Criminal Justice Handbook Series

The overall purpose of this checklist is to assist Member States in conducting internal or administrative inspections to assess compliance of their national prison systems with the Nelson Mandela Rules, and thus to facilitate the practical application of the Rules at national level. More specifically, it aims to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of internal inspection systems conducted by the central prison administration as important agents of change now explicitly referred to in the Rules in their task of contributing to the creation of prison conditions and management in line with national law as well as with international standards and norms.

The Roadmap for the Development of Prison-based Rehabilitation Programs focuses on the three core areas of education, vocational training and work in prisons.

This handbook aims to assist legislators, policymakers, prison managers, staff and non-governmental organizations in implementing international standards and norms related to the gender-specific needs of women prisoners, in particular the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Offenders and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders ('the Bangkok Rules'). It further aims to increase awareness about the profile of female offenders and to suggest ways in which to reduce their unnecessary imprisonment, including by rationalising legislation and criminal justice policies, and by providing a wide range of alternatives to prison at all stages of the criminal justice process. The handbook forms part of a series of tools developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to support countries in implementing the rule of law and the development of criminal justice reform.