Prison Management Research Articles

Suicides in Penitentiaries and Detention Centres

This article deals with the problem of suicides and self-inflicted injuries in prisons and detention centres. The main aim of the article is an attempt to determine the characteristics of a prisoner who performs self-destructive behavior. The second aim is to get to know better the problems of inmates committing suicides. Knowing these problems will help to find preventive solutions. The article describes the information collected during interviews with 18 people, including: prisoners (women and men), prison chaplains, directors of prisons, officers and employees of penitentiary units.

Correctional System’s Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Its Implications for Prison Reform in China

ABSTRACT Large outbreaks of coronavirus infections occurred in several prisons in China in February 2020. Since then, the authorities on the national and local levels have introduced a series of measures to prevent more COVID-19 infections in correctional institutions. This article reviews those strategies and explores their ties to past prison reforms and their potential influences on future directions. First, it provides an overview of the changes in prison management and operation that foreshadowed some of China’s approaches to COVID-19 in the prison system. Second, it examines the strategies undertaken by the prison system to stop the spread of COVID-19. Finally, the article discusses the implications of the COVID-19 response for prison reforms and the challenges the Chinese prison system faces in its continuous efforts to contain COVID-19.

Tell us how you Really Feel: Validating an Inmate Social Climate Survey

Correctional facilities have a discernible social climate, or collection of contextual properties that derive in part from the perceptions of inmates. These properties include the physical, organizational, social, and emotional characteristics of correctional institutions. Social climate directly influences the attitudes and behavior of inmates, their well-being, and prison management. The present study describes the results of an applied research project conducted in association with a government agency that audits Ohio’s prisons and youth facilities through site inspection visits and survey data. The agency’s questionnaires, as well as the procedures used to sample inmates and administer the instruments, were evaluated to determine the degree to which they accurately reflected the perceptions of inmates and the social climate of the correctional institutions. We identified several problems related to survey construction and administration. The results suggest that the surveys are at least to some degree not measuring several important dimensions of the correctional environment and the experiences of inmates as intended.

From rehabilitation to penal communication: The role of furlough and visitation within a retributivist framework

Retributivism is one of the most prevalent theories in contemporary penal theory. However, despite its popularity it is frequently argued that too little attention has been paid to the implications of retributivism for prison management and prison life, including prison visits and furlough. More so, it has been questioned both whether the various forms of retributivism found in the philosophical literature on criminal punishment have anything to say about what prison life ought to be like and whether they are able to criticize deeply contested rules and practices, such as those that deny inmates contact with family-members for the sake of prison discipline. In this paper, we argue that prison visits and furlough have a crucial role in a prison system based on retributivist principles. In particular, we argue that the communicative theory of punishment has important theoretical resources for proving a strong and compelling rationale for both furlough and visitation on retributivist grounds. Besides exploring this rationale, we also discuss the practical implications of this view for the penal policy.

No involuntary treatment of mental illness in Australian and New Zealand prisons

ABSTRACT Reflecting worldwide trends, as the prison population in Australia and New Zealand has risen over the past decade, the number of inpatient beds available for the involuntary treatment of mentally ill prisoners transferred from correctional custody has not increased commensurately. In this context, there have been calls to allow involuntary treatment of serious mental illness in prisons. This narrative review considers the extent of unmet psychiatric need within prisons in Australia and New Zealand and considers whether there is any evidence base for involuntary treatment of serious mental illness in prisons. The review concludes that the involuntary treatment of serious mental illness in custodial settings is likely to compromise clinical care, carries a significant risk of serious harms, encourages inappropriate management of prisoners and breaches human rights conventions. The authors found no evidence of improved clinical outcomes or any other benefits directly or indirectly linked to involuntary treatment of serious mental illness in correctional settings. Finally, the review describes the Prison Mental Health Service in the Australian jurisdiction of Queensland and suggests that this represents a ‘best practice’ model for the management of mentally ill prisoners.

Risks, radicalisation and rehabilitation: imprisonment of incarcerated terrorists

ABSTRACT The terrorist attacks of November 2019 and February 2020 in London, perpetrated by individuals who had previously been incarcerated on terrorism charges, reinforces the complexity of the challenges that prisons around the world manifest in relation to terrorist offenders. Frequently articulated through descriptions of prisons as ‘hotbeds for radicalisation’, concerns are undoubtedly reinforced by the tales of notorious terrorists such as Ayman al-Zawahiri. If prisons do pose a risk of radicalising individuals, or of further radicalising violent extremist offenders, informed policy decisions relating to the management of incarcerated terrorists are essential. Focusing on the Australian context, this paper analyses three prisoner management methods currently implemented around the world. In recognising the complexity of incarcerating terrorist offenders, benefits and challenges relating to the concentration, dispersal and the seldom-used tier method are identified and discussed. The paper examines the risks and management of radicalised prisoners post-release. Finally, an Australian initiative is introduced, which legislates supervision or detention of those proven to be an unacceptable risk of committing a serious terrorism offence, as a potential way to mitigate those risks. The paper concludes that if concentration is to be utilised, greater emphasis must be placed on rehabilitation and monitoring upon release.

Avanços e desafios do direito à educação no sistema prisional brasileiro

A educação constituiu-se como um privilégio de poucos, tornando se direito fundamental na Constituição de 1988. Já no âmbito prisional, somente a partir de 2011 ela se tornou um direito de remição da pena, depois de muitos anos de tramitação do projeto de Lei no Congresso Nacional. Dados do levantamento de informações penitenciarias revelam que mais da metade, ou seja, 60,38% da população carcerária possui baixa escolaridade e apenas 10,58% estão inseridos em alguma atividade educacional. Diante disso, o objetivo deste estudo foi promover uma reflexão teórica sobre o direito à educação no sistema prisional brasileiro, para tanto fez uso com revisão bibliográfica e consultou as principais normas que versam sobre a educação no âmbito prisional. Desse modo, foi possível correlacionar que, apesar dos recentes avanços normativos, a oferta e acesso à educação no cárcere enfrenta muitos desafios, entre eles a forma como vem sendo desenvolvida, sendo relacionada a vontades políticas de cada governo; e, ainda, a compreensão da sociedade e gestores prisionais que veem a educação como privilégio contrapondo a um direito que independe da condição de privação de liberdade.

Reducing and managing the risk of disaster in Philippine jails and prisons

This brief is designed to inform disaster risk reduction and management in Philippine jails and prisons. It draws upon research conducted in nine jails and prisons between July 2015 and January 2016. This research included 44 interviews with stakeholders, including inmates and prisoners, and nine focus groups with inmates and prisoners in different regions of the country. The research indicates that natural hazards are one amongst the many threats that inmates and prisoners face in their everyday life. Natural hazards are significant because inmates and prisoners are particularly vulnerable. Inmates' and prisoners' vulnerability stems from a thread of proximate and root causes that range from insalubrious and overcrowded facilities and limited resourcing from the government, to the neoliberal nature of the Philippine state. However, inmates and prisoners are not helpless “victims” in dealing with natural hazards. They display a wide range of skills, resources and knowledge (i.e. capacities) that are grounded in everyday practices and values reflective of the broader Philippine society. This policy brief finally makes some recommendations for strengthening hazard prevention, fostering vulnerability mitigation, enhancing preparedness, and reinforcing disaster management in Philippine jails and prisons. These recommendations emphasise the contributions of a number of stakeholders, including the active role of inmates and prisoners who are the first line of defence in facing disasters in jails and prisons.

A failed success: the Barlinnie Special Unit.

This paper aims to explore the reasons for and the subsequent longer-term impact of the closure of the Barlinnie Special Unit (BSU). The paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the work of the BSU, and conceptual in that it argues that the limits of "prisoner rehabilitation" are observed in the closure of the BSU, which sounds a warning for other penal therapeutic communities and what it means to operate effectively. The BSU which assisted long-term, difficult and violent prisoners moderate their prison behaviour and then to live non-offending lives, lost the confidence of government ministers and officials, as well as senior prison managers and, seemingly, the public, so closed after being in operation for 21 years. The impact of this has been that the Scottish Prison Service has not introduced, or attempted to introduce, a similar regime for managing and treating violent and disruptive prisoners. There are important lessons to be learned from the BSU experience for all who manage and work in specialist, prison therapeutic units or within prison therapeutic regimes. This includes balancing the therapeutic elements of the regime, which may involve engaging in practices which are outside the norm for custodial establishments, with those establishments' security and operational requirements, so as to not to create a disconnect between addressing offending behaviour and maintaining expected standards of wider prison conduct. While there have been previous evaluations of the BSU, the longer-term impact has neither been previously considered and nor has the unit's closure been considered from a penal philosophical perspective.

Incarceration and the Law: Cases and Materials (Table of Contents and Ch. 1 Excerpt)

This posts a table of contents and much of the first chapter to a fully overhauled, updated, and expanded edition of the leading case book on incarceration. The case book examines the complex legal regime that defines prisoners’ rights. Mass incarceration in America creates a host of controversies at the crossroads of constitutional liberty, legislation, public policy, and prison management. It considers those issues from diverse perspectives by presenting an array of materials: Supreme Court and leading lower court caselaw, statutes, litigation materials, professional standards, academic commentary, prisoner writing, and more. (There is also an associated website, http://incarcerationlaw.com, which offers additional open sources, supplementing the book for those who own it and providing a freestanding repository of materials for those who do not. Chapter 1 provides background on American jails and prisons (What’s the difference between a jail and a prison? What is incarceration supposed to accomplish? How do prison abolitionists conceptualize and justify their goals? How did American incarceration develop?) It provides longitudinal and contemporary statistics. Finally, it offers narrative and case law background on the development of the modern conception of prisoners’ rights.

Cameras in Corrections: Exploring the Views of Correctional Officers on the Introduction of Body-Worn Cameras in Prisons

In this article, we present the findings of a mixed-methods study of correctional officers’ views on the introduction of body-worn cameras (BWCs) within prisons. Using a statewide survey and in-depth interviews with correctional officers in Queensland, Australia, this study explored officer support for BWCs and the relationship between officer support and several key variables. We found widespread support for the use of BWCs among correctional officers. Female officers and those who held more positive views about the perceived functionality of BWCs and the implementation and training process were most supportive. However, the introduction of BWCs also raises some important considerations for prison management that may impact officer support, including whether to allow officers to access BWC footage for report writing or officer training. Consideration must also be made regarding turn-on policies for BWCs given concerns that more frequent recording has the potential to damage rapport with incarcerated individuals.

Inmate public autoerotism and hostile work environments: an examination of federal cases

ABSTRACT In Hicks v. Alabama , the court ruled in favor of the prison agency when female correctional officers filed a suit against the state and several supervisors for sexual harassment by inmates. In the aforementioned case, the plaintiffs alleged that their superiors failed to control inmates from masturbating in their presence, which constituted a hostile work environment and disparate treatment in violation of Title VII. In this paper, we examine several legal cases over the last twenty years that have set the stage for changes in the prison workplace for female correctional officers. As our analysis reveals, when female correctional officers are sexually harassed by male inmates because of their gender, this creates a hostile work environment for these employees based on their membership in a protected class (here females). In such situations, where correctional administrators and supervisors deliberately fail to take corrective measures to address this issue of harassment by third parties, it creates the basis for Title VII suits, even though the employers themselves are not the perpetrators. This study has important implications for the contemporary management of prisons and jails.

Nurse-led mind-body relaxation intervention in prison: A multiperspective mixed-method evaluation

BackgroundMind-body relaxation techniques are complementary or alternative to medication to manage high stress and anxiety levels in prisons. PurposeTo assess the motivation to attend and perceived benefits of a nurse-led group relaxation intervention in prison, investigate the experience of participants, prison officers, and health professionals, and identify improvements. MethodExploratory study was conducted in a post-trial facility in Switzerland using a multiperspective convergent parallel mixed method drawing from participatory action research principles. FindingsReasons for attendance included back problems, mental tension, physical fitness, relaxation, and sleep problems. Perceived benefits comprised autonomy in self-practice, decreased physical tensions and anxiety, and improvement of sleep and physical fitness. Qualitative findings converged highlighting the importance of body-centering, relaxation as an alternative to medication, negative representations about relaxation sessions (useless, effeminate), and recommendations for improvement, including audio-visual support for self-practice. DiscussionLong-standing mind-body relaxation interventions led by nurses in groups may offer participants a beneficial and operationally feasible complement to stress management in prisons.

Towards an Effective Regime of the Application of Condonation, Compounding of Offences and Plea Bargaining as Veritable Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanisms

The recent court queues, rising costs of litigation, congestion in prisons, expensive nature of management of prisons and time delays has continued to affect the administration of criminal justice system in Nigeria. There is therefore the need to fashion out alternatives to administration of criminal justice. These alternatives if effectively used in the administration of criminal justice system, it will not only reduce the congested nature of our prisons but also reduce the workload of the courts. It is against this backdrop that this paper seeks to examine the effective regime of the application of Condonation, Compounding of offences and Plea bargaining as veritable Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanisms. This paper adopted historical and analytical approaches through the use of primary and secondary documents as contained in published and unpublished materials. The paper revealed that compounding of offences even though it predated plea bargain, Nigeria has not yet made clear and general provisions on compounding of offences under the Penal Laws. The paper concluded that compounding of offences, condonation and plea bargaining are veritable alternative dispute resolution mechanisms embedded in the administration of criminal justice system. It was recommended among others that a uniform and generally applicable law should be enacted on condonation, compounding of offences and Plea bargaining in Nigeria, harmonization of our substantive criminal laws and procedural Criminal Codes in Nigeria and a more suitable sentencing guidelines for plea bargaining.

Indian Prisons: A Reality Check in the Times of Pandemic

Where the world has already been experiencing the spread of pandemic from the past 4 months, a fear of spread in the overcrowded Indian prisons is at a higher probability. This article is suggesting ways and measures to bring some reforms in prison management as well as sentencing reforms where imprisonment has to be with a reformative measure. This article is analyzing what measures can be introduced to bring about a change in the prisons in India. This change is possible only with the conjoint efforts of prison staff, the medical team, and the justice system prevailing in the country. Spread in the prisons can be easily curbed without releasing the offenders on payrolls and also without commuting or reducing their sentence terms.

French Prison Day Leave and the Rationale Behind It: Resocialisation or Prison Management?

In France, prison leave (permission) is awarded to prisoners by a reentry judge (juge de l’application des peines, JAP) as part of a multi-agency commission, a process that takes place in prison and comprises the governor, prison and probation officers, and the prosecutor. Numerous rules govern this measure. This paper draws upon a number of previous research studies conducted by the author on the following topics: the legal theorisation of a sentence’s implementation (Author 1994 , 2017a); a quantitative-qualitative study of JAPs’ practices, hearings and rulings (Author 2014); and a mixed method study of a so-called swift release procedure (Author 2017b). Consequently, two series of issues are identified: The first issue pertains to the lack of due process principles governing the decision-making process. Prisoners who apply for permissions have no ‘voice’, according to Tyler’s (2012) definition of the term. The second issue is connected to the very rationale behind permissions. Before an Act of 26 March 2019, permissions were primarily concerned with ensuring that prisoners’ reentry process was prepared, that prisoners could complete the steps required to prepare for their release and that they could maintain contact with their loved ones and support systems. They also represented a form of test, used by JAPs to ensure that prisoners could be trusted in the outside world. In other words, they were focused on resettlement and rehabilitation. However, the 2019 Act transferred most of the decision-making process to prison governors. There is now a fear that because their main interest is on maintaining order, permission allocation will shift from an emphasis on reentry-rehabilitation to behavioural criteria and the local situation regarding overcrowding.

Structuring Discretion Among Belgium’s Prison Leave Decision-makers

Prison leave decision-making remains largely unknown, operating as a black box in which applications enter and decisions come out, without knowing what happens in between. Prison leave decision-making in Belgium is no exception to this. After a prisoner submits an application for prison leave, the prison director has to provide a written opinion about it, which is then sent on to the Service for the Management of Imprisonment (SMI), which decides whether a prisoner should obtain prison leave. Five years after implementing the legislation, the Directorate General of Penitentiary Institutions mandated a national study of prison leave decision-making practices. The study showed that both key actors, prison directors and the SMI, used their own highly discretionary approach to decision-making. There was little transparency regarding the other actor’s approach, fuelling mutual misunderstanding and frustrations about the other actor’s decisions. Since then, attempts have been made to structure discretionary decision-making. In this article, we first outline the types of prison leave as they have come into existence since 2006. Next, key observations of the first national study are given, as they set the scene for what came afterwards. We then go on to reconstruct steps in an ongoing process of structuring discretionary decision-making. These have led to an increased proportion of prison leaves being granted, with more concordance in decision-making between prison directors and staff at the SMI. We conclude the article by linking the Belgian practice to wider debates about decision-making.

Associated Factors of Quality of Life in Prison Officers, Brazil.

This study analyzed factors associated with the quality of life (QoL) of prison officers (POs) in the Midwest Region of Brazil. POs in five penitentiary units participated in this cross-sectional study. Sociodemographic data were obtained through face to face interview and a World Health Organization Quality of Life abbreviated version (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was applied to assess QoL. Student’s t-test or ANOVA were used for bivariate analysis and multiple linear regression was applied for adjusted analysis. The domains used for outcomes were: physical, psychological, social relations, and the environment. The lowest score among WHOQOL-BREF domains was environment (59.9; 95%CI 58.0–61.5). After adjustment, the factors associated with the physical domain were ‘female sex’ and ‘no history of workplace PO-PO violence’; factors associated with the psychological domain were ‘female sex’, ‘without spouse’, and ‘no history of inmate-PO violence’; factors associated with the social relationships domain were ‘female sex’, ‘work experience in years’, ‘no higher education’, ‘no private health insurance’, and ‘no history of inmate-PO violence’; and factors associated with environment domain were ‘female sex’, ‘work experience in years’, ‘no private health insurance’, and ‘no history of PO-PO violence’. This study showed that female workers and those with a history of violence at work had worse QoL scores. This investigation highlights the importance of prison management in promoting QoL of POs, as well as support and development of strategies to prevent workplace violence.

Comparison of tuberculosis indicators after implementation of the clinical protocol for tuberculosis and HIV management in Iranian prisons: a quasi-experimental study

PurposeThe aim of this study was to compare the defined indicators of tuberculosis (TB) control program in the intervention and control prisons, after implementation of the national clinical protocol for TB and HIV management in Iranian prisons, suggesting active health service provision in all steps of service provision.Design/methodology/approachThis was quasi-experimental study conducted among inmates of two prisons in Iran. Great Tehran prison was purposively chosen as the intervention prison and Karaj prison was purposively chosen as control prison as well. Intervention and control prisons were compared in terms of the TB indicators within three periods (before intervention, during implementation and follow-up period) from October 2013 to June 2014.FindingsNumber of inmates with TB symptoms who underwent TB workup was four times more in intervention prison compared to control prison (9.3 vs 2.5 cases out of 1,000 inmates per month in the case prison compared to the control prison). Such difference was also significant in the intervention prison, comparing before and during the intervention period. The patient finding in case prison increased significantly after the intervention (223.6 vs 81.8 cases out of 100,000 inmates per year). The number of TB cases who received HIV testing increased from 50 to 100%.Originality/valueActive health service provision has significantly improved indicators in the intervention prison. The authors recommend implementation of this guideline in all prisons of Iran. Integration of other diseases with high burden among prisoners is also recommended in the active health services provision.

Do Institutional Investors Mitigate Social Costs of Privatization? Evidence from Prisons

This paper examines whether institutional investors mitigate social costs that arise when government services are outsourced to private enterprises. Using hand-collected data on U.S. prisons, I find that privatization is associated with an increase in prisoner suicides by up to 39%. However, institutional investors of public companies managing private prisons decrease suicide rates by one third. These effects are stronger for long-term institutional investors since failing to internalize social externalities negatively impacts the long-term success of portfolio firms. Evidence from a tax reform that exogenously increases institutional ownership of prison management companies suggests that the relationship between ownership and social outcomes is causal. To explain these results, I show that institutional investors have incentives to be socially responsible due to litigation and reputation risks.