The prison system in Palestine is at a formative stage in its development. Many of the prisons were destroyed during the conflict with Israel. The prison system currently holds around 1,200 prisoners in 7 prisons. A new Prison Act was passed in 1998 and the General Administration of Reform and Rehabilitation Centres are eager to develop a modern prison system with a rehabilitative and reforming ethos.

Panopticon Consulting spent a total of four months working with Reform and Rehabilitation Centre staff over a two year period on a UNODC managed programme. We provided strategic support and training and undertook activities including:

• providing workshops on strategic planning,
• training of trainers;
• rehabilitation programmes and prison regulations/standing orders;
• facilitating the development of a Strategic Plan;
• drafting training manuals on prison management, working in reform and rehabilitation centres, human rights in prisons, and special and vulnerable groups of prisoners;
• conducting training of trainers workshops;
• producing a set of prison regulations/rules on a range of subjects;
• leading workshops on United Nations Standard Minimum Rules and a range of prison management topics;
• undertaking a prison staff training needs assessment, and
• making proposals for future training provision (facilities, curriculum, training materials, trainers).