#15029 - Prisons - Criminology

Importance of justice in prison

• Woolf Report: “prisoners as well as staff, must feel the system is itself fair and just”

• Justice cannot merely put a person in prison and end there

Need for fairness (Easton and Piper)

• Prisoners are especially vulnerable to arbitrary treatment

  • Invisible and marginalized, separated from the rest of society

• Contributes to the process of normalisation, so that they will be better equipped (and less jaded) when re-entering society

• If release is based on completing courses, they must be given the opportunity to do so

Aims of punishment

• Retributivism: offender is an autonomous individual who should be treated with respect

  • Punishment is in deprivation of liberty, not ill-treatment

• Utilitarianism: positive aspects of prison can improve rehabilitative function

• Rehabilitation: prisoners’ rights must be respected

Purposes of imprisonment

• Jack Straw (SSJ in 2008): “Prisons are, as they should be, first and foremost places of punishment, primarily through the deprivation of liberty but also through a regime behind bars which is tough and fair”

  • But also recognised that they must allow for “reformed behaviour and rehabilitation”

• Prison Service Statement of Purpose (1988)

  • Serves the public “by keeping in custody those committed by the courts”

  • Duty is to “look after them with humanity and help them to lead a law abiding life in prison and on release”

• Woolf Report: need to strike a balance between security, control and justice

  • Justice is often displaced by a focus on control and security

• ‘Decency’ agenda (1999)

  • “caring for and treating with respect everybody in the Service’s care”

• National Offender Management Service (NOMS)

  • Prison Service became part of NOMS in 2004 after the Carter Review

  • NOMS became part of the MoJ in 2007

  • NOMS Statement of Purpose: “commission and provide offender management services … ensuring best value for money”

    • Aim to protect the public and reduce reoffending while supporting rehabilitation

• Prison Rule 3: conduct training and treatment to encourage and assist prisoners to lead a “good and useful life”

• Increased demand over the years has led to prison building

  • 21 new prions opened between 1980 and 1996

  • 20,000 new places from 1997 to 2010

• Increased use of private prisons

• Now, approximately 120 prisons and 13 private prisons

  • 84,078 prisoners

  • 12 women’s prisons (might have baby units for children up to 2 years of age)

    • Since there are so few, likely to be further from home

• Not all prisons are purpose-built

  • Includes converted houses, military camps and other buildings

• Closure of small, expensive prisons

  • Clustering of prisons into a single area/compound so as to reduce spending

    • Reduced costs for separate management staff and services

    • BUT harder to manage since they are larger

• Types of prisons

  • Local prisons

    • In towns and cities

    • Usually used for remand prisons or for temporary purposes

      • Post-sentence for assessment before transfer to a training prison

      • Possibly for short sentences and those at the end of sentences

    • Usually have the worst over-crowding and worst conditions

    • Includes some core local prisons with high security (e.g. Belmarsh)

  • Training prisons

    • Might be closed or open

    • Includes specialist prisons (e.g. therapeutic prisons like Grendon)

    • Open training prisons are used for Cat D prisoners

      • Allows prisoners to work in prison or in the local community

      • Ford Open Prison riots in 2011

        • Buildings set alight and damage inflicted

  • Vulnerable Prisoners’ Units

    • For vulnerable prisoners (e.g. sex offenders) who might be assaulted by other prisoners

  • Close Supervision Centres (CSC)

    • In High Security prisons

    • For severely disruptive or violent prisoners

    • More time spent locked up and strictly structured regime

  • Protected Witness Units

• Cost of prison

  • Approximately 37,000 per place

  • For Oakwood (new prison), average cost of 13,000 - 16,000 per prisoner

    • Private prison run by G4S, originally meant to be a “titan” prison

• Categorisation is governed by the National Security Framework

  • Prisoners should be placed in the lowest category consistent with the need for security and control

  • Categorisation takes into account current sentence as well as previous convictions and escapes (or escape attempts)

  • Categorisation is reviewed regularly (yearly) on the basis of risk of danger to the public and risk of escape

• 4 main categories used for adult male prisoners

  • Young adult offenders and women offenders are classified as Cat A or restricted or suitable for open conditions

• Category A

  • Prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or police or the security of the state

  • Decisions regarding Cat A prisoners are made by a Category A Committee at NOMS Headquarters, whereas other prisoners are dealt with by the Governor

  • Sub-classification

    • Standard

    • High risk: e.g. members of gangs with access to resources for escape

    • Exceptional risk: have the skills, resources and determination to escape

      • Held in special security units

  • More likely to be transferred between prisons

    • This makes it difficult for them to complete educational or offending behaviour courses, which in turn affects their chances of reclassification

  • Sent to high-security prisons

    • Currently 8 high security prisons

    • More stringent measures (e.g. electronic surveillances, searching of inmates and visitors, higher levels of staffing)

    • Reasonable conditions for those with longer sentences

      • Education and work opportunities

  • Some might be dispersed amongst Cat B prisoners in high-security prisons

    • Radzinowicz: recommended avoiding creating a “no hope” climate in purely Cat A prisons

  • R (P) v SSHD (2002): elderly and ill prisoner placed in Cat A

    • Unlikely to escape but if he did would be highly dangerous

    • Court: prison service could make escape virtually impossible for highly dangerous prisoners but should consider individual cases

• Category B

  • Escape must be made very difficult for them, but the maximum security conditions are not required

  • Might remain in local prisons for short sentences or be sent to high-security or closed training prisons

• Category C

  • Cannot be trusted in open conditions

  • But unlikely to make a determined escape attempt, so not Cat B

  • Sent to closed training prisons

• Category D

  • Trusted in open conditions

  • Likely to comply with conditions as they want to be released

  • Might be sent to a resettlement prison shortly before release

    • To arrange work and increase family contact

• Woolf Report (1991)

  • Result of the Strangeways Prison Riot in 1990

    • 25 day riot causing 1 death and many injuries as well as 55 million of damage to the prison

    • Led to further riots in other prisons and Young Offenders Institutions

  • Report found that the prisoners had legitimate grievances and recommended major reform of the system

    • Regimes were impoverished with little access to education and work

    • Staff had a culture of indifference while the prisoners felt unfairly treated

  • Feeling of injustice played a more significant role than overcrowding

  • Recommendations

    • Give reasons for decisions and improve legitimacy

    • Have a proper and fair grievance and disciplinary procedure

    • Prisoners should not be made to share cells

    • There should be adequate sanitation and hygiene standards

  • Well received by government and prison reformers

    • Immediate improvements in access to phones, visiting arrangements and prison conditions

    • National operating standards introduced in 1994 but since overtaken by Key Performance Indicator Targets

    • Reform of the Prison Rules in 1999

    • Improved end-to-end management

      • Personal Officer assigned to prisoners

      • Sentence planning to make the best use of the time in prison

      • More cooperation between Prison and Probation Service

    • Appointment of Ombudsman in 1994 as means of appeal against decisions in disciplinary hearings (also covers immigration detention, prison conditions, deaths in custody, treatment by officers etc.)

      • Can make non-binding report and recommendations which are usually accepted

      • However, the internal procedures in prison must be exhausted first

  • BUT some aspects not implemented

    • Use of small community prisons nearer to the prisoners’ homes

    • Balance of security, control and justice

      • Greater emphasis on security after several escapes in mid-1990s

    • Prisons still face problems of poor physical conditions and staff relations

    • Insufficient work provision

• Prisons governed by Prison Rules 1999

  • Frequently updated and amended

  • Generally, prison conditions have improved but are still worse off than the Netherlands (Easton, 2011)

• Prison league tables

  • Rank prisons on their performance based on key performance indicator targets

  • By forcing prisons to compete for contracts, intended to drive up standards and penalise poor performance

• Work

  • Prison Rule 31(1): prisoner “shall be required to do useful work for not more than 10 hours per day”, and this should be “outside the cells and in association with one another” where possible

  • Benefits

    • Allows prisoner to find relief from boredom and acquire skills/income

    • Helps the prison to keep prisoners occupied and ease their transition back into society (strong correlation between reoffending and unemployment)

  • There are usually insufficient work opportunities and not all offenders are suitable for all jobs

    • Availability of work can depend greatly on the specific prison

  • Woolf Report: prisoners should be allowed to work in areas which fit their abilities

    • This would allow...