Laura's Page

As staffing pressures, workplace risks, and operational demands continue to shape correctional environments, ensuring fair working conditions and strong staff representation is becoming increasingly critical across Romania’s penitentiary system

What makes a prison truly safer: more locks or more dignity? Ahead of PDTC in Rabat, former global lead for the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) within places of Detention, and the Global Track Chair for the 2026 PDTC conference, Terry Hackett challenges the assumptions shaping modern corrections, arguing that humane design, natural light, and relationship-building technology can turn strain into resilience

Since my last update in December, our global community has continued to grow in reach, depth, and practical impact. Across every region, ICPA members are leading work that is both urgent and hopeful: strengthening staff wellbeing, improving safety and professionalism, advancing evidence-informed practice, and building the partnerships that make reform possible.

As the ICPA’s first Prison Design and Technology Conference approaches, architect Kavan Applegate and justice planner Dr. Marayca Lopez explain why the spaces we create behind bars matter more than we think.

At the Guyana Prison Service 2026 Senior Officers’ Conference, Wynnie Testamark urged leaders to modernize, collaborate, and invest in humane, professional practice, reminding the room that the future of corrections will be secured “not by buildings alone,” but by courageous leadership.

Romania is in the middle of a significant correctional reform cycle, driven by long-standing pressure on capacity, the need to modernise infrastructure, and the imperative to meet European human-rights and rule-of-law standards