Inside job

Life in prison, we're often told by those from certain quarters of the media and political spectrum, is far too cushy. Not according to Penal Reform International, whose annual global report declared: "Detention conditions are degrading, the number of prisoners is increasing while the overall level of crime is declining in a majority of societies."

Certainly, Dutch photographer Jan Banning's pictures from France, the US, Colombia and Uganda make for grim viewing. Surprisingly - or perhaps not - he found that the conditions in US institutions were arguably worse than in those in Uganda, and the whole experience has led him to question the value of incarceration for the vast majority of prisoners.