Abstract
Building on prior theorization of the prison–military complex and critiques of Foucault’s claim of similarities between the prison and the military, this article uses the example of ex-military personnel as prison staff to consider the nature of this relationship. In a UK context in which policy discourse speaks of ‘military’ methods as an aspiration for the Prison Service but where critical prison scholars use this term more pejoratively, it draws on a unique survey of current and former prison staff to explore the perceived characteristics of ex-military personnel, and the relationship between military service and prison staff culture. The article finds that although some ‘military’ characteristics recall more negative ‘traditional’ cultures, others point towards more professional and compassionate attitudes, challenging the notion that ‘militarism’ necessarily engenders authoritarian and punitive prison regimes.
Highlights
Foucault’s (1991: 228) often-cited observation that ‘prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons’ draws attention to perceived similaritiesTheoretical Criminology 00(0)between these kinds of institutions
In this article we explore both perceptions of prison work, and the impressions formed about ex-military personnel by colleagues who do not share their military experience, considering how military experience may align different prison staff cultures
The few criminologists who have briefly attended to ex-military prison staff seem to position them at the heart of the tension between these two perspectives
Summary
Foucault’s (1991: 228) often-cited observation that ‘prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons’ draws attention to perceived similarities. Criminologists have not yet considered whether actual military service precedes the practices that they perceive as ‘militaristic’, we gain considerable insight into prison officers’ attitudes to prisoners, and their use of power and authority in explorations of different prison staff cultures. There remains a sense in which the military seeks to mould individuals, according to military theorists it does this in a way that diverges from those pejorative descriptions deployed by criminologists, aligning more closely to politicians’ perceptions of militarism as a balance between discipline and support These divergences between what the military is perceived to be, and the appropriateness of adopting military methods and employing (ex-)military personnel in the prison, are indicative of what Shaw (2012) described as military forms being ‘carried’ into the civilian sphere, through mentality, attitudes and social practices. In this article we explore both perceptions of prison work, and the impressions formed about ex-military personnel by colleagues who do not share their military experience, considering how military experience may align different prison staff cultures
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