EXAM CONTENT PRISONS

• Purposes of prisons

  • Keeping the public safe (via incapacitation)
  • Punishment (the delivery of justice)
  • Deterrence (Specific and general prevention from future offending)
  • Rehabilitation (also referred to as 'resettlement' or 're-entry')
• Resettlement

  PRACTICAL

  • We lock up many. Most prisoners will eventually return to the community

  ETHICAL

  • The state has already deprived an individual of their liberty and should therefore take responsibility for ensuring no further harm/ punishment

  LEGAL

  • International and European Human Right Legislation. Children's rights (Children in prison as well as children of prisoners)

  COST

  • It is expensive to incarcerate
• Pathways out of offending

  Social Exclusion Unit’s report (2002) led to development of the cross-government National Reducing Re-offending Delivery Plan (2005)

  1. Accommodation
  2. Education, training & employment 
  3. Health
  4. Drugs and alcohol 
  5. Finance, benefit and debt 
  6. Children and families 
  7. Attitudes, thinking and behaviour

  Through the gate provision

  Additional pathways for women

  8. Women who have experienced violence

  9. Women involved in sex work
• Prisoner education Key facts

  • High levels of undiagnosed and diagnosed learning difficulties
  • Multiple exclusions, and negative or disrupted experiences of formal education
  • High prevalence of poor English and maths at entry to prison
  • 63,744 prisoners participated in courses (2022 - 23)
  • Ofsted raised this provision of education in prison
  • Most 'Require improvement' or are 'inadequate'
  • There are estimated to be over 4000 teachers working in prisons
• Prisoner education key facts

  • More prisoners are assessed on arrival as having English and Maths entry level 1-3 (primary school level) than Level 1 and 2 combined (GCSE level)
  • Nearly 1/3 of prisoners self identified as having a learning difficulty and/or disability
  • Out of 101,600 learners, under the previous OLASS (offenders learning and skills service) contracts for prison education, only 100 prisoners participated in a full level 3 course in 2014/15 (Equivalent to A level), with none participating at level 4 or above
• Prisoner education key facts

  • 1/5 of prisoners say they would have preferred to be studying at a higher level than they were currently
• Wellbeing and meaningful activity

  • Education improves mental health outcomes for prisoners (NOMS, 2013)
  • Education is a protective factor against self harm, suicide and violence (Ombudsman, 2014)
  • Education provides a coping mechanism (Hughes, 2012)
  • Education as a 'third space', distinct from the rest of the prison (Physically and emotionally) (Wilson, 1999; 2000; 2003)
  • Time spent in education is often time out of cell and a form of meaningful activity
• Barriers to Learning in Prison

  IMPORTATION EFFECTS

  • Negative experiences of education
  • Low confidence and self esteem
  • Issues of engagement

  DEPRIVATION EFFECTS

  • IT access
  • Pay scales - difference between work and education
  • Engaging courses
  • Length of classes
  • Environment conducive to learning
  • Staffing
  • Safety
  • And COVID
• Prison Healthcare

  • HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (1996) Patient or Prisoner? A New Strategy for healthcare in prisons
  • Critical review of health from chief inspectorate of prisons
  • Staffing: Inadequately qualified, lacked suitable training, low morale, poor communication, professional isolation
  • Health needs not assessed
  • Control from Home Office > Department of health and NHS
  • Bringing prison health into public health
• Prison Healthcare

  Health Promoting Prisons: A shared Approach (2002)

  Five topic Areas:

  1. Mental health promotion and well being
  2. Smoking cessation
  3. Healthy eating and nutrition
  4. Health Lifestyle (E.g. Sexual health, relationships, active living)
  5. Drug and other substance abuse
• The Importation - Deprivation model of health (de Viggiani 2007)

  IMPORTATION FACTORS

  • Health needs before prison
  • Beliefs about health
  • Cultures
  • Attitudes

  DEPRIVATION FACTORS

  • Stress of incarceration
  • Living in confinement
  • Physical environment
  • Boredom
  • Restrictions over (health promoting) behaviours
  • Isolation from friends and family
• Women in prison

  • As of Feb 2nd 2024, the female prison population in England & Wales was 3588, representing just over 4% of the prison population
  • There were just over 1500 in 1993
  • Prisons for women make up around 10% of the prisons in England & Wales (none actually in Wales)
  • Most women entering prison to serve a sentence (68%) have committed a non-violent offence
  • More women are sent to prison for theft than violence against the person, robbery, sexual offences, fraud, drugs and motoring offences combined
• Women in prison

  • The proportion of women serving short prison sentences has risen sharply
  • In 1993, only 1/3 of custodial sentences given to women were for less than 6 months. in 2021 it was 50%
• Women in prison

  • 58% of women are reconvicted within 1 year of leaving prison
  • This rises to 73% for sentences of less than 12 months and to 83% for women who have served more than 11 previous custodial sentences
  • Women are generally more positive than men about the benefits of purposeful activity in prison in helping them on release
  • However, just 4% of women were in paid employment 6 weeks after release from custody compared to 11% of men
  • Females represent less than 5% of prisoners but 10% of individuals who self harmed in the 12 month period from dec 2015 - 16
• Women in prison

  • A large number of women in contact with the CJS have been involved in sex work: 21% of women in prison reporters being involved with prostitution, with 74% linking it to drug addiction (NOMS, 2021)
  • Women are predominantly sole or primary carers of children
  • In 2010, over 17,000 children were separated from their mothers due to imprisonment
• Women's Pathways into Crime

  Research indicates women are predominantly victims of violence and domestic abuse prior to entering prison:

  • 46% of women in prison reported having suffered a history of domestic abuse (MoJ, 2013)
  • 1 in 3 had experienced some form of sexual abuse 
• Women’s Pathways into Crime

  Substance misuse is another key factor for many women in prison:

  • In 2009, 24% of female offenders had a drug abuse problem linked to their offence
  • 52% of 135 women surveyed in prison said they had used heroin, crack or cocaine in 4 weeks prior to being in custody (Prison Reform Trust, 2014)
  • 70% of women in prison require clinical detoxification upon entering prison (Prison Reform Trust, 2014) 
• Women’s Pathways into Crime

  Mental Illness is also a key factor in female crime

  • 46% of women in prison have attempted suicide at one point in their life, compared to 4% of women in the general population and 21% of male prisoners (Bromley Briefings, 2015) 
  • 1 in 7 women sentenced have a psychotic disorder 

  Economic Marginalisation:

  • Disconnections from legitimate institutions, such as schools and workplace can also lead women into contact with the criminal justice system
  • 38% of mothers in prison stated a need to ‘support their children’ as a reason for their criminal behaviour
• Women's pathways into crime

  Relationships

  • Female criminal involvement is often linked to relationships with family and significant others
  • 35% of female offenders report having a criminal partner compared to 6% of men (Smith-Yau, 2009)
• The Corston Report

  “Equality does not mean treating everyone the same. The new gender equality duty means that men and women should be treated with equivalent respect, according to need. Equality must embrace not just fairness but also inclusivity. This will result in some different services and policies for men and women” (p.3)
• Pregnancy & childcare in prison

  Mother and baby units (MBUs) allow:

  • Women who give birth in prison to apply to keep their baby for 18 months
  • Women who enter prison with children under the age of 18 months to apply to bring their baby into prison

  MBUs should be calm places with a welcoming atmosphere, which encourages children to thrive – but what is the reality? 

  6 units with 64 places for women, 70 places for babies across England and Wales (House of Commons Justice Committee, 2022)
• Pregnancy and childcare in prison

  • In 2016/17, 96 applications were received for admission into an MBU. Of these, 67 applications (70%) were approved and twelve (13%) were refused
  • Monitored by Ofsted
• Why are Independent Prison Inspections Needed?

  • Public accountability
  • Closed environment
  • Public attitudes
  • Supposed lack of credibility of detainee
  • Power imbalance of gaoler and prisoner
• The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

  Article 1:

  The objective of the present Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
• Independent Monitoring Boards

  • Every prison in England and Wales
  • Statutory bodies (Prison Act 1952)
  • Volunteers
  • On-the-spot monitoring and intervention
  • Prisoner and staff concerns
  • Attend serious incidents
  • Monitor significant processes
  • Ensure ‘humane & just’ treatment and adequate release preparation
  • Each IMB writes an annual report
  • Lack of independence and diversity?
  • No regulatory powers
• Prisons and Probation - Ombudsman

  • Investigates complaints appeals
  • Investigates deaths in detention – including natural causes & babies
  • Investigates deaths of recently released prisoners (except homicide)
  • Recommendations followed up by HMIP
  • No regulatory powers
  • Publishes annual and thematic reports
• HM Inspectorate of prisons

  • Statutory duty to report on treatment and conditions in detention
  • Focus on outcomes and encourage improvement
  • ‘Expectations’ based on international human rights standards
  • No enforcement  powers
  • Unfettered access
• Healthy prison test

  • Safety – Prisoners, particularly the most  vulnerable, are held safely
  • Respect – Prisoners are treated with respect for their human dignity
  • Purposeful activity – Prisoners are able and expected  to engage in activity that is likely to  benefit them
  • Rehabilitation and  release planning – contact with family and  friends, management of risk of harm, release preparation