Director of ICPS

Rob Allen, has decided that he wishes to stand down as Director of ICPS, a position which he has held since 2005.

Andrew Coyle, who has just completed five years’ work as a member of a public inquiry in Northern Ireland, has returned to ICPS and has agreed to take over as Director.

In a message to colleagues, Rob said:

After five very enjoyable years, I have decided it is time for a change so that I can pursue fresh opportunities in criminal justice and prison reform and undertake new projects in the UK and abroad. I intend to retain close links with ICPS and will continue to work as an associate on the projects with which I have been personally involved.

It has been a privilege working with so many individuals and organisations around the world who are trying to develop more humane and effective approaches to the use and practice of imprisonment. I am sure that we will stay in contact in the future.

On taking up the post of Director, a role which he filled between 1997 and 2005, Andrew Coyle, who is also Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies in King’s College London, said:

I am delighted to be back working full-time at ICPS and look forward to renewing contacts with many colleagues and partners around the world.

 

The way in which prison is used around the world has changed dramatically since ICPS was established in 1997 and there are many new challenges to be faced. The work which ICPS does in disseminating sound academic research on the international standards relating to the use of imprisonment, in helping intergovernmental bodies and non-governmental bodies to develop policies based on these standards, and in assisting national governments and others to put these policies into practice is needed more than ever in the uncertain world in which we now live.