Tools and Publications

 

UNODC develops tools for stakeholders to assist States in the implementation of the UN standards and norms. They include a variety of handbooks, training curriculums and model laws which provide guidance to United Nations agencies, governments and individuals at each stage of criminal justice reform.

An overview of all the handbooks and manuals that the Justice Section develops is available in English, French, Spanish,Russian

A summary of the Justice Section's new strategic approach to "Addressing the Global Prison Crisis" is available in English, Spanish,  Arabic, French

For a documentary on UNODC's work in the field of prison reform, click English, Spanish

Infographic on UNODC and its Global Programme on Addressing Prison Challenges Arabic, English , French , Russian , Spanish 

 

General Tools on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

• The 2016 version of the Compendium of United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice is available here in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish. The 2006 version of the Compendium is also available in Portuguese and Farsi, however, please note the Portuguese and Farsi versions are not official UN translations.

• The Criminal Justice Assessment Toolkit is a standardized and cross-referenced set of tools designed to enable United Nations agencies, government officials engaged in criminal justice reform, as well as other organizations and individuals to conduct comprehensive assessments of criminal justice systems. 

• The Status and Role of Prosecutors - a UNODC and IAP Guide English
• Addendum to the Standards of Professional Responsibilities and Statement of the Essential Duties and Rights of Prosecutors: Compilation of comments received from Member States, English

• UN standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice for Peacekeepers English, French, Spanish

• UN Criminal Justice Standards for UN police English, French

• Guide for policy makers on the Implementation of the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims and Abuse of Power English
• Handbook on Justice for Victims on the use and application of the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims and Abuse of Power English
• Intergovernmental Expert Group Meeting to review and update the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, Bangkok, 23-26 March 2009 English

• Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish

• United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish

• United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish

• UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish, German, Sinhala, Tamil

• Enhancing Criminal Justice Reform, including Restorative Justice English , Spanish
• Criminal Justice Reform in Post-Conflict States: A Guide for Practitioners English
• Combating violence against migrants English, 

Crime Prevention and Police Reform

• Training Manual on Policing Urban Space English, Spanish
• Introductory Handbook on Policing Urban Space English French Portuguese
• Introductory Handbook on the Prevention of Recidivism and the Social Reintegration of Offenders English, French, Spanish 
• Crime Prevention Assessment tool English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Handbook on the Crime Prevention Guidelines - Making them Work English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
• Handbook on Crime Prevention in Southern Africa and the Caribbean Regions English
• Practical Approaches to Urban Crime Prevention English
• Handbook on Civilian Private Security Services English, French, Spanish, Arabic 
• Strategies and Best Practices for Crime Prevention, in particular in relation to Urban Crime and Youth at Risk English
• Further information is available on the International Center for the Prevention of Crime's website 
• Global status report on violence prevention 2014 English
• Governing Safer Cities: Strategies for a Globalised World English 
• Line Up Live Up Trainer Manual- Life skills training through sport to prevent crime, violence and drug use  English Arabic Russian Spanish Portuguese

• Training Manual on Policing Urban Space English, Spanish  
• Introductory Handbook on Policing Urban Space English French Portuguese
• Handbook on Police Accountability, Oversight and Integrity English
• Resource book on the use of force and firearms in law enforcement English

Access to Legal Aid

• Handbook on Access to Legal Aid in Africa English
• Handbook on Early access to legal aid in criminal justice processes English, Vietnamese, Chinese 
• Survey Report on Access to legal Aid in Africa English
• Child Friendly Legal Aid in Africa (UNICEF, UNDP, UNODC) English , French
• United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems English, Arabic, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish 
• Global Study on Legal Aid 

                       - Global Report  English

                       - Country Profiles English

• Model Law on Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems with Commentaries English 
• Handbook Ensuring Quality of Legal Aid Services in Criminal Justice Processes: Practical Guidance and Promising Practices English
• Outcome of the Second International Conference on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems (2016)
• The Buenos Aires Declaration   Arabic, Chinese, English, French , Portuguese, Russian, Spanish 

                       - Conference Report PDF

Gender in the Criminal Justice System

• Toolkit on Gender-Responsive Non-Custodial Measures English NEW!
• Strengthening Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Responses to Violence against Women English
• RESPECT - Preventing violence against women: A framework for policymakers English 
• Handbook on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women English, Spanish, French
• Training Curriculum on Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women English, Spanish, French
• Handbook on Effective Prosecution Responses to Violence against Women and Girls English, 
• Resource Book for Trainers on Effective Prosecution Responses to Violence against Women and Girls English , Ukrainian 
• Toolkit on Strengthening the Medico-Legal Response to Sexual Violence English  
• Gender-Related killing of Women and Girls Brochure English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian
• Essential services package for women and girls subject to violence Arabic, English, French, Spanish  Russian, Chinese
• Implementation Guide Arabic, English, French, Spanish
• E-Learning course Essential services package for women and girls subject to violence:

Module 1: Overview and Introduction to the Essential Services Package for Women and Girls Subject to Violence

Module 2: Essential Health Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence

Module 3: Essential Justice and Policing Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence

Module 4: Essential Social Services for Women and Girls Subject to Violence

Module 5: Essential Action for Governance and Coordination of Governance

• The Trial of Rape: Understanding the criminal justice system response to sexual violence in Thailand and Viet Nam English, Thai, Vietnamese

• A Practitioner's Toolkit on Women's Access to Justice Programming English, Spanish NEW! 
• The Bangkok Rules-United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders with their Commentary English French Spanish 
• Handbook on Women and Imprisonment English 2nd edition, Arabic 2nd edition, Russian, Turkish, Spanish
• Training curriculum on Women and Imprisonment Version 1.0, English, Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
• Information note for criminal justice practitioners on non-custodial measures for women offenders English
• E-learning course on Alternatives to Imprisonment for Women Offenders English
• Afghanistan: Female Prisoners and their social reintegration English
• Handbook for the Judiciary on Effective Criminal Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence against Women and Girls   English 

Justice for Children

• Handbook for Professionals and Policymakers on Justice in Matters involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Croatian  
• Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime English
• United Nations Guidelines on Justice in Matters involving child victims and witnesses of crime Online Training English, French
• Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime: Model Law and Related Commentary English, Spanish, French,
• Criteria for the Design and Evaluation of Juvenile Justice Reform Programmes English, French, Spanish, Russian 
• Child-friendly version of the UN Guidelines on Justice in Matters Involving Child Victims and Witnesses of Crime Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
• Justice in Matters Involving Children in Conflict with the Law: Model Law on Juvenile Justice and Related Commentary English, Tajik, Russian, French
• Guidance Note of the Secretary-General: UN Approach to Justice for Children English
• Child Friendly Legal Aid in Africa English, French
• UNODC/UNICEF Manual for the Measurement of juvenile justice indicators English, French , Spanish, Russian
• Capacity Building in the Area of Child Justice (the Child Justice Project) South Africa, 2003, English
• Strengthening Legislative and Institutional Capacity for Juvenile Justice and Support to the Juvenile Justice System in Lebanon, 2005 English, Arabic
• Protecting the Rights of Children in Conflict with the Law, 2005 English, Arabic, French, Spanish
• Introductory Booklet on the United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice English,  French
• Checklist to the United Nations Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence 
  against Children in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice English, French
• Training Programme on the Treatment of Child Victims and Child Witnesses of Crime - for Prosecutors and Judges English
• Training Programme on the Treatment of Child Victims and Child Witnesses of Crime - for Law Enforcement Officials English
• INSPIRE: Seven strategies for Ending Violence Against Children Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish

                           -Executive summary- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

                           -Infographic- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

•  INSPIRE Handbook: Action for implementing the seven strategies  for ending violence against children Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish 

• Handbook on Children Recruited and Exploited by Terrorist and Violent Extremist Groups: the Role of the Justice System  Arabic, English, French, Russian 

Alternatives to Imprisonment and Prison Reform

• Handbook on restorative justice programmes 2nd Edition English NEW! 
• Handbook on restorative justice programmes English, French, Farsi, Turkish
• Handbook of basic principles and promising practices on Alternatives to Imprisonment English, French, Spanish , Turkish

• Handbook for Prison Leaders Arabic, English, French
• Handbook on Prisoner File Management English, French, Arabic
• Handbook on Prisoners With Special Needs, Arabic, English, Spanish, Turkish
• Handbook on Women and Imprisonment English 2nd edition, Arabic 2nd edition, Russian, Turkish, Spanish
• Training curriculum on Women and Imprisonment Version 1.0, English, Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian
• The Bangkok Rules-United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders with their Commentary English French   Spanish 
• Information note for criminal justice practitioners on non-custodial measures for women offenders English,
• Handbook on Strategies to Reduce Overcrowding in Prisons English, Arabic, Indonesian, Spanish, French
• Afghanistan: Implementing Alternatives to Imprisonment, in line with International Standards and National Legislation English
• HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, Treatment and Support in Prison Settings - a framework for an effective national response English
• UNODC Prison Reform Concept Note English
• Handbook on the International Transfer of Sentenced Persons English
• Introductory Handbook on the Prevention of Recidivism and the Social Reintegration of Offenders  English (updated), French, Spanish, Russian (updated) , Arabic (updated), French (updated) 
• A Prison Evaluation Checklist for Post-Conflict Settings English 
• Handbook on Dynamic Security and Prison Intelligence English, French, Arabic, Spanish  
• Handbook on the Management of High-Risk Prisoners English, Arabic  
• Brochure on the The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) English  Spanish, Russian, Arabic, French, Sinhala, Tamil 
• Handbook on the Management of Violent Extremist Prisoners and the Prevention of Radicalization to Violence in Prisons English, Arabic, French, Russian, German   
• Summary of Key Principles and Recommendations of the Handbook on Violent Extremist Prisoners English, Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, German
• Assessing compliance with the Nelson Mandela Rules: A checklist for internal inspection mechanisms English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian, German, Thai 
• UNODC Roadmap for the Development of Prison-based Rehabilitation Programmes English, Spanish, Arabic, French, Russian 
• Handbook on Anti-Corruption Measures in Prisons English
• Treatment and Care for People with Drug Use Disorders in Contact with Criminal Justice System- Alternatives to Conviction or Punishment English 
• Instructional Placards on the Nelson Mandela Rules Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish   
• Scenario-based e-learning course on the Nelson Mandela Rules English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic , French NEW!
• UNODC Position Paper on COVID-19 Preparedness and Responses in Prisons English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese NEW!

Statistics and Surveys

Apart from normative and operational work, UNODC also conducts research in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice. For further information, please follow the links below:

• Crime statistics: see, for instance, the world crime trend reports here
• Crime victimization surveys (CVS)
• United Nations Surveys on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems
• Tenth Survey on Capital Punishment and on the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, covering the period 2014-2018 - Questionnaires in English (pdf), English(doc), French (pdf), French(doc), Spanish (pdf), Spanish(doc), Russian (pdf), Russian(doc), Chinese (pdf), Chinese(doc), Arabic (pdf), Arabic(doc)
• UNODC's contribution to addressing the global prison crisis, presentation by the Justice Section
• The UNDP/UNODC Global Study on Legal Aid 2015 English(pdf), English(doc), Spanish (doc),  Russian (doc), Arabic(doc), Chinese (doc), French (doc). Kindly note that these documents were not translated by UN official translation services.

 

Banners and Posters

• SDG 5: Gender-sensitive justice systems
• SDG 16: Preventing crime and promoting effective, fair and humane criminal justice systems
• Promoting gender-sensitive justice to end discrimination and violence ( Arabic, English, French ( 1 | 2), Russian, Spanish and Portuguese)
• Promoting justice to end violence against children ( Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese)
• Enhancing access to justice and legal aid ( Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese)
• Reducing violence and crime: focus on prevention ( Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese)
• Addressing the global prison crisis ( Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese)