformation where innovation strengthens human connection, showing how technology, when designed for care, can help create safer, smarter, and more humane prisons.
Speakers
Professor Danielle McDermott
Michael Campbell
2pm – 2.30pm WEST
MAIJA - Mobile Artificial Intelligence Justice Assistant: Digitalization of Analogue Handover Processes in the Austrian Prison System (PID033)
MAIJA - Mobile Artificial Intelligence Justice Assistant: Digitalization of Analogue Handover Processes in the Austrian Prison System (PID033)
Parallel Workshops
In Austrian prisons, processes and their documentation are usually carried out analogously. Furthermore, the main use of stationary computers does not always make direct digitized data acquisition possible, which poses a challenge in summarizing events for the daily changes between day and night shifts.
To counteract the loss of information from incidents and observations and to provide digital process support during the handover of duty, a prototype of a mobile application was devel-oped in this thesis for the mapping of the handover and handling of an automatic briefing. To this end, the current process flows were observed and modelled beforehand, and requirements for digital process support of active prison guards were determined through interviews. The prototype was evaluated in two iterations by justice officials and experts with a background in social sciences, implementation technology.
The results show how a mobile ap
plication for digital service handover processes in Austrian prisons can be designed and which functions it should support. Additionally, the added value for the standardization of work processes and the cross-service transfer of knowledge among colleagues and between departments was researched. Furthermore, the challenges posed by the individual processes and grown processes in the individual prisons as well as by the necessary integration into security-critical justice systems are shown.
Speakers
Christian Lagelstorfer
Dr Zeynep Siretioglu Girgin
Scalable Innovation and Process-Driven Models for Correctional Systems (PID058)
Scalable Innovation and Process-Driven Models for Correctional Systems (PID058)
Parallel Workshops
This paper explores scalable and process-oriented innovation models for correctional systems, with a particular focus on their applicability in all prison systems, including low-resource or post-crisis contexts.While advanced prison concepts such as the “Prison Village” demonstrate how design, technology, and sustainability can transform detention, the core message is that meaningful progress is also achievable in environments with limited infrastructure, staffing, or funding.
By aligning operational processes, modular infrastructure, and adaptable technologies—from advanced digital platforms to simple planning tools—correctional facilities can gradually build safer, more humane, and reintegration-focused environments.
The paper emphasizes the importance of integrating affordable maintenance, continuous training, and upgrade pathways from the outset to ensure long-term functionality without financial surprises. This approach enables both high-end and low-budget systems to evolve sustainably, guided by operational logic and rooted in real-world needs.
Speakers
Hans Meurisse
Henk Mortier
2.30pm – 3pm WEST
Introducing the Laya Calculator: Preventing Overstaying Prisoners by Democratizing Sentence Remission and Release Date Computations (PID015)
Introducing the Laya Calculator: Preventing Overstaying Prisoners by Democratizing Sentence Remission and Release Date Computations (PID015)
Parallel Workshops
This presentation introduces the Laya Calculator (i.e. 'Release Calculator'), a public, web-based sentence remission and release date computation system developed by the UNODC in partnership with the Australian Government and the Philippine criminal justice sector. It levels the asymmetries between prison officials, and the wider public, on access to release date information, allowing non-corrections justice stakeholders, including prisoners themselves, to reasonably challenge continued detention. By democratizing access to release date calculations, the Laya Calculator project aims to curb arbitrariness in calculations on the part of corrections administrators, reduce the phenomenon of overstaying prisoners, reduce prison congestion, and improve prison health conditions and services.Speakers
Dr Nick Tobia
High Rise, Low Rise, Just Right-Considerations and Decision Points in Correctional Facility Configuration (PID039)
High Rise, Low Rise, Just Right-Considerations and Decision Points in Correctional Facility Configuration (PID039)
Parallel Workshops
High rise detention facilities are an appropriate solution to the challenges of justice system operations in urban areas, where land is scarce, particularly close to courthouses and convenient transit. Successful projects require expertise in best practices in planning, technology, and sustainable design in order to maximize the benefits of these optimal site locations. This session will compare 2D low rise solutions to highrise and mid-rise solutions illustrating the key elements for success. The audience will be asked to contribute their preconceptions and experiences with high rise urban correctional facilities to compare with emergent best practices. The solutions presented will be analyzed in their contexts for appropriateness.Speakers
Frank Greene
Digital Dignity on a Dime (PID031)
Digital Dignity on a Dime (PID031)
Parallel Workshops
This presentation examines how low-cost, high-impact technologies can accelerate digital inclusion in correctional systems facing tight budgets, aging infrastructure, and rising expectations for humane, rehabilitative practice. Drawing on global experience and African “leapfrog” innovation, it highlights practical tools such as AI-enabled edge devices, micro “data-centre in a box” solutions, PoE WiFi, mesh networking, offline-first digital learning platforms, and solar microgrids. Together, these form a modular “digital inclusion kit” that enables prisons to expand access to communication, education, legal information, and self-service tools while strengthening staff efficiency and operational resilience. By reducing reliance on expensive legacy infrastructure, these solutions allow facilities to modernize sustainably and incrementally. The session also explores cultural and organizational enablers—staff trust, policy alignment, data protection, and local capacity-building—that ensure successful adoption. Ultimately, it demonstrates how affordable technology can support smarter, more humane, and more resilient corrections aligned with key ICPA themes.Speakers
Alexander Kretzschmar
Simon Bonk
Moulay Idriss Agoulmam
Kavan Applegate
Craig Blewitt
Natalie Boal
Sonia Bom
Simon Bonk
Michael Campbell
Stephen Carter
Professor Mariam Cherqaoui
Jean Chiang
Cesar Augusto Concio
Donna Creaven
Nick Dann
Megan Davidson
Banu DEMİRCİ ALTAY
Borhene Dhaouadi
Christopher Ditto
João Domingues
Dr Bowen Du
Teri DuTemple
Andrew Dye
Kim Ekhaugen
Dr Yahia El Karfa
Dr Titanilla Fiath
Rob Fisch
Eric Gonzalez
Frank Greene
Professor Bozhidar Hinkov
Dr Laszlo Huszar
Olukemi Ibikunle
Trefina Itengula
Ashwini Jarral
Paheye Kambinda
Alexander Kretzschmar
Christian Lagelstorfer
Marayca Lopez
Professor Danielle McDermott
Tony McDonnell
Tony McDonnell
Hans Meurisse
Andrea Monteiro
Henk Mortier
Jonas Mønster
Lovisa Nampadhi
Dan Obiero
Boon Hwee Ong
Sarah Paddick FRAIA
Nadya Radkovska
Allan Ramirez Breeuwer
Justin Sewell
Dr Zeynep Siretioglu Girgin
Mike Sparling
Pavlos Tamvakis
Andrew Thomas
Henry Tiberondwa
Farida Tichout
Dr Nick Tobia
Ahmed Tolba
Dr Alberto Urrutia-Moldes
Víctor Manuel Vigas Lagos
Jean Marc Zbinden
