Corrections systems worldwide are facing a crisis of capacity and complexity. More people in custody, more complex needs, and less room to respond with the care and effectiveness that public safety demands.
The 28th ICPA Annual Conference asks a critical question: What happens when we stop working in silos?
This year's theme, Partnerships in a Modern Corrections Landscape, focuses on how collaboration between government agencies, academia, NGOs, private industry, and communities can create better outcomes for everyone involved.
We're looking for submissions that go beyond theory. Show us the partnerships that work. The diversion programs that reduce incarceration. The reintegration models that actually support people returning to their communities. The data tools that help systems plan smarter, not just bigger.
If your work touches on collaborative partnerships, community alternatives and reintegration, or managing prison growth and complexity, we want to hear from you.
Submissions close May 3, 2026 - link in our bio!
#ICPA2026 #realchange #collaborativepartnerships #conference
Our partners JUSTICE TRENDS Magazine have just launched Issue 15 of JUSTICE TRENDS Magazine that was shared at the Prison Design and Technology Conference in Morocco.
This edition picks up where PDTC left off: humane and resilient futures, responsible innovation, data + governance, and tech that supports safety, dignity, professional practice, and better outcomes.
Proud to see voices from ICPA and our wider professional community featured throughout, including Simon Bonk, John May, and Ivan Calder, alongside contributions connected to ICPA corporate members and partners such as Telio Group, Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), and ODSecurity B.V..
Have a read, share your take, and let’s keep the conversation moving: www.justice-trends.press!
#JusticeTrendsMagazine #PrisonDesign #PrisonTechnology #HumaneFutures
On this International Day of Families, the world reflects on this year’s theme: “Families, Inequalities and Child Wellbeing.”
When families face difficult circumstances, it often places strain at home — on caregivers carrying responsibilities alone, on relationships stretched by crisis, and on children whose stability depends on the adults around them. That’s why rehabilitation can’t be individual-only. Families are often the first line of support and among the most affected.
In 2025, the Singapore Prison Service (SPS) introduced the Family Engagement Model (FAMe) - a structured approach that embeds family engagement across incarceration and reintegration through targeted interventions and coordinated partnerships with community and government agencies.
Under FAMe, support is not one-size-fits-all. It includes programmes such as:
- Together in Every Step (TIES): a structured, facilitated space for inmates and their families to rebuild trust, process difficult emotions, and develop healthier communication patterns.
- Peer-led circles: helping individuals learn from others with shared experiences, and strengthening support through community and accountability.
- Specialised family interventions: targeted support for families navigating complex relational harm and long-standing conflict.
- Family programmes involving incarcerated parents and their children: supporting positive parent-child relationships and strengthening family connections during incarceration and reintegration.
This is what throughcare looks like in practice. This is what it means to treat rehabilitation as relational, not just individual.
Because sustainable change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens when families are supported, every step of the way!
#InternationalDayOfFamilies #Throughcare #Reintegration #SingaporePrisonService
Mental Health Awareness Week is a reminder that healing is not a one time moment. It is, as Andrew Hundley puts it, “it is just the beginning.”
In this interview, lived experience leaders Tassie Ghilani and Andrew Hundley take on one of the biggest myths about re entry. As Andrew says, “People often think that freedom fixes everything.” It does not. The reality is tougher and more human. Coming home can mean being physically free while still carrying years of grief, trauma, and survival mode.
So what helps? Andrew is clear: “Having people that I could trust… other formerly incarcerated people… was extremely helpful.” Not advice from a distance, but support from people who truly understand.
Tassie challenges the story society tells itself about crime and healing. We often treat the offence as chapter one, but Tassie names “the misconception of people who committed a crime as the starting point.” Because behind every headline, “there’s always a why.”
And for anyone doing the work of supporting others, Andrew offers a grounded reminder that care has to include you too: “You can’t help others until you help yourself.”
This conversation is raw, compassionate, and clear on what real mental health support looks like: safety, stability, and people who see the whole human being.
Press play, then ask yourself what changes when we stop assuming freedom is the finish line.
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #LivedExperience #TraumaInformed
Mental Health Awareness Week is a reminder that healing doesn’t happen in systems - it happens in relationships. And some of the most powerful support comes from people who’ve been there.
Ireland is quietly modelling what humane, effective services can look like when lived experience is treated as expertise.
1) Mental health recovery: the gift of hope
Peer workers don’t replace clinicians, they bridge the gap between treatment plans and real life, proving recovery is possible and rebuilding agency step by step.
2) Traveler community: turning “non-compliance” into understanding
What institutions label as disengagement is often a system failing to meet people where they are. Peer health coordinators reveal the barriers and help services change.
3) Disability advocacy: ending the culture of second-guessing
No amount of training substitutes for lived reality. Inclusion works best when people most affected help design solutions from the start, not as an afterthought.
4) Youth diversion: when a shared past becomes a professional asset
Trust can’t be mandated. Peer workers can reach young people where formal outreach can’t, because credibility is earned through shared experience.
This week, let’s ask a better question than “Are they engaging?” Let’s ask: Have we built something worth engaging with?
Read the full story on our website!
#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #PeerSupport #LivedExperience #TraumaInformedCare
It’s #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and our Practice Transfer Advisory Committee is sharing a weekly resource drop for anyone working across justice, health, and policy.
This week’s spotlight: Gill Buck’s sharp reminder that we’re obsessed with “new” criminal justice innovation… without ever asking: new compared to what?
Everyone loves a shiny “new” criminal justice innovation. Put it in a deck. Add a pilot. Sprinkle in a framework. Call it groundbreaking.
But Gill’s piece quietly asks the question: What would you build differently tomorrow if you truly believed that the people most impacted have always been the innovators?
Because the truth is, lived-experience justice is not a trend. It is a tradition.
Long before lived experience was a conference buzzword, incarcerated people were already:
- Keeping institutions running
- Caring for each other when the State did not
- Petitioning for dignity one micro-right at a time
- Shaping policy and public opinion from inside a cell
So here’s the uncomfortable bit. If this leadership has been propping up the system for 200 years, why do we still talk about it like it was discovered in 2014? And when institutions invite lived experience in, are they building shared power, or borrowing credibility?
What would change if we stopped treating lived experience as an add-on, and started treating it as infrastructure?
Read the full article here: https://bit.ly/4sXTyL6!
#PTAC #ResourceDrop #LivedExperience
In corrections, experience is built over time, but trust is built every day.
This National Corrections Officers Week, we are spotlighting correctional professionals around the world and the impact they make every day, behind the badge.
Meet the Officer: Joe Perala, Corrections Officer of the Year at the Michigan Department of Corrections, United States!
For Joe, two decades in the profession have been shaped by teamwork, adaptability, and a strong sense of responsibility to both colleagues and community.
What began as a practical career decision eventually became a long-term commitment to correctional work. Over 20 years of service across different security levels and operational environments, Joe has worked in housing units, segregation, and now on the yard at Baraga Correctional Facility. Through each role, the constant has been the people around him and the shared responsibility that defines correctional work.
His reflections highlight the importance of teamwork within correctional environments, where professionalism, reliability, and communication are essential to maintaining safe and effective operations. Equally important is the role experienced staff can play in supporting others through mentorship and leadership.
If Joe could offer one piece of advice to his first-day self, it would be this:
“Become an expert in multitasking in order to be a good partner to your colleagues.”
This is one story of leadership, teamwork, and commitment built through experience.
#NationalCorrectionsOfficersWeek #BehindTheBadge #LeadingWithIntegrity
In corrections, authority is not only about control - it is about judgement, consistency, and understanding.
It requires knowing when to be firm, when to listen, and how to maintain balance in an environment that is constantly evolving.
This National Corrections Officers Week, we are spotlighting correctional professionals around the world and the impact they make every day, behind the badge.
Meet the Officer: Radoslav Smilkov, General Directorate “Execution of Punishments” (GDEP), Bulgaria - Samoranovo Prison!
For Radoslav Smilkov, Junior Inspector at Samoranovo Prison in Bulgaria, this balance is at the core of the role. What began as a commitment to maintaining order within a structured system has evolved into something more - a responsibility to lead by example and contribute to a safer and more constructive environment.
Over time, it is the human dimension of the work that stands out: seeing individuals develop new skills, shift their mindset, and move towards positive change.
If Radoslav could give his day-one self one piece of advice, it would be this:
“Be firm but fair and never lose your humanity - true authority is built through professionalism and consistency.”
#NationalCorrectionsOfficersWeek #BehindTheBadge #LeadingWithIntegrity
Corrections is not defined by a single role. It is shaped by different voices working towards the same purpose.
It exists at the intersection of accountability, communication, and the possibility of change.
This National Corrections Officers Week, we continue to spotlight correctional professionals around the world and the impact they make every day, behind the badge.
Meet the Professionals: Solomon Mapfumo and Simelinkosi Mkwananzi, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service!
For Solomon Mapfumo, Assistant Public Relations Officer, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, the work is about shaping understanding, engaging the public and showing that corrections is not only about confinement, but about transformation. Through platforms like the Another Chance programme, he has witnessed moments where accountability meets healing, and where dignity can be restored.
For Simelinkosi Mkwananzi, Correctional Officer Grade Two, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service, the role is grounded in daily practice, where emotional management, professionalism, and consistency are essential in maintaining safety and supporting rehabilitation.
Together, their experiences reflect the depth and diversity of correctional work: different responsibilities, shared purpose, and one mission.
If they could each offer one piece of advice to their day one selves, it would be this:
“Do the job, but never lose the person.”
“Emotional management is essential in our daily work.”
#NationalCorrectionsOfficersWeek #BehindTheBadge #LeadingWithIntegrity
Some careers are loud. Corrections is not one of them.
It’s the quiet work of showing up, holding the line, and still believing people can change.
Back in 2002, one Singapore Prison Service “Captains of Lives” ad did exactly that for Soh Chi Yiong - it showed a calling with real purpose. That was enough to take the leap.
23 years on, the mission hasn’t changed: it’s not just about enforcing rules - it’s about changing lives, one conversation at a time.
If Soh could give day-one Soh just one sentence of advice, it would be this: “Lead with fairness and firmness, but never lose your empathy — that’s where real change begins.”
Meet the Officer: Soh Chi Yiong from the @singaporeprisonservice !
This National Corrections Officers Week, we’re spotlighting correctional professionals around the world and the impact they make every day, behind the badge.
This is one story of commitment, purpose, and professionalism. What will yours be?
#NationalCorrectionsOfficersWeek #BehindTheBadge #LeadingWithIntegrity
This week, we mark National Corrections Officers Week by recognising correctional officers and professional staff around the world. Together with our members and partners across the global corrections community, we recognise and appreciate the vital work carried out every day in support of public safety, rehabilitation, and positive change.
Across cultures and languages, one message remains the same: thank you for your professionalism, your judgement, and your resilience.
Leave a message of appreciation in your language in the comments!
#NationalCorrectionsOfficersWeek #BehindTheBadge #LeadingWithIntegrity
The IRCC presentations are here!
150 speakers. 100+ presentations and posters. One place to catch up.
If you missed a session, want to revisit a big idea, or need evidence you can actually use, the IRCC presentations are now available to download on our website: https://bit.ly/4tNevZK!
Choose your focus:
- Safer environments: what changed on the ground?
- Rehabilitation: what delivered measurable outcomes?
- Culture: what helped make services genuinely responsive?
- Reintegration: what supported people beyond release day?
And if you want to go deeper year-round: ICPA membership gives you access to 600+ hours of video content and hundreds of presentations to keep the learning going.
Tell us what you’re most keen to watch first, and what topic you hope IRCC tackles next!
#IRCC2026 #WhatWorksInCorrections
