Untitled Deck Flashcards
(210 cards)
1
Q
Rocketing prison populations
A
overcrowding
2
Q
Orthodox account of the prison crisis:
A
- high prison population 2. overcrowding 3. bad conditions 4. understaffing 5. unrest amongst the staff 6. poor security 7. the toxic mix of prisoners 8. riots and other breakdowns
3
Q
Strangeways riot (1990) 1-25th April: 147 officers and 47 prisoners injured (2 died) £60 million damage
A
promoted 20 copycat prison disturbances nationwide.
4
Q
The Woolf report (1991): commissioned in the aftermath of the disturbanves at HMP strangeways to determine the cause of the riot
A
what was wrong with the prison system
5
Q
Woolf- causes of the riot:
A
issues around security and control problems with overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. 1647 men in spaced for 970. impoverished regime
6
Q
Toxic mix theory:
A
prisoners have nothing to lose/ dangerous and/or mentally ill
7
Q
Overcrowding:
A
the prison population has doubled over the last 30 years despite crime rates falling substantially
8
Q
How did we get here?
A
- sending more people to prison/ sentence inflation (IPP)- people who were considered dangerous but didn’t deserve life- would be released when they could prove they weren’t a threat (ended up being in prison longer than a life sentence)
- In and out/ revolving door recall- due to breaching license conditions. 44% increase in recalls in 2023 77% involved non-compliance 24% involved charger of further offending 36% involved failure to keep in touch 23% failure to reside
- Remand due to austerity cuts covid-19 court delays- victims having to wait years with their lives in limbo before court
9
Q
Bad conditions:
A
overcrowding leading to bad physical conditions + limited time out of cells
10
Q
Drugs in prison:
A
increase in NPS because they are less easy to detect and easier to get into prison. Increasing problem with prescription drugs- prescribed legitimately but traded amongst the prisoners either voluntarily or under duress. Issues: health implications and deathsafety issues (violence
11
Q
Internal legitimacy refers to
A
the legitimation of the prison’s power to punish in the eyes of those incarcerated
12
Q
External legitimacy refers to
A
the validity of the prison as a social institution in the eyes of those outside the prison walls
13
Q
Woolf’s findings imply that a proper level of justice contribute to the maintenance of security and control
A
others question the power relations between prison and those imprisoned
14
Q
Legitimacy and purpose: prevention of future victims
A
deterring criminal behaviour
15
Q
Durkheim:
A
punishment reinforces collective conscious- crime is a breach of societal norms- this breaches sparks collective outrage- punishment- reaffirms rules- strengthen social solidarity
16
Q
Garland:
A
reaffirming collective values- bring group together against transgression
17
Q
Prison:
A
moral superiority prisoners othered. Issues: less serious crimes
18
Q
Carvahlo and Chamberlain:
A
don’t need social cohesion- appearance of social bonds supress other anxieties
19
Q
Demographics: England and Wales 27% minority ethnic groups
A
10x higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas. 2013 Wales has consisntely had a higher imprisonment rate. Immediate custodial sentences and decline of use of community sentences could be due to wider societal factors such as poverty (more in Wales)
20
Q
Marxist: economic class and power dynamics. What is conflict theory?
A
conflict theory: powerful groups in society can use the law and justice system to protect and advance their own interests. Laws aren’t neutral- can be a tool. Crime is socially constructed- form of social control
21
Q
Prison industrial complex: web of connections between the CJS
A
politics and the economy
22
Q
Timpson have invested in a number of training academies in prisons- to potential jobs
A
23
Q
Prison in crisis:
A
- crisis of conditions: growing unease about the state of prisons 2. crisis of legitimacy: fundamental morality and function of prisons- justice and rehabilitation seen as illegitimate.
24
Q
A
25
Peter Clarke most pressing challenges prisons are facing:
violence and drugs
26
Peter Clarke solutions:
effective security regime environment to improve especially when considering MH
27
Media and politicians on prisons:
major staffing issues; high turnover rate lack of competence and confidence
28
Peter Clarke- doesn’t mention lack of funding
focuses on issues with staff ‘lack drive’
29
Media uses the idea that people should be held in prisons for their crimes to deem to the general public safe. How does the public react?
Unrest as the PM calls for more open prisons. Role of prisons is to make people feel safe and that people are getting the punishment they deserve.
30
Chamberlen and Carvalho prisons in crisis:
punishment is linked to its social role- solidarity and cohesion lack of safety for prisoners and staff (council of Europe 2017) austerity cuts (2008 economic crisis) 2017- violence and disorder in many prisons
31
Thrill of the chase:
governments strive to make prisons work although they know they are failing. The system prioritises containment over rehabilitation- prisons are breeding ground for crime
32
Derived from: Foucault- prisons to ‘punish better’ what does Durkheim say prisons do?
the social need to believe in the utility of punishment is stronger and given more importance. Durkheim- prisons not address problem of crime but to maintain and reinforce the collective consciousness lying at the core of social solidarity. Wacquant- the maintenance of a structurally violent social order through hostile solidarity.
33
Bhui: overcrowded and...
underfunded
34
Foucault-
big shift away from public torture and execution- rise of carceral culture- prisons more efficient way (power of the state- panopticon) forces people to police themselves- internalised control- better tool for managing marginal groups. CCTV same principle- prison reformed the function of punishment
35
Woolf- direct call for change- treatment of prisoners and improved conditions- capping prison size (400) procedural justice: reasons for decisions
grievance procedures and removing disciplinary function from boards of visitors to make it feel more impartial.
36
IEP scheme: encourages...
responsibility effort and achievement in work
37
Liebling- 2000s- moral performance- asked prisoners what mattered to them:
treated fairly order and safety
38
Eternal cycle of reform:
constantly trying to come up with new solutions to reform prisons “fiasco” (Mathieson 1990)
39
Political rhetoric: long lines of justice secretaries have promised reforms and ‘new approaches’ to the penal system “prison works” and “the rise of rehabilitation” . Government U-Turn: contradicted the same governments judgement that prison was ‘an expensive way of making things worse’
discontinuous of the CJA 1991 report
40
Tough on crime
law and order: tougher sentences (increased use of prisons)
41
Political rhetoric and ‘rehabilitative’ reform: broad agreement that rehabilitation needs to be at the heart of the CJS
Labour Governments 5 year strategy for protecting public and reducing reoffending (2006). 2010-2017 conservatives advocate for offender rehabilitation. 2016 David Cameron makes speech about prison and reform (first PM in 20 years)
42
Impacts on prisons
Brexit, stringent austerity cuts
43
New (more pressing) focus: the capacity crisis: more people spend longer in prison
response: 18
44
Capacity crisis and breaking point: new prisons built quickly
early release scheme 2024
45
Criticisms of penal reform
when is reform not enough
46
Durkheimian argument: a nexus of prison reform. Even if prisons are depicted as out of control- the narrative is about the lack of resources/ lack of security/ training of prisons officers- reinforces the idea that prisons are dangerous- reinforces the idea that we need prisons
47
Prison abolition: question the efficacy and..
morality of incarceration
48
Abolitionists on reform: reformist fail to acknowledge that the CJS as it is currently constructed
is a social problem itself. There is the expectation that our laws are just but society isn’t fair so how is it just for all? Crime as a social construct who reinforces and makes the law. Power and inequality and how the CJS responds to it (conflict theory). Punishment is shaped not only by patterns of criminality but how we have chosen to manage marginal groups. Out current punishment systems cannot be just
49
Reform as part of the problem- have always worked to expand rather than reduce prisons (Ryan and Sim 2007) helps to strengthen the prison and make it more resilient (Sim 2009). Strategy to reduce the system rather than strengthen...
work to reduce the size, scope and power
50
Non-reformists reforms: 1. problems caused by the aging prison population push for early or compassionate release. 2. problems caused by overcrowding- call for particular groups of prisoners to be immediately released/ recommended repeal laws and policies that funnel marginalised people into prison in the first place.
51
Penal reductionism:
argues that prison should be used less but also better. Crook 2021 "fundamentally unjust"- directly question role of prison- reform necessary to immediate rectification of human rights abuses or the immediate improvement of people’s lives
52
Abolition: a utopian goal? Total abolition of prison is thought to be hopelessly utopian. BUT: most abolitionists do not oppose all confinement- just prison as it is currently. Accept the need for the secure confinement of a small number of dangerous people; system exaggerates risk for many people. Crucially abolitionists do not stop at the prison walls: about changing society/ investing in communities and addressing harm in other ways.
53
Adapting to prison life- non negotiable “you adapt or die”
54
Pains of imprisonment- 3 core deprivations:
loss of liberty, deprivation of material goods and services
55
Deep end custody:
oppressive physical security and psychological weight ‘bearing down’ (Downes 1998)
56
Tightness- uncertainty
indeterminacy
57
Models of adaptation: Indigenous (deprivation) model prison culture is a direct response to the inherent pains and deprivations of imprisonment (role stripping and civil death [Goffman 1961] prisonisation and criminalistic ideology [Clemmer 1940]) Importation (subcultural) model is prisners importing their external behaviours and characteristics into the prison
leading to multiple and fluid subcultures (thief= professional
58
U-curve of adaptation: adaptation process as a curve from ‘kick off’ to ‘prisonisation’ to thoughts of release
emphasising the importance of “swimming with rather than against the tide” Crewe et al 2017
59
The inmate code: governs social relations within the prison
acting as “an ideal rather than a description” (Skyes 1995) Factors like gender
60
Key tenets include: no ‘grassing’
no theft from or exploitation of fellow inmates
61
Hypermasculinity and self-preservation : survival in certain prison environments requires projecting an image of toughness. This involves a certain attitude of ready to fight back and aggressive. Suppression of emotion is crucial- so that no one will mess with you.
62
Summary: adaptation to imprisonment is a complex process influenced by various factors
inherently painful- can be exacerbated by institutional policies and staff (in) action or abuse
63
Managing time constructively: filling the day with purposeful activities like work
education
64
Redemptive narratives: engaging in constructive activities can enable these (Maruna 2001)
offering a sense of purpose and self-improvement. One prisoners states “its liberating me
65
Withdrawal (Psychological absenteeism): coping through drug use (50-75% of prisoners use drugs while incarcerated)
food and eating disorders
66
Resistance (subversion): riots
escapes and assaults on staff
67
Not coping self harm and suicide: alarming rates of self harm and suicide in prisons
2023-4 there were 73
68
Factors influencing the ability to cope individual (imported) and institutional/situational (indigenous) factors affect an individual's ability to cope. Individual factors: age
gender
69
Whilst most people adapt and cope
not all do.
70
Why is imprisonment painful?
71
Swimming with the tide: In a state of social limbo
first stage of prison is characterised by bewilderment
72
Sedative coping: Hard to accept what they’ve done
long prison sentences
73
Challenges of adapting:
74
Swimming with the tide: impossible to contemplate
struggle to find meaning and purpose. Deep existential crisis
75
Sedative coping: only thing prisons have control over is behaviour
emotional numbing. Grief and remorse for what they’ve done. Disenfranchised grief-people aren’t allowed to have that grief because they caused it.
76
How might the challenges ease or change over several years?
77
Swimming with the tide: detach from the social nets of typical prisoners
keep emotional bonds with communiry
78
Sedative coping: more emotionally intelligent and self-aware- however emotional sedation may lead to it being harder to engage in community life
distant from politics and everyday life.
79
Constructive and harmful ways in which long term prisoners cope:
80
Swimming with the tide: drugs
come to terms with the prison sentence
81
Sedative coping: emotional numbing and alienation
focusing on controllable aspects of their lives. Can also only focus on themselves- absorbed in their own existential preoccupations. Feel no emotion at all- problematic when the sentence is over and released back into community.
82
Early stages of sentences- taking drugs to numb feelings (violence and debt) 10 years later- same kind of numbness but without drugs- you can't be upset angered or stressed. Deep freeze-stuck in time. Chaplaincy- someone to talk to.
83
Self harm among women: coping mechanism
lack of agency and control
84
Consensual sexual activity and rape in men’s prisons: Enforced celibacy and sexual frustration
masturbation as a coping mechanism
85
Intersectionality as an analytical framework: Crenshaw (1958) “multiple dimensions of experience” shaped by interacting social identities. Focusing on single categories (like gender or race) obscures the compounded discrimination experienced when multiple identities intersect. We all have more than one identity. Parmar (2017) and Potter (2015) reveal “compounded pains and vulnerabilities” faced by individuals in the CJS. Intersections of age and sexual offending
and gender
86
Vulnerabilities imported and compounded: Prisoners often “import pre-existing vulnerabilities” such as mental health issues
experiences of abuse and substance misuse which make adapting to prison life even more difficult. 58% report poor mental health. Abused as a child: female 53%
87
The prison environment itself can exacerbate these vulnerabilities due to: physical infrastructure is not accessible (physical layout for people with disabilities and condition of prison). The use of separate accommodations based on perceived vulnerability. Consideration of whether to separate individuals or whole categories of offenders (sex offenders)
88
Growing population of older prisoners: 17% over 50. 33% of lifers over 50
43% over 50 convicted of (historic) sexual offending
89
Institutional thoughtlessness (Crawley and Sparks 2005): physical layout
social exclusion from work
90
Attitudes towards people convicted of sexual offending: fundamentally different to other offenders
‘mad or bad’
91
Complexities of separating or integrating these offenders: integration can lead to “fronting out” or “passing” (Schwaebe 2005) but more difficult for offenders conceal crimes and access to treatment. Seperation provides greater safety and treatment access but may reinforce negative identities (Lacombe 2008) and create opportunities for problematic networking.
92
Managing a spoiled identity (Goffman 1963): coping strategy through scapegoating
offending hierarchies. Camaraderie (Mann 2012). Deliberate ignorance of each others offences (Levins and Crewe 2015)
93
Women prisoners: 69% for non-violent offences- low level but persistent property offending
77% imprisoned for less than 12 months
94
The ‘Cinderella’ Female Estate: sometimes overlooked. 12 open and closed prisons in England
4 suitable for restricted status women
95
Intersectionality: intersecting vulnerabilities faced by women in prison
particularly the convergence of gender and race. Experiences are not homogenous; a one size fits all approach fails to address specific needs.
96
Distinctive profile of women prisoners: women represent 4% of the population with distinctive offending profile and characteristics- nonviolent offences and short sentences- often stemming from low level but persistent property offending with 77% imprisoned for less than 12 months. Suggesting imprisonment may not be the most effect or appropriate response for many female offenders
97
Motherhood as a key issue: loss of mothering role is a key traumatic aspect of imprisonment
affects 17500 children each year (Kincaid et al 2019)
98
Racial bias and “pains of racism”: race exacerbates the challenges faced by women in prison
introduced the idea of “pains of racism” (Phillips 2013) as a source of adverse treatment in risk assessment
99
Black mothers in prison: support of but also pitfalls of ‘mother work’ in Black communities (Collins 2020)
keenly felt sense had ‘let down’ the black community and black offenders
100
Self-harm and Trauma: high rates of self harm among women prisoners are linked to imported trauma from experiences of abuse and adverse childhood experiences
can be difficult around male staff. Restrticive and punitive rather than supportive
101
Women’s sources of ‘particular vulnerabilities’ (Corston
2007) 60% experienced domestic violence and abuse
102
Need for gender specific
trauma informed approaches: advocates for a shift towards gender-specific
103
Reduce the use of imprisonment for women
particularly non-violent offences
104
Implement trauma-informed care and gender-specific programs in prisons
105
Address racial bias in the CJS and prison administration
106
Provide adequate support for mothers in prison and their children
107
Invest in community-based alternatives to incarceration
108
The gendered pains of LI: female LSPs more likely to report ‘traumstic life events’ before imprisonment
more emotional and psychological distress whilst in prison
109
How could prison respond differently to support these needs? Offer therapy services for women’s past pains
make sure to maintain family bonds- especially with children. Make sure prisoners can have some alone time (whilst being watched but down time)
110
Significance of ‘the visit’: whether the rehabilitative systems work depend on whether family visits
dependent on MH
111
How could prison respond differently? Dedicated staff group that work in prison hall visits all the time
prisons easier and cheaper to get to
112
Therapy helps prisoners understand why the crime committed was wrong
exercise gives prisoners a release
113
Deprivation of relationships and pains of parenting from prison
starts before imprisonment- effect of arrest
114
Importance of (social) visits- experience: secondary prisonisation
legal rights beyond the prisoners. Incarceration reaches more deeply into the substance of family and community life than standard accounts of criminal sanctions suggest. Tranforms the material and social lives of families
115
193
000-312
116
Initial effects for families: financial and practical prpblems from loss of ‘breadwinner’/ parent
‘courtesy stigma’ (Goffman) taking on the spoiled identity of the prisoner
117
Impact on children: adverse childhood experience- 25% more likely to suffer poor mental health than children without a parent in prison (Jones et al 2013)
maternal absence generally more damaging- but varies according to nature of attachment and availability of other care givers. Worry
118
Experiences of visiting: secondary prisonisation- families defined and managed by the physical and symbolic space of prison
visiting as a ceremony of belittlement among quasi-inmates people at once legally free and palpably bound (Comfort 2003). Strip searches
119
Difficulties of visiting: maintaining contact
limited opportunities and difficulty booking
120
Importance of visits: helps resettlement and desistance (Farmer 2017)
encourages good behaviour among prisoners (IEP) more visits if the prisoner is well behaved
121
Legal rights beyond the offender: prisoner has rights to receive visits but note vice versa
article 8 recognised by HMPPs policy
122
Parallels with Hirst V UK (2005)- prisoners continue to enjoy all fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under convention (right to vote)
inability to reproduce not an ‘inevitable and necessary’ consequence of imprisonment
123
The European alternative: Dickson- “has not yet interpreted the convention as requiring contracting states to make provision for (private) visits”. But- ECHR signatories support these visits as human right (Vladu et al) Variations: security category
sentence length
124
Rehabilitation in prisons: prisons offer a variety of ‘purposeful activities’
accredited offending behaviour programmes
125
Risk-need-responsivity (deficits-focused): 1. Risk: intensity and type of intervention must match assessed level of risk of re-offending-focus on high to medium risk only; may be harmdul to low-risk offenders. 2. Need: dynamic factors (criminogenic needs) only- big four variables: pro-criminal attitudes and associates
anti-social personality
126
The good lives model (strengths based): people are goal directed and seek out ‘primary goods’ which increase psychological well-being and personal fulfilment
achieved through ‘secondary goods’: relationships
127
A good life
not just a less harmful one (Ward 2002
128
Therapuetic community (TC) regime: small group psychosocial therapy: psychic determinism (everything has meaning)
slow open groups (non-directive)
129
Community meetings: democratisation and flattened hierarchy
self-policing and therapeutic feedback
130
Rep jobs and communal living: communal dining
social evenings and family visits
131
Early abuse/ trauma/insecure attachment- unconscious motives
fears and unresolved conflicts- maladaptive protective behaviours- requires provision of secure base (Bowlby 1998) and corrective emotional experience (Yalom
132
Social learning: two way communication of content and feeling
listening
133
TCs in the penal state: 1. Gredon- 1962- 233 places including 40 sexual offenders and 20 for TC+- for the damaged disturbed and dangerous (Shine and Newton 2000) Highest MQPL of Cat B prisons (Bennet and Shuker 2018). 2. Gartree (GTC): 1992- 25 places + 12 places in TC + and PIPE. 3. Dovergate: 2001- 200 places including 20 for TC+. 4. Warren Hill: 2014- 40 places and PIPE 5. Send: 2004-24 places for women
pre-PIPE and PIPE.
134
Prisoners must voluntarily apply and be assessed suitable
18 months minimum
135
How TCs ‘Work’ (Stevens 2013): developing insights into one’s life and behaviours
enculturation into the ‘TC way’
136
Beyond TCs: rehabilitative values and practices; TCs remain distinct and marginal- unsuitable for most prisoners
but they exemplify importance of and encourage thinking about how to create a rehabilitative culture (Mann et al 2018; Mann 2019) and enabling environment in prisons
137
Summary: change for the better should be embedded in the prison regime
the RNR model dominates theory of offender rehabilitation and in prisons is operationalised through cognitive behavioural OBPs
138
Not only prison officers: operational roles: occupational support grades
prison officers
139
The ‘typical’ prison officer: Then: ‘remarkably homogenous group of…middle aged family men with military backgrounds’ (Marsh et al 1985 cited in Liebling et al 2011) Now: cross-posting
greater emphasis on interpersonal skills than physical strength. Some evidence lower levels of violence in men’s prisons with good levels of female staff (Tewksbury and Collins 2006). Continuities: very basic entry requirements
140
Prisoner officers motivations: motivated by ‘economic pragmatism’ or/and ‘self actualisation’ (Arnold 2016)
why people become prison officers reflects- and over time
141
Officers’ multiple roles: ‘Turnkeys and warders
security and supervision of offenders as the priority
142
Importance of occupational culture and institutional memory
importance of individual experience in knowing which ‘hat’ to wear
143
Prisoners’ views on psychologists: HMMPS single largest employer of (forensic) psychologists in E&W
primary task (KPT) in prisons is report writing: assessment of risk and criminogenic needs (pre and post- OBPs)
144
Yet- most psychologist report positive relationships with prisoners (Warr 2021)- motivated by doing good and seeing good results and by the intellectual and professional challenges of the work. Humanists: every prisoner has the ability to change with support and treatment
frustrated by focus on risk-orientated work
145
Getting to the gate: when a prisoner is release depends upon: the length of the sentence
their behaviour in prison
146
Length of sentence: fixed term or determinate prison sentence
extended sentence and indeterminate sentences
147
Determinate prison sentences: the courts set a fixed length for the prison sentence (most common type of prison sentence).
148
Custody: many will be standard determinate sentences with automatic release at the halfway point
recent changes: early release scheme- linked to prison crisis. Exceptions of rules for: anyone sentenced over 7 years and to certain sexual/dangerous offence- automatic release at two thirds of a sentence
149
Release conditioning: many will be on license for the remainder of their sentence
if this period is less than 12 months
150
Home detention curfew: early release for prisoners on determinate sentences: serving between three months and four years. Offenders released 180 days before automatic release. Electronically tagged and a curfew imposed
if breached can be recalled. Ease overcrowding
151
Extended sentences: assessed as dangerous but life sentence not justified. 1. custodial period- either released automatically after 2/3 of sentence or eligible for parole. If they don’t get parole- released automatically at the end of sentence. 2. Extended period of license: period decided by the judge based on length of time considered necessary for protecting the public from harm.
152
Indeterminate prison sentences: no fixed length of time- must spend a minimum amount of time in prison (tariff) before being considered for release. Life sentence type of indeterminate sentence (mandatory and discretionary)
subject to a life sentence for the rest of their life in prison. For all other offenders the judge will set a minimum term an offender must serve before they can be considered for release by parole board. Will remain on license for the rest of their life and can be recalled if considered a risk. There is no end date- up to behaviour of prisoner.
153
Parole today: responsible got the release of those sentenced to an extended
indeterminate and life sentence. Transfer decisions to open prisons
154
What is a parole board? Independent body that carries out risk assessments
introduced in 1968. 2018-19 parole board rules amended to allow summaries of decisions to be provided to victims and other interested parties- introduction of a reconsideration mechanism.
155
Root and Branch (2022) review of Parole system: public hearings
who decides?
156
Public involvement: arguments for: procedural justice
deliver on pledge to make systems more transparent
157
What do parole members think? Many view the public as ill informed and overly-emotional
influenced by high profile cases (Roberts 1992)
158
IPP: introduced in England and Wales 2005- people considered dangerous but didn’t merit a life sentence- abolished in 2012 and replaced by the extended sentence. This was due to it being used inconsistently and for less serious offenders also was difficult for prisoners to access the interventions needed to demonstrate they were no longer a risk.
159
Parole outcomes: around 1 in 4 prisoners reviewed meet the test for release
during 2021/22 fewer than 0.5% of prisoners released by the parole board were charged with a serious further offence. Two and a half times as many people were sentenced to 10 years or more in the 12 months to June 2021 than the same period in 2008. sentence inflation.
160
Resettlement: prisoners are prepared for their release back into society and effectively helped to reduce their likelihood of reoffending. Covers other factors that are important in determining criminal behaviour
capture the social needs of offenders.
161
Resettlement provision: outcome focused objective to reduce re-offending and so protect the public through: support with practical problems/ criminogenic needs and prepare prisoners for release
short term: control and manage offenders’ risk in the community (license period)
162
7 resettlement pathways: employment (reduces risk of reoffending by between a third and a half)
stable accommodation (reduced by 1/5)
163
Offender rehabilitation act 2014- central elements of TR. Prisoners serving a sentence of less than 12 months would receive a mandatory 12 month period of post release supervision.
164
HMIP report 2017- none of the aspirations had been met
the split between NPS and CRCs was reversed and all risk levels back under the national probation service. Short sentence support remained.
165
New sentencing bill 2023- move away from short custodial sentences in favour of community punishment and rehabilitation system.
166
Resettlement prisons- a whole new prison approach- “altering the culture of prisons not easy” (Bennet 2016). Probation service weakened by successive failed reforms- staffing crisis and overstretched workloads. Prisoners also have complex needs.
167
Open prisons- overcrowding and resettlement- 11 in the UK- reverse prisonisation. Prepares for full release. Assess risk in the real world before release.
168
Pains of open prison- taste of freedom but not real freedom. Coping mechanisms: over-reliance on rituals and routines- fragility of life within open prisons. Shammas (2014)- “confusion
anxiety and boundlessness” have to resist temptation/ individual responsibility- release seen as ‘concrete and tangible’ (Micklethwaite and Earle 2020) coping mechanisms to remain productive Barriers to resettlement: may not have been integrated into society in the first place- reformed may make them feel they have to form themselves all over again (Sparks and Farrall 2006). Family- 45% lose contact 22% married (longer term) prisoners divorce of separate. Employment- 11-13% prisoners never had a job
169
Resettlement is separate punishment.
170
The most fundamental question is not whether society can resettle prisoners but whether it really wants to (Maguire and Raynor 2006) stigma
social exclusion
171
Shover (1996) defines desistance as ‘the voluntary termination of serious criminal participation’ often redefined as temporary non-offending.
172
Maruna and Farralls (2004) two phases of desistance: Primary desistance: any crime free gap in the course of a criminal career. Secondary desistance: movement from the behaviour of non-offending to the adoption of a non-offending role or identity.
173
Tertiary desistance- social recognition of change and the development of a sense of belonging (McNeill 2016)
174
Nugent and Schinkel (2016): Act-desistance- for non-offending behaviour. Identity desistance- for the interalisation of non-offending identity. Relational desistance- recognition of change by others.
175
Individual and agentic theories: links between age and criminal behaviour- emphasise individual cognitive processes informed by RCT.
176
Social and structural theories: social bonds and control- external such as family
employment or education. Social learning.
177
Interactionist: interaction between individual agency and social structures.
178
Situational: various aspects of people’s social environments and ‘routine activities’ influence behaviour. Effectiveness of each theory:
179
Individual and agentic theories: age-crime curve- shows that offending rates peak in late adolescence/ young adulthood and decrease with age. Suggest people naturally grow out of crime due to physical and mental changes. Fail to account for life-course events or socio-cultural
situational or institutional influences.
180
Rational choice theories: emphasise individual agency. No explanation as to how societal processes constrain decision making or the capacity to realise intentions. Struggle to explain what triggers initial decision or why commitments are sustained in challenging times. Agency is context-dependent and conditioned by social context.
181
Social learning: association with non-criminal peers
less exposure to criminal behaviour and developing attitudes favourable to desistance encourage giving up crime. While identifying relevant factors- debate about the mechanisms.
182
Informal social control: informal ties to institutions in early adulthood can encourage desistance- these bonds are often by chance or default. Generalise and over-simplify explanations. Life events and there impact are likely shaped by desistance. Importance of cultural and structural contexts and socio-economic changes in affecting how social relations are experienced and their impact on behaviour. Over reliance on male-samples- ties like marriage and employment is less evident in women. Employment itself doesn’t necessarily trigger desistance; rather how they influence identity and goals. Fail to illuminate how social structures or institutions shape decisions.
183
Situational: add a new dimension by focusing on situational and spatial elements- less established and explored.
184
Interactionist: focus on interaction between structure and agency. Fail to elaborate on the process of reflexivity
185
Norway
186
Comparative penology- rationale
political economies.
187
Two extremes of exceptionalism Norwegian penal system- social democratic political economy
principle of normalisation
188
Comparative penology: broadens perspectives on legal systems
etiological assumptions about crime and approaches to punishment (Neklen 2010) reveals potential for ‘policy transfer’.
189
Importance of political economy (Esping-Anderson 1990; Cavadino and Dignan 2006; Lacey 2008): to understanding relationships between political and economic institutions and approaches to crime and punishment. Goes beyond per capita rates of imprisonment (positivist data collection) to include varieties of capitalism
differences in welfare state regimes and levels of inequality.
190
Nordic political and social structure: criminal justice= penal welfarism and no privatisation. Anti-othering discourse (Waggoner 2015)- high public trust in government and others
new media less sensational
191
Social democratic: ‘capitalist welfare state’
promotion of social cohesion
192
Sentencing and penal practices: 55% serve <90 days; no indeterminate sentence. But preventative detention. Not use ‘expressive’ victim impact statements. Managed prison population- sentencing queue
weekend custody. Corrections as well-regarded career with high retention rate. Three years of academic study and training
193
Principle of normalisation: prison conditions are life inside to resemble life outside ‘as much as possible’. New prisons: little conventional physical security
‘access to nature’
194
Rehabilitation and resettlement ‘from day one’. Little use of cognitive-behavioural OBPs
greater use of prisons
195
Criticisms of the Norwegian approach: physical conditions ‘too good’ for prisoners? And yet psychological pains continue. ‘nationalistic and insular’ cultural and ethnic homogeneity produces greater punitiveness to ‘outsiders?. FNPs over-represented in remand population
sometimes in solitary confinement
196
Comparing penal systems allows us to move beyond ethnocentrism
rethink what is (or rather has become) ‘normal’ and to learn from the best (and worst) practices.
197
Social democratic countries pursue sentencing and penal policies which
in comparison with the penal systems of the UK
198
Norwegian penal principles and practices are widely regarded as producing the most humane- and more effective- lived experiences of imprisonment.
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American penal system- estate defies easy generalisation
neo-liberal political economy and reliance upon ‘penal controls’ (Garland 2020)
200
Neo-liberal: free market capitalism with limited government- socially conservative with emphasis upon individual freedoms and responsibilities. No universal benefits- only minimum means- tested welfare and healthcare. ‘The American dream’: entrepreneurial classless society? Or winner-loser culture with high income inequality and exclusion? Bicameral legislative congress- two party politics
supreme court political appointees.
201
Custodial sentencing practices: sentencing reform act 1984- violent crime control and law enforcement act 1994- US sentencing commission (Sentencing guidelines) Limited use of parole (truth in sentencing) and ‘earned credit’.
202
Impact of the War on drugs- disproportionately affects people of colour
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Mandatory minimum terms and ‘three strikes’ laws- Ewing v California (2003) compatible with 8th amendment. Proposition 36 (2012) Californian voter-initiated reform. Proposition 47 (2014) Californian voter-initiated reclassification of felonies to misdemeanours.
204
LWOP: all states except Alaska- expressive purpose e.g. Richard Reid 3 life term + 110 years
205
1 in 7 prisoners serving an indeterminate sentence
of whom 2 out of 3 are people of colour
206
Approx half of prison population imprisoned for drugs
207
Supermaximum security (ADX)- For the worst of the worst (Shalev 2009) Federal: ADX Florence
Colorado. State standalone or integrated ‘security housing unit’ (SHU). No clear entry or exit criteria. Brutalist design and solitary confinement- concrete furniture and shower on timer
208
Two controversial ‘re-entry’ practices: sex offender registration and notification schemes; Megan’s Law (1996) -> Adam Walsh protection and safety act (2006); Longitudinal studies show little to no deterrent effect (Zgoba et al 2018). Felony disenfranchisement (Alexander 2010
Gottschalk 2015
209
The ‘exceptionally’ punitive thesis: populism and electorate: prosecutors
judges
210
Summary: The US imprisons
proportionately
