Following a meeting of the prisons administrations of the Council of Europe in France in 2002, the directors of the prison services concluded that “levels of imprisonment in each country are usually influenced more by political decisions rather than by levels of crime or rates of detection of crime.” Scholarly research has agreed with this assertion that a country’s imprisonment rate does not fluctuate based on crime rates, but rather fluctuates based on political climate. International comparative research findings on the use of imprisonment from the International Centre for Prison Studies at the University of London are presented. The Centre suggests that based on research findings, the countries of the world may be divided into five categories in regard to their use of imprisonment: (1) no indigenous understanding of prison; (2) breakdown of authority in prison system; (3) poor prison conditions, mainly occurring in Eastern Europe and Central Asia; (4) prison regarded as a last resort; and (5) prison as a tool to control marginalized and impoverished groups. The way in which a country uses imprisonment directly impacts prison management; the consequences of overcrowding and poor conditions on prison staff are briefly discussed. Around the world prison systems are complex organizations that must strive for professionalism in the face of changing political conditions. 18 Endnotes