High-security Prison Research Articles

Show of force: Studying use of force across California’s high-security prisons

Abstract When a Californian high-security prison faced accusations of corruption and abuse, investigative reporters asked data researchers Amanda K. Glazer and Jeremy Sanchez Rue to pore over the data on use of force by correctional officers against inmates. What they discovered was troubling

The Ideal Client: Selecting Candidates for Drug Treatment in Prison

Abstract Therapeutic interventions have been implemented in many prison systems around the world, in an attempt to address high rates of harmful substance use amongst people in prison. This article analyses the criteria for acceptance to drug recovery units in Norwegian prisons, based on an ethnographic study of four high-security prisons and 22 interviews with prison staff. The main criteria that were considered by staff during the assessment of potential candidates, were the timing and type of sentence applicants held; the type of offence applicants were convicted for; the types of medications they used and their perceived motivations for entering treatment.

Sensing that Something is Wrong: On the Role of Senses in Sensemaking in Frontline Safety Work

Abstract Based on an ethnography of work in a high-security prison, this article explores how safety practitioners develop specialised sensing skills through close engagement with their socio-material work environment and how they use these skills in constructing their understandings of what is going on in everyday work. The results make visible the potential role of the senses in how workers keep systems running, how they maintain safety in situations where quick reactions are needed and for the fast transition to more deliberate forms of sensemaking for early intervention. However, despite the importance prison officers ascribed to the use of the senses for their ability to work proactively, certain technologies seemed to reduce access to sensory inputs and thereby the ability to notice weak signals. This indicate challenges regarding embodied and tacit safety knowledge when more visible representations of safety are implemented. The article aims to contribute to a theoretical framework for understanding the role of senses in safety work through the concept of sensemaking as an embodied, socio-material process.

Aftermath: Radical Doubt; Radical Hope

Preti Taneja taught creative writing as part of Learning Together, Cambridge University’s prison education programme which took students into high-security prison to learn alongside incarcerated men. One of her first prison students was Usman Khan. Released on licence two years later, he went on to perpetrate the 2019 London Bridge terror attack in which Taneja’s Learning Together colleague Jack Merritt, and Saskia Jones were killed. Aftermath is Taneja’s 2021 award-winning work of abolitionist, lyric non-fiction about the attack: a searching lament on institutional violence and structural harm, Islamophobia, trauma and terror, prison and grief. This article presents two extracts from parts one and three of the book, Radical Doubt and Radical Hope, which were included in Taneja’s 2022 British Academy Lecture at the University of Leeds.

Imprisoned in an analogue bubble in digital society: Re/integration work in Norwegian high security prisons

Imprisoned in an analogue bubble in digital society: Re/integration work in Norwegian high security prisons

“The job changes you”: a reflexive thematic analysis of Australian correctional officer mental health

ABSTRACT Correctional officers (COs) work under stressful conditions and experience high rates of potentially psychologically traumatic critical incidents, and yet understanding of their mental health is limited. Therefore, the current study aimed to explore how correctional work impacts CO mental health. Twenty-two Australian COs (12 men, 10 women) working predominantly in high security prisons (91%) with male prison residents (50%) were interviewed about their mental health and workplace experiences. Reflexive thematic analysis of these interviews generated three key themes: the job changes you, it’s a stressful job, and coping strategies. Officers showed both positive and negative changes to their sense of self, daily functioning, and mental health which were generally consistent with experiences of psychological wellbeing, posttraumatic growth, and burnout. These changes were impacted by a variety of operational and organizational stressors and were managed through adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies like social support, humor, and alcohol consumption. The findings support existing theories of the non-dichotomous nature of mental health and mental illness. Along with deepening understandings of CO mental health, this study provides guidance on how COs can be supported to be healthy and productive in the workplace.

Documenting prison therapy: Insider audience perspectives on The Work (2017)

This article is an audience ethnography, focusing on the documentary The Work (dir Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous, US, 2017), which depicts a four-day therapeutic programme involving men from the community and men from a high security prison. The film was screened to audiences of people who live and work in an English prison-based therapeutic community. Previous prison-based audience studies have highlighted the significance of the media text and the characteristics and experiences of the audience, but have not specifically addressed the salience of the context in which the media is consumed. By conducting the research in an atypical penal environment, the intention is to illuminate how consumption is affected by different penal contexts. The audience offered macro, meso and micro level responses to the documentary. At a macro level, they recognised the reforming intentions of the film, but also revealed the limitations of popular culture, with its emphasis on spectacle. At a meso level, the audience offered a sophisticated and expert analysis of the content and omissions of the film’s representation of therapeutic processes and cultures. At a micro level, those serving prison sentences used the content of film as therapeutic material, reflecting on their own emotions and experiences, while the prison staff used the content to explore their professional identities. The audiences viewed the film through a therapeutic habitus, and media consumption was a way of enacting and reinforcing the expectations and practices of therapeutic community life. By highlighting the salience and variability of penal contexts, the study extends prison-based audience scholarship, but also highlights a factor that should be considered in the planning and design of media and arts programmes in prison.

Prisoners' perceived oral and general health and their experience with accessing, understanding and assessing health information: A qualitative study.

Prisoners' oral health and general health are closely connected and generally poorer than that of the wider population. Moreover, knowledge of prisoners' health literacy is scarce. This study aimed to explore prisoners' perceived oral and general health and how they accessed, understood and assessed health information to gain insight into their health literacy. Twelve prisoners in a high-security prison and a halfway house participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed through thematic analysis, which identified five themes: inconsistent self-reporting of general and oral health; autonomous health behaviour through utilizing personal resources; preference for personalized adapted health information; psychological and physical proximity; and barriers. The prisoners perceived their oral and general health as good despite several health problems. They expressed scepticism towards health information from public authorities and made their own health-related choices based on previous experiences, their own 'common sense' and the experiences of people they trusted. Health information was considered useful when adjusted to their needs. Obtaining health-related information through physical encounters was considered more accessible than through online platforms. Adapting the communication to prisoners' expressed needs and their health literacy can enhance the accessibility to improve their oral and general health. In-person encounters would be preferable.

Treating insomnia in people who are incarcerated: a feasibility study of a multicomponent treatment pathway.

Around 60% of people who are incarcerated have insomnia; 6-10 times more prevalent than the general population. Yet, there is no standardized, evidence-based approach to insomnia treatment in prison. We assessed the feasibility of a treatment pathway for insomnia in a high-secure prison to inform a future randomized controlled trial (RCT) and initial efficacy data for sleep and mental health outcomes. We used a within-participants pre-post design. The stepped-care pathway included: self-management with peer support, environmental aids, and cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTi). Assessment measures for insomnia, well-being, mood, anxiety, suicidality, overall health, sleepiness, fatigue, and cognitive functioning were administered at baseline and pathway exit. Feasibility criteria included eligibility to participate, CBTi uptake, and assessment completion. Forty-two adult males who are incarcerated were approached of which 95.2% were eligible. Of those deemed eligible, most participated (36/40, 90.0%). Most who completed baseline completed post-assessments (28/36, 77.8%) and of these, most showed improvements in their subjective sleep (27/28, 96.4%). Large reductions were found from pre- to posttreatment in insomnia severity (d = -1.81, 95% CI: 8.3 to 12.9) and 57.0% reported no clinically significant insomnia symptoms at post-assessment. There was no overall change in actigraphy-measured sleep. Large treatment benefits were found for depression, anxiety, well-being, and cognitive functioning, with a medium benefit on suicidal ideation. The treatment pathway for insomnia in prison was feasible and may be an effective treatment for insomnia in people who are incarcerated, with additional promising benefits for mental health. A pragmatic RCT across different prison populations is warranted. This paper is part of the Sleep and Circadian Health in the Justice System Collection.

Leadership in Canadian and French high security prisons expectations and perceptions

The literature has yet to study the ideal type of prison leadership in the eyes of frontline staff. Methodologically, most studies draw upon written questionnaires distributed to governors, not to their staff and analyse their data without using management or human needs theories. This study contrasts with the extant literature inasmuch as it is comparative (France/Canada) and draws upon Appreciative Inquiry interviews. It also draws upon three strands of literature and their variables: the general theory of management, self-determination theory and legitimacy of justice-procedural justice theories. The study finds that French and Canadian prison officers have needs in areas uncovered in this literature: competence, relatedness, autonomy, general fairness, respect/dignity and care. Our samples have mixed feelings about their local hierarchy; they are very critical regarding their national hierarchies. Prison officers describe their managers as being essentially either laissez-faire or as transactional. Limitations and institutional policy implications are explored.

Daily experiences and close relationships incarcerated youth: Perspectives of inmates and prison staff

The current qualitative study investigated youth’s adaptation to imprisonment through their daily life experiences and close relationships from a deprivation theory perspective. To that aim, we recruited 18 to 21-year-old Turkish men (n = 30) incarcerated for violent, property, or sexual offenses and the staff (n = 13) employed in the same high-security prison unit. We ran six focus group interviews with the youth and two group interviews with the staff at the prison in May 2019. Staff focus groups were separate for security guards (n = 7) and service providers (n = 6). The emergent themes from youth group interviews indicated social deprivation factors, including stigma and discrimination, estrangement with peers, longing for the family, and building closer relationships with siblings and parents via family visitations. Youth also endorsed non-parental adults in prison as essential sources of financial, social, and emotional support in adaptation to prison and referred to their newly established peer relationships as kinship. Youth anticipated experiencing stigma following their discharge, especially in close relationships. Prison staff reported negative attitudes about youth, families, and peers. Contrary to the youth's reports, prison staff interpreted the youth's close relationships as toxic; they blamed families for the youth's suffering and perceived their new relationships with peers and non-parental adults as 'deviancy training.' The findings demonstrated the ambiguity and precarity of relationships with significant others during incarceration, youth’s struggles to adjust to the prison context, and the dynamics of forming new close relationships with cellmates. Intimate relationships could be sources of distress but also support for incarcerated youth.

Hepatitis C virus point-of-care RNA testing: Experience from screening an entire high-security Australian prison population over 3 days

ObjectivePoint-of-care testing for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in high-risk populations is key to diagnosing and eliminating HCV. We aimed to test all occupants for HCV in an entire prison. MethodsAll consenting participants at the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre were tested for HCV over 3 days using fingerstick samples. Participants with HCV were linked to care by a Nurse Practitioner experienced in HCV management. Results211 of 244 participants of the prison population at the time (86%) consented and were tested. 17 participants (8%) had HCV, of who 14 commenced antiviral therapy ≤1 week of testing, 1 was later approved for antiviral therapy in consultation with a physician, and 2 due for release were followed-up and linked to care in the community. Education and counselling provided before testing was rated as very good or excellent by 47% of participants. ConclusionsTesting occupants in a high-security prison of this size is feasible and can provide an overview of HCV infectivity. Testing combined with linkage to care will support the elimination of HCV in this high-risk population. Implications for public healthPoint-of-care testing for HCV in prisons with dedicated clinicians, resources, and partnerships, particularly at prison entry, can contribute to eliminating HCV in Australia by 2030.

When the security measure meets bordered penality: Release procedures for persons who are not criminally responsible without residence rights in Belgium

Offenders considered to be persons not criminally responsible (hereafter Persons NCR) in Belgium, are subjected to a security measure. This is executed by means of a forensic care trajectory, often beginning in high-security prison units or forensic psychiatric facilities, and moving through medium and lower security psychiatric facilities, with the intention to ultimately integrate them back into society. Within this group there are 145 persons without residence rights. This article is attentive to how the forensic care trajectories for people without residence rights are currently navigated. Six qualitative interviews were conducted with key decision-makers in the forensic care trajectories of Persons NCR. Moreover, we analyse the legislative framework regarding the security measure and illustrate how features of ‘bordered penality’ are clearly present. Our results indicate that when working towards a return to the country of origin fails, Persons NCR without residence rights become neglected, either in high-security prison units or forensic facilities. We explore avenues to improve this precarious situation, and consider possibilities to guarantee mental healthcare according to a persons' security needs rather than their residence rights.

“Like the first time, all over again”: sex, relationships, and risk for relapse to substance use after release from prison

Background Sex, relationships, and substance use often go hand in hand. Despite this, the impact of sex and relationships on recovery are often overlooked in the field of substance use disorder treatment (SUDT). This study aims to explore sex, relationships, and relapse risk for people in recovery and as an overlooked area of importance in SUDT. Method This qualitative study uses semi-structured interviews with people currently and/or formerly in prison, together with ethnographic field data from four high security prisons in Norway, collected between July 2021–April 2022. Results Common sources of anguish around sex after release and recovery included both forming new and maintaining long-term relationships with partners at a different stage in their recovery, dating and initiating sexual relationships with new partners, concerns about sexual performance and fears around attaining sexual pleasure without chemical enhancements. Conclusion The implications that sex, dating and intimate relationships may have for individual relapse to substance use, can and should play a greater role in both SUD treatment and preparation for release from prison. These problems are exacerbated in carceral settings and should be considered when planning re-entry to the community and in the development of individual relapse prevention strategies.

Psychological distress of inmates at a women's prison in Lima after the first wave of COVID-19 in November 2020.

A descriptive study was carried out to establish the levels of psychological distress amongst female inmates at a high-security prison in Lima in November 2020, after the first wave of COVID-19. The Brief Symptoms Inventory-18 (BSI-18) was applied to a representative sample of 314 female inmates who agreed to participate in the study. Results showed that 34.6% of the inmates could be considered as cases of psychological distress. Moreover, the depression subscale had the highest score, followed by the anxiety and the somatisation subscales. The most prevalent symptom was "feeling blue". The prevalence of distress symptoms was analyzed, taking into account the effects of the first wave of COVID-19, the suspension of family visits, the restriction of treatment and leisure activities, etc. Gender aspects were also taken into consideration.

“The People Who Leave Here Are Not the People Who Arrived.”: A Qualitative Analysis of the Therapeutic Process and Identity Transition in the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway

Individuals with personality disorder are often construed as difficult to treat, and sometimes even “untreatable.” In this study, 24 men who had completed treatment on the offender personality disorder treatment pathway participated in focus groups at a high-security prison in the United Kingdom. The results of the data analysis revealed three superordinate themes that captured the impact and experience of the therapeutic process. The three themes were “A self-reconstructed,” which focused on the reconstruing and reconstructions of participants’ identity and how intervention assisted with a coherent narrative of self. The second superordinate theme, “Relational resilience and dealing with abandonment,” relates to the attachment to therapists and the negotiation of relational boundaries and resilience. The third theme, “Reimagining and re-experiencing trauma,” focuses on participants’ exploration and reliving of trauma, and how group processes allowed for shared understanding and a reconstruing of their trauma. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of intensive mindfulness and yoga on prisoners with personality disorders: A randomised controlled preliminary study

This study was the first to test the feasibility of mind-body interventions with a randomised control research design in a sample that contains all ten types of personality disorders, and the first to provide a preliminary evaluation of responses using a combination of psychological, genomic, neural, and behavioural measures. Thirty prisoners with personality disorders were recruited within a clinical unit of a high security prison and assigned to a mindfulness intervention (n=10), a yoga intervention (n=10), or a wait-list control group (n=10). Both mindfulness and yoga interventions were held simultaneously and lasted three hours per day on five consecutive days. At baseline and after the intervention, we measured inflammation-related gene expression through venous blood; attention with a cognitive task; event-related potentials (ERPs) with EEG; and stress, emotion regulation and mindfulness with questionnaires. Here we show that recruitment and dropout rates were satisfactory, and data collection was successful despite its length and complexity. The only exception were blood samples where 60% of participants refused to give blood, but this was expected because 47% of recruited participants had a diagnosis of paranoid personality disorder. Unexpected difficulties occurred when participants did not fully adhere to randomisation procedures, and a riot took place during the final day of the interventions. This study was underpowered to detect changes on primary or secondary outcome measures, but despite that 80% of examined inflammation-related genes showed medium and large effect sizes suggesting this as an important outcome measure in future studies. Minor adjustments to the study design are necessary before a larger scale study can be conducted to precisely determine the effects of mindfulness and yoga as an additional treatment for prisoners with personality disorders.

A Comparative Study of Prison Inmates With and Without ADHD: Which Neuropsychological and Self-Report Measures are Most Effective in Detecting ADHD Within Correctional Services?

Objective: In this study we aimed to investigate the screening and diagnostic properties of various self-report instruments to identify measures which most effectively detect ADHD in a correctional sample. Method: The sample consisted of 193 male high security prisoners in Sweden. We investigated if measures of ADHD symptoms, executive functioning, impulsivity, estimated IQ and working memory could differentiate participants with ADHD from those with ASPD or no diagnosis. Results: Participants with ADHD obtained significantly higher total scores on all included measures. Although we found that some of the measures were more efficient in differentiating ADHD, mean values were generally elevated in the sample. Conclusion: Results demonstrate the importance of investigating psychometric properties in relevant samples to assure a measurement’s usefulness in different contexts, in this case a correctional setting, where the high influence of unspecific behavioral indicators in these measurements might negatively affect their validity.

Conduct Disorders Characterised by Aggression Ireland Community Program

The Integrated collaborative treatment program will aim to improve the understanding of how the forces of natural therapeutics may influence aggressive and anti-social and/or self-destructive behavior within high security prison community and outreach communities environment. Science has not yet developed a sound diagnostic base for conduct disorders and the treatment of violence. CMS will lead program evaluation research design and delivery of the program and benefit of ICTP process as an intervention for conduct disorders from pre-clinical assessment to treatment.

Trapped in the abject: prison officers’ use of avoidance, compliance and retaliation in response to ambiguous humour

ABSTRACT The place of humour in organisational interactions has been the subject of long-standing interest. Studies have considered the positive role of humour in increasing social contact and promoting group cohesion, while warning it can be a means for expressing hostility and excluding group members. However, more ambiguous uses of humour remain underexplored and under-theorised. Using a single case study of employee experiences at ‘Hillside’, a high-security prison in the UK, we address this gap. Adopting Julia Kristeva’s ‘theory of the abject’, we conceptualise ‘abject humour’ as a disruptive activity, which is composite, shady and sinister. We show that, despite Hillside’s adoption of Challenge It, Change It as a UK-wide safeguarding policy, the liminal spaces abject humour opens and occupies, are difficult to regulate. Those spaces trap both perpetrators and targets, and necessitate the use of avoidance, compliance, and retaliation strategies by the latter, as ways of coping.