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.
All (2)decarcerationalternativesrehabilitationabolitionconditionsjuvenilesentencingreentrypre trial detentionother
- 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.
- Gacaca community courts for the genocidecompleted2005–2012
Rwanda · alternatives
Faced with ~120,000 detained suspects after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda used customary 'gacaca' community courts to try about 1.2 million cases. Sentences emphasised confession, community service, and truth-telling alongside imprisonment.