Reflecting on the Delivery of the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program (IOPEP) encompasses university (outside) students and incarcerated (inside) students undertaking a university course alongside each other behind the walls of a prison. In the Australian IOPEP, students are taught Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. In 2020, the IOPEP was moved online halfway through the course delivery due to the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the potential of transmission in prisons. In 2021, in adherence to COVID-19 safety regulations and restrictions in prisons, the IOPEP delivery was also modifi ed by reducing the number of outside students coming into prison. This paper presents Haozhou Sun's refl ection of his 2021 IOPEP's learning experience. Although Sun was not able to have the same level of interaction traditionally obtained by IOPEP students, it is clear that the majority of the program's aims were still achieved despite changes in delivery.