Prison isolation (solitary confinement) is commonly used in prisons across the world, typically as punishment for breaking prison rules and to prevent people from self-harming. Whilst there is a fair amount of literature on the harms of solitary confinement, little is known about how prison staff view the practice and if and how they would like to see its use change.

This presentation is in two parts. In the first part, we will introduce key findings and recommendations made in a study of perspectives on the use of isolation in Dutch prisons, commissioned and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Justice led by Dr Sharon Shalev of Oxford University in 2022. The study involved field research in 7 prisons, examining physical conditions and assessing their compatibility with international standards, and 69 interviews with 78 prison managers, officers, psychologists, oversight committee members, and incarcerated people, as well as analysis of statistical data. Some of the questions we asked included: What are the purposes of solitary confinement? Does it fulfil its purposes? Should all prisons have an isolation unit? Should isolation be ‘done’ differently? How long should it last? Findings were then used to inform a series of recommendations to the Ministry of Justice addressing aspects from the design and regime in isolation units, to issues of staffing, duration, and alternatives to isolation.

In the second part of the presentation, Dr Toon Molleman, who commissioned the study on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Justice, will discuss some of the ongoing challenges around prison isolation, and how findings and recommendations were translated into an action plan by the Ministry of Justice, demonstrating how academic research can inform and feed directly into correctional practice and how we can work together to ensure a more compassionate and humane approach to corrections.