6.30pm – 8.00pm, Tuesday 25 November 2025:

Usha Kasera Lecture Theatre, The University of Edinburgh Law School, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL.

Sara Snell, is His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland. Her 25 years in the England and Wales Prison Service included governing two prisons and leading an inspection team. She spent nine years as a prison systems adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross, where she was responsible for applying international humanitarian law and standards to improve the treatment and conditions of people detained across the world. Her presentation will consider how we might work together towards a more humane prison estate.

Towards Humane Prisons

The current situation in Scotland’s prisons forces us to some address important points and to ask ourselves some vital questions. It gives us the opportunity to review and rethink the state’s intentions regarding imprisonment and to reflect upon what a humane prison estate could and should look like.

 Incarcerating people brings with it great responsibility and society clearly benefits when prisons work well. The vast majority of detainees will be released into society, and programmes designed to support their growth and integration with the community help to reduce crime, increase public safety and lower the financial and human costs of detention.

How can everyone involved be empowered to play an active role in establishing humane prisons when generations of approaches have been designed to take away rather than support agency?

 The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and informal drinks reception.

The lecture will take place at:

This lecture is free to members of Howard League Scotland, students and the unwaged.

Become a member of Howard League Scotland using the following link: http://howardleague.scot/join-us.

Tickets for members and non-members are available using the following link:
www.ticketsource.co.uk/howardleaguescotland