The Changing Role of Prisons Flashcards
Describe ‘imprisonment today’.
=> Has not provided to be an effective method of rehabilitation as 2/3 of the prison population go on to re-offend following their release from prison.
=> Since the 1980s, there’s been a move to ‘populist putiveness’ (politicians have called for tougher sentences in order to gain electoral popularity).
=> As a result of ‘populist putiveness’, the prison population has swollen to a record size.
=> Overcrowding has occurred as a result of this; adding to problems of poor sanitation, clothing shortages, lack of education/work opportunities and inadequate family visits.
What is meant by the term ‘populist putiveness’?
Politicians have called for tougher sentences in order to gain electoral popularity.
What has happened as a result of ‘populist putiveness’?
=> Prison population has swollen to a record size.
=> Overcrowding has occurred; adding to problems of poor sanitation, clothing shortages, lack of education/work opportunities and inadequate family visits.
Describe ‘the era of mass incarceration’.
=> Garland.
=> Since the 1970s, the number of prisons has risen rapidly.
=> Black Americans are only 13% of the US population, yet they make up 37% of the prison population.
What does Downes argue might be the ideological function of ‘the era of mass incarceration’?
The US prison system soaks up around 30-40% of the unemployed, thereby making capitalism appear more successful.
Describe ‘transcarceration’.
=> The idea that individuals become locked in a cycle of control, shifting between different carceral agencies throughout their lives.
=> E.g. someone might be brought up in care, and may then be sent to a young offenders institution before they are sent to prison; they may also have periods in a mental hospital in between.
=> Some sociologists see transcarceration as blurring the boundaries between criminal justice and welfare agencies.
Describe ‘alternatives to prisons’.
=> Growth in the range of community based controls in recent years, such as curfews, community service orders, treatment orders and electronic tagging.
=> However, numbers in custody have been rising, especially among the young.
=> Cohen argues that the increased range in sanctions available simply enables the control to penetrate even deeper into society.
