Reform · Initiatives
Reform initiatives
Concrete laws, programmes, and pilots that have changed (or attempted to change) how a country incarcerates. Each is editorial — we cite primary sources where possible.
- SDS40 emergency early-release schemeactive2024–ongoing
United Kingdom · decarceration
Faced with England & Wales prisons running out of cells in 2024, the new Labour government legislated to release most standard-determinate-sentence prisoners after 40% (rather than 50%) of their term served. The change applies to eligible prisoners across the existing population and to new sentences.
- Decriminalisation of petty offencesactive2017–ongoing
Kenya · decarceration
Kenya's High Court struck down 'rogue and vagabond' offences in 2019, which had been used to detain and prosecute people for being poor, unemployed, or out at night. Reform was driven by Kituo cha Sheria and Africa Criminal Justice Reform.
- Closing all women's prisons (proposed)stalled2014–2019
Sweden · decarceration
In 2014 the Swedish Prison and Probation Service openly considered phasing out women's prisons entirely on the grounds that the population was too small and too low-risk to justify a separate carceral infrastructure.
- Closing prisons as crime fellcompleted2013–2018
Netherlands · decarceration
Between 2013 and 2018 the Netherlands closed roughly 20 prisons as its prison population fell from ~14,000 to under 9,000. Drivers included falling crime, expanded electronic monitoring, and community-sentence alternatives.