This article summarizes the field reports from 48 countries included in the anthology published by the authors in April 2022 (Dünkel et al. 2022a), as well as other reports published elsewhere, and draws conclusions about how penal policies and prison systems should be developed to take the experiences gained in 2020 and 2021 in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic into account. Different countries responded to the pandemic in different ways and with varying degrees of effectiveness. The pandemic has provided some indications about the form that best practices should take in the future. These include renewed efforts to reduce the prison population and increased use of modern technologies to improve prisoners’ contacts with the outside world. It also points to the need for a clear legal basis that would enable better preparation for release from prison to enable a quick response to future pandemics.
