Article 19: From Reform to Routine: How Change Takes Root in Resource-Constrained Prisons – Lessons from Cambodia and Afghanistan

https://doi.org/10.65264/KCEK6325

Correctional systems are under constant pressure to implement change. New policies, infrastructure projects, management practices, and service delivery models are regularly introduced with the aim of improving detention conditions, strengthening security, enhancing health care, reducing tensions, or increasing operational efficiency. Yet while considerable attention is often paid to the design of reforms, far less attention is devoted to understanding why some changes become part of daily practice while others gradually disappear. 
This article examines the process of change in correctional settings through a retrospective analysis of humanitarian detention work conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Cambodia (2014–2018) and Afghanistan (2019–2020). Drawing upon detention visit reports, working papers, strategic planning documents, final talks with prison authorities, and institutional correspondence, the paper explores how change was initiated, implemented, adapted, sustained, diluted, or abandoned across a range of prison environments operating under significant resource constraints. 
The analysis focuses on four interrelated factors influencing correctional change: leadership, infrastructure, institutional procedures, and organizational culture. The findings suggest that committed prison leaders can act as powerful catalysts for improvement, particularly in areas such as health care, family contact, access to services, and daily prison routines. However, reforms driven primarily by individual leadership often remain vulnerable to staff turnover, competing priorities, and institutional instability. Infrastructure projects can create opportunities for improvement but do not, by themselves, guarantee sustainable outcomes. Long-term success appears most likely when reforms become embedded within institutional routines, administrative procedures, accountability mechanisms, and professional practice. 
The comparison between Cambodia and Afghanistan highlights both contextual differences and common challenges. Despite major differences in political environment, security conditions, prison populations, and governance structures, both settings reveal similar tensions between short-term initiatives and long-term sustainability. In both countries, the most durable improvements were generally those that evolved from isolated reforms into routine organizational practices. 
Rather than focusing exclusively on prison conditions, this article examines the mechanisms through which correctional change takes root. It argues that sustainable reform depends not only on resources or policy decisions, but on the successful integration of change into the everyday functioning of correctional institutions. The paper concludes by identifying practical lessons for prison administrators, policymakers, and correctional professionals seeking to implement and sustain meaningful change in low-resource environments.

Keywords: Correctional change; Sustainable reform; Prison leadership; Organizational culture; Resource-constrained prisons; Cambodia; Afghanistan