A State of Security in Maximum-Security Prisons

Abstract

Picking up the story of English maximum- security prisons where the previous chapter left off, this chapter considers what might be seen as the second era of dispersal prisons, which, I argue, began in 1995 and continues up to the beginning of the second decade of the twenty- first century. It examines the policy and political contexts that contributed to the gradual decline of social welfarist principles in maximum- security prison policy and practice in favour of a more explicit emphasis on austere, harsh and repressive prison regimes. It argues that the decline in social welfarist concerns in penal policymaking was a deliberate political decision that was facilitated by key events and the responses to them. In particular, the introduction of security thinking into maximum- security prisons that coincided with the change in policy focus has proven to be a useful tool for introducing, retaining and legitimising austere and repressive policies.KeywordsCriminal JusticePrison OfficerPrison StaffPenal PolicyPrison LifeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.