The United States imprisons more of its citizens than any other nation in the world. To be sentenced to prison is to face systematic violence, humiliation, and, perhaps worst of all, separation from family and community. It is, to borrow Orlando Patterson's term for the utter isolation of slavery, to suffer "social death". Prison and Social Death, Joshua Price exposes the unexamined cost that prisoners pay while incarcerated and after release, drawing upon hundreds of often harrowing interviews conducted with people in prison, parolees, and their families. Price argues that the prison separates prisoners from desperately needed communities of support from parents, spouses, and children. Moreover, this isolation of people in prison renders them highly vulnerable to other forms of violence, including sexual violence. Price stresses that the violence they face goes beyond physical abuse by prison guards and it involves institutionalized forms of mistreatment, ranging from abysmally poor health care to routine practices that are arguably abusive, such as pat-downs, cavity searches, and the shackling of pregnant women. And social death does not end with prison. The condition is permanent, following people after they are released from prison. Finding housing, employment, receiving social welfare benefits, and regaining voting rights are all hindered by various legal and other hurdles. The mechanisms of social death, Price shows, are also informal and cultural. Ex-prisoners face numerous forms of distrust and are permanently stigmatized by other citizens around them. A compelling blend of solidarity, civil rights activism, and social research, Prison and Social Death offers a unique look at the American prison and the excessive and unnecessary damage it inflicts on prisoners and parolees.

Having gained unique access to California prisoners and corrections officials and to thousands of prisoners' written grievances and institutional responses, Kitty Calavita and Valerie Jenness take us inside one of the most significant, yet largely invisible, institutions in the United States. Drawing on sometimes startlingly candid interviews with prisoners and prison staff, as well as on official records, the authors walk us through the byzantine grievance process, which begins with prisoners filing claims and ends after four levels of review, with corrections officials usually denying requests for remedies. Appealing to Justice is both an unprecedented study of disputing in an extremely asymmetrical setting and a rare glimpse of daily life inside this most closed of institutions. Quoting extensively from their interviews with prisoners and officials, the authors give voice to those who are almost never heard from. These voices unsettle conventional wisdoms within the sociological literature for example, about the reluctance of vulnerable and/or stigmatized populations to name injuries and file claims, and about the relentlessly adversarial subjectivities of prisoners and correctional officials and they do so with striking poignancy. Ultimately, Appealing to Justice reveals a system fraught with impediments and dilemmas, which delivers neither justice, nor efficiency, nor constitutional conditions of confinement.

Cries for Help opens a window on the closed world of Holloway, other women's prisons and the lives of those held there in the 1970s. This was an era when personal style and charismatic leadership was the order of the day for governors and prison officers, before ideas of 'new management', when problems were solved using personal initiatives. It catalogues the daily lives of women prisoners, their anxieties, fears and preoccupations. The book looks at a lost segment of the population, hundreds of women who were hidden from view, lacking a voice, part of a system for men that hardly knew what to do with them. It contains stories about murderers and other serious offenders and looks at their personal correspondence, including that of moors murderer Myra Hindley.

Confessions of a Prison Chaplain explains the 'lifeline' provided by the work of the prison chaplaincy. Written by a Quaker chaplain (but equally compelling for all faith groups), it shows how important to prisoners contact can be - how chaplains fit into the ever-pressing world of prison regimes. Among the diverse topics covered are Christmas in prison, death in prison (or of a loved one on the outside) and learning in prison - as well as restorative justice (which is in line with the teachings of various faiths: as old as religion itself). As the author writes, prisoners are 'Children of God' no matter what their crime, how petty, serious or heinous. How to deal with those whose crimes are so distressing as to challenge this idea is also a feature of the book. It contains a chapter on life-sentence prisoners, those with only a distant and in some cases forlorn hope of release as well as telling the stories of individual prisoners, their time in prison and the 'calming' role of the chaplain when contrasted with the security pre-occupations and rule dominated routines of governors and prison officers. With a Foreword by Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, General Secretary of Prison Reform International and one of the UK's leading commentators on penal matters.

Informative, entertaining, against the grain, Her Majesty's Philosophers highlights the artificiality of prison life. By a Guardian correspondent (and with extracts to be published in that newspaper) this book is set to be a penal affairs classic which every student of crime and punishment should read. Building on his Guardian pieces about teaching Philosophy in prison, this is Alan Smith's account in extensio. From introducing Plato to ever-changing groups of hard-nosed prisoners to them wrestling with Bentham, Phillip Larkin and Shakespeare, it is packed with insights and unexpected turns. It paints a picture in which worlds collide and conventional thinking is turned inside out as 'new modes of discourse' change the men's thinking and ideas. At times surreal the book brings fresh perspectives to the minutiae of prison life: survival, coping, soap, teabags, cell mates, the constant noise and immediacy. And needless to say, the men come up with philosophical gems of their own. Her Majesty' Philosophers is also about isolation, the long hours, knockbacks and the emotional mutilation of imprisonment; and whilst philosophy is 'soft and fluffy' it contrasts starkly with the pragmatic world of prison officers, for whom the Holy Grail is Security, Keys and Prison Craft. The book charts how learning changes lives, especially for prisoners who missed out on formal education, who - once motivated - become voracious readers and extraordinary students. It demonstrates more than any official report the value of a wider agenda than Basic Skills. Prisons have been labelled 'Universities of Crime', but colleges are increasingly populated by those who began their studies in a prison cell. In a book packed with wisdom and humour the author laments the fact that prison policy means that this is becoming a far less easy step.

"Supermax" prisons, conceived by the United States in the early 1980s, are typically reserved for convicted political criminals such as terrorists and spies and for other inmates who are considered to pose a serious ongoing threat to the wider community, to the security of correctional institutions, or to the safety of other inmates. Prisoners are usually restricted to their cells for up to twenty-three hours a day and typically have minimal contact with other inmates and correctional staff. Not only does the Federal Bureau of Prisons operate one of these facilities, but almost every state has either a supermax wing or stand-alone supermax prison. The Globalization of Supermax Prisons examines why nine advanced industrialized countries have adopted the supermax prototype, paying particular attention to the economic, social, and political processes that have affected each state. Featuring essays that look at the U.S.-run prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanemo, this collection seeks to determine if the American model is the basis for the establishment of these facilities and considers such issues as the support or opposition to the building of a supermax and why opposition efforts failed; the allegation of human rights abuses within these prisons; and the extent to which the decision to build a supermax was influenced by developments in the United States. Additionally, contributors address such domestic matters as the role of crime rates, media sensationalism, and terrorism in each country's decision to build a supermax prison.

Theatre and performance practice has the power to make visible the hidden world of the prison. This book explores how theatre makers stage critical questions about prison in society - through specific texts and productions about prison, and theatre taking place in prisons. Theatre can, it argues, provoke much-needed public engagement with the very idea and politics of prison. Drawing on popular culture, dramatic texts and applied theatre, "Theatre & Prison" examines the link between performance and punishment, and illuminates the social, economic and cultural effects of incarceration.

The only book on Dovegate TC Contains first-hand insider accounts by staff and inmates Describes the latest developments in TC work Provides extensive data and references A closely observed account of the UK's first private sector prison-based Therapeutic Community (TC) - a 200-bed facility. The book considers: the background to and regimes at Dovegate; modern developments in TC work with (often high-risk) offenders; the differences between Dovegate, Grendon and other UK prison-based TCs; private and public sector imperatives; democratic and hierarchical TCs; reparative, restorative and punitive approaches; accreditation, group work, assessment, suitability and de-selection TC-culture versus prison culture the role of positive attitudes, relationships and experiences; psychology, psychiatry, psychotherapy, security and control; how TCs alter behaviour and prevent crime.

After he was denied access to report on Sing Sing, one of America's most notorious high security jails, journalist Ted Conover applied to become a prison guard. As a rookie officer, or 'newjack', Conover spent a year in the unpredictable, intimidating and often violent world of America's penal system. Unarmed and outnumbered, prison officers at one of America's toughest maximum security jails supervise 1,800 inmates, most of whom have been convicted of violent felonies: murder, manslaughter, rape. Prisoners conceal makeshift weapons to settle gang rivalries or old grudges, and officers are often attacked or caught in the crossfire. When violence flares up in the galleries or yard an officer's day can go from mundane to terrifying in a heartbeat. Conover is an acclaimed journalist, known for immersing himself completely in a situation in order to write about it. With remarkable insight, Newjack takes the reader as close to experiencing life in an American prison as any of us would ever want to get. It's a thrillingly told account of how the gruelling world of the prison system brutalizes all who enter it - prison guards and prisoners alike.

An uncompromising appraisal of the unique penal crisis affecting Britain and other Western-style democracies. Escalating resort to prisons, longer sentences, overcrowded and ineffective regimes, high rates of re-offending and eclectic penal policy all combine to fuel this crisis, whilst failing to reduce offending. In this new book, David J Cornwell, author of the acclaimed Criminal Punishment and Restorative Justice (ISBN 9781904380207), argues that the symptoms of this penal malaise are grounded in media sensationalism of crime and the need of politicians and their advisers to retain electoral credibility. Change is long overdue, but it requires a fresh, contemporary penology based on Restorative Justice. The book challenges the status quo, asks 'different questions' and places victims of crime at the centre of the criminal justice process. 'The reader is challenged to ask different questions about "true justice" in a book which provides true food for thought in well argued fashion': The Justices' Clerk 'This book offers a sustained argument for restorative justice, and should be heeded by politicians and practitioners alike. Whether either have the courage to take this way of thinking remains to be seen': Internet Law Book Reviews 'David Cornwell seeks to drill down into the key] issues. This book identifies the organizational stresses and strains, the target-setting, the policy "blips" and all the problems of trying to bring radical change to our criminal justice system': Sir Charles Pollard QPM Director, Restorative Solutions, former Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police Service 'An important and timely contribution to the literature': Mark S Umbreit. 'One of the leading writers in the restorative justice] campaign... intelligent and helpful... an urgent call to action particularly about the penal crisis which hangs permanently over this country's head': Justice of the Peace. David Cornwell is a criminologist and former prison governor with extensive experience of operational practice and consultancy within both state and privately managed sectors of correctional administration in a number of countries worldwide. His first book, Criminal Punishment and Restorative Justice, was published by Waterside Press in 2006.

In this autobiographical account of life as a prison governor and administrator, Tom Murtagh deals with life in charge of the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland (when he narrowly avoided being killed by a terrorist bomb) and his move to England that saw him in charge of prisons in Kent and elsewhere. This is when he was faced with a remarkable series of events at Blantyre House where a modern, liberal, ground-breaking and in many respects successful regime was beginning to attract the attention of reformers, academics and others. But that regime also masked more sinister developments - events that should ultimately have received serious attention from a House of Commons Select Committee set up to look into 'The Blantyre House Affair'. Only now - and after much reflection - does Tom Murtagh feel able to tell publicly his side of the affair: of how that committee chose to concentrate on selective and misleading information and 'got it wrong'. Despite all the accolades for Blantyre House, behind the scenes and in reality, the regime was being taken advantage of by a number of very serious offenders who had managed to get themselves transferred there such that the establishment was at risk of being overtaken by organized crime and corruption, leading to covert police and other criminal investigations. The book tells how the author acted to pre-empt this - only to be vilified by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, some penal reform groups and ultimately the committee. As Martin Narey the then Director General of HM Prison Service writes in his foreword, had the author not acted as he did to contain the regime's excesses it is likely that before long Parliament would have been calling for the resignations of Murtagh as Area Director, Narey as Area Director General and also the Home Secretary himself. "The Blantyre House Affair" is a telling example of how people can sometimes be swept along by events that may cause them to ignore those things that are counter or inconvenient to their own aims or interpretation; of how reality can sometimes be ignored.

The imprisonment rate in America has grown by a factor of five since 1972. In that time, punishment policies have toughened, compassion for prisoners has diminished, and prisons have gotten worse-a stark contrast to the origins of the prison 200 years ago as a humanitarian reform, a substitute for capital and corporal punishment and banishment. So what went wrong? How can prisons be made simultaneously more effective and more humane? Who should be sent there in the first place? What should happen to them while they are inside? When, how, and under what conditions should they be released?
The Future of Imprisonment unites some of the leading prisons and penal policy scholars of our time to address these fundamental questions. Inspired by the work of Norval Morris, the contributors look back to the past twenty-five years of penal policy in an effort to look forward to the prison's twenty-first century future. Their essays examine the effects of current high levels of imprisonment on urban neighborhoods and the people who live in them. They reveal how current policies came to be as they are and explain the theories of punishment that guide imprisonment decisions. Finally, the contributors argue for the strategic importance of controls on punishment including imprisonment as a limit on government power; chart the rise and fall of efforts to improve conditions inside; analyze the theory and practice of prison release; and evaluate the tricky science of predicting and preventing recidivism.
A definitive guide to imprisonment policies for the future, this volume convincingly demonstrates how we can prevent crime more effectively at lower economic and human cost.

Unhappy Child, troubled adolescent, dissatisfied wife, a woman at odds with convention. This was Elizabeth Fry, known to her family and friends as Betsy. in 1816, at the age of 36, when she had been a minister of the Society of Friends for five years, Betsy walked alone into the hell of Newgate Gaol. The transformation she wrought among it wretched female inhabitants propelled her onto the stage of world history. In the following years she transformed her generation's perception of offenders, and helped create a professional prison service. She was also a catalyst in the long struggle that eventually saw women achieving recognition in the world beyond family and home.

Images of Incarceration focuses on fictional portrayals of prison and prisoners to demonstrate how they are depicted in the cinema and on TV, featuring films such as The Shawshank Redemption, The Birdman of Alcatraz, Scum, McVicar, Brubaker, Cool Hand Luke, Made in Britain and Greenfingers as well as TV dramas like Porridge , Bad Girls , Buried and Oz. The book is part of the Prison Film Project sponsored by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation under its Rethinking Crime and Punishment initiative. It compares fictional representations with 'actual existing reality' to provide insights into how screen images affect understanding of complex social and penal issues: 'Is prison really as represented on screen, harsher, softer or different?'; 'Do viewers separate fact from fiction?'; and 'What might films tell us about the experiences of prisoners and whether prison reduces crime and protects victims?' As authors David Wilson and Sean O'Sullivan explain, prison may be violent and de-humanising but it makes for gripping drama and human interest. Most people know little about what really happens inside prison, so that as prison numbers in the UK and USA escalate as never before, the 'prison film' and 'TV prison drama' can have a significant influence on popular culture and attitudes towards penal reform. Informative, educational and illuminating, Images of Incarceration will be of value to anyone interested in the effect of screen representations on the democratic process, and in particular to people concerned with criminal justice, penal affairs, penal reform, sociology and the media. Reviews 'Fascinating for anyone who has even a passing interest in penal matters or film': Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Author David Wilson is professor of criminology at the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research at the University of Central England in Birmingham. A former prison governor, he is editor of the Howard Journal and a well-known author, broadcaster and presenter for TV and radio, including for the BBC, C4 and Sky Television. He has written three other books for Waterside Press: The Longest Injustice: The Strange Story of Alex Alexandrowicz (with the latter), Prison(er) Education : Stories of Change and Transformation (with Ann Reuss) (2000), and Serial Killers: Hunting Britons and Their Victims 1960-2006 (2007).

Despite the fact that 160,000 people are locked up in our federal correctional facilities, practical information about the federal prison system remains difficult to locate. While some information may be found scattered on the Internet, in directions given at court, or through shared personal experience, there is no single source available that is a collection of all available information. The U.S. Federal Prison System is the first comprehensive book to include official prison policies, first-person accounts from prisoners, and information about each federal facility. Now published in paperback, The U.S. Federal Prison System is perfect for classroom use as it interweaves the academic study of incarceration with a survey of government reports on prison policy. Organized into two parts, this book is an accessible text on the current U.S. federal prison system. Part I is an introduction to federal prison facilities, including key statistics and "views from the inside" provided by inmates of federal prisons. Part II is a look at the Federal Bureau of Prisons policies on various matters such as discipline, education, visits, and religious practices. Key Features A thorough overview of both prison policies and the federal facilities themselves with photos of selected prisons Part II consistently organizes historical background information followed by an account of current policies-with specific federal rules and regulations governing the policies to conclude each topical discussion Appendix A is the first comprehensive listing of every Federal prison in the U.S., complete with facility details and service information Commentary from prisoners-first-person accounts take the reader behind the walls The U.S. Federal Prison System is an ideal text for students studying corrections and penology in Criminal Justice, Criminology, Law, Social Work, Psychology, and Sociology. This book is also an excellent resource for families of inmates, researchers, and the general public.

In 1840, Alexander Maconochie, a privileged retired naval captain, became superintendent of two thousand twice-convicted prisoners on Norfolk Island, a thousand miles off the coast of Australia. In four years, Maconochie transformed what was one of the most brutal convict settlements in history into a controlled, stable, and productive environment that achieved such success that upon release his prisoners came to be called "Maconochie's Gentlemen". Here Norval Morris, one of the most renowned scholars in criminology today, offers a highly inventive and engaging account of this early pioneer in penal reform.

A collection of writings by prisoners and other people connected with prisons, from the United Kingdom and beyond, "Prison Writing" is now published annually in book form and continues to promote creative writing among prisoners in the UK and beyond. From 2001, there are prizes for the four best contributions as judged by a panel of experts - in addition to the nominal fees paid to all contributors. Everyone whose work is published receives two complimentary copies of the edition of "Prison Writing" in which it appears. Many prisoners first saw their work in print in "Prison Writing." Some went on to be published in national newspapers and magazines and to attract the interest of book publishers.Interviews continue to be a feature of "Prison Writing." Interviewees have included Eddie Bunker ('"Prison Writing" is doing a real good job. Keep up the good work!'), Martin Amis ('Writing depends on the only thing these guys have plenty of: solitude'), Howard Marks, Hugh Collins and Razor Smith.

Kenneth Sanders' book combines a historical approach to the literature of Freud, Klein and the Post Kleinian development, with demonstrations of the central role of dream analysis. Students and practitioners of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, educationalists, social scientists, doctors, and alll those who value the endeavour to enrich their work with imagination will find fine food for thought in these seminars, both in the survay of the literature, the case histories described, and in the concluding question and answer debates.

`[A] useful and informative book. ...I would recommend it to students wanting a good introduction to the current issues in criminal justice and probation' - Vista: Perspectives on Probation `The three chapters on treatment in practice are all excellent; the treatment of sex offenders, mentally disordered offenders and the treatment of drug misuse are all described within the social context of public concern... Ian gives a good overview of the sex offenders' treatment program as operated in prisons and Finkelhors model which is typically used by probation in working with offenders' - Simon Bass, Caring Magazine Treatment and rehabilitation have been central to the development of criminal justice policy, and have played an important role in the development of criminology. In recent years punishment and retribution have attracted more attention than rehabilitation, but there has been a resurgence of interest in treatment and rehabilitation, with indications that some things do 'work', and an emphasis on 'evidence-based' policy making. It is also the belief of many that a penal policy without an adequate treatment strategy is unjust and a denial of human rights. In this book Iain Crow provides an accessible overview of the concepts of treatment and rehabilitation, adopting a deliberately broad definition, and considers the historical basis of treatment, and its place within the penal system and British criminology. The collapse of the 'rehabilitative ideal' is examined, along with what followed it and the development of the more recent 'what works' movement. The basis for evaluating 'what works' is also subjected to critical examination. In the second part, the book looks at the part that particular agencies such as the Probation Service, prison and non-statutory organisations have played in the treatment of offenders. In Part Three, the issues raised by treatment and rehabilitation are illustrated with reference to three groups of offenders: sexual offenders, drug misusers and mentally disordered offenders. The Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders will be essential reading for students of criminology and criminal justice at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Drugs in Prison is an essential handbook for all those who work with prisoners as well as students of penal drugs policy. Comprehensive and easy to use, it: provides up-to-date information on drugs, drug misuse and drugs legislation; outlines government and prison strategies for tackling drug misuse; describes the various methods being used to combat drugs in prison; reviews the effectiveness of these approaches and the performance of different establishments; discusses future strategy and practice.

Also featured are extensive index, a glossary, and useful appendices, case studies and checklists, which service to reinforce key learning points.

IN JUNE 1943, THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES was wrenched by the worst rioting it had seen to that point in the twentieth century. Incited by sensational newspaper stories and public hysteria over allegations of widespread crime among Mexican American juveniles, scores of American servicemen, joined by civilians and even police officers, roamed the streets of the city in search of young Mexican Americans wearing zoot suits -- outlandish suits featuring baggy pants with narrow cuffs and knee-length jackets with wide lapels. Once found, zoot suiters were stripped of their clothes and beaten while police stood by. Only a handful of servicemen were arrested, but over six hundred Mexican American youths were incarcerated for disturbing the peace. The riots threw a harsh light on the deteriorating relationship between the city's Mexican American community and the Los Angeles Police Department.

In this study, Edward J. Escobar examines the history of the LAPD and the Chicano community from the turn of the century, when the police first became a professional organization, to the era of the Zoot Suit riots. Escobar shows how police increasingly characterized Chicanos as a criminal element, and how the assumption of Mexican Americans that the police were deliberately targeting them grew. As Escobar demonstrates, this troubled relationship prompted Mexican Americans to forge a new political identity, even as the LAPD used fear of minority crime to increase its autonomy. This combination of a politicized minority and an intransigent police force would eventually contribute to other uprisings in Los Angeles, including the 1965 Watts riots and the violence that erupted in 1992 following the acquittal ofLAPD officers accused of beating Rodney King.

The role of torture in recent Iranian politics is the subject of Ervand Abrahamian's important and disturbing book. Although Iran officially banned torture in the early twentieth century, Abrahamian provides documentation of its use under the Shahs and of the widespread utilization of torture and public confession under the Islamic Republican governments. His study is based on an extensive body of material, including Amnesty International reports, prison literature, and victims' accounts that together give the book a chilling immediacy.
According to human rights organizations, Iran has been at the forefront of countries using systematic physical torture in recent years, especially for political prisoners. Is the government's goal to ensure social discipline? To obtain information? Neither seem likely, because torture is kept secret and victims are brutalized until something other than information is obtained: a public confession and ideological recantation. For the victim, whose honor, reputation, and self-respect are destroyed, the act is a form of suicide.
In Iran a subject's "voluntary confession" reaches a huge audience via television. The accessibility of television and use of videotape have made such confessions a primary propaganda tool, says Abrahamian, and because torture is hidden from the public, the victim's confession appears to be self-motivated, increasing its value to the authorities.
Abrahamian compares Iran's public recantations to campaigns in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, and the religious inquisitions of early modern Europe, citing the eerie resemblance in format, language, and imagery. Designed to win the hearts and minds of the masses, such public confessions--now enhanced by technology--continue as a means to legitimize those in power and to demonize "the enemy."

Six-five is a general warning to all inmates that an officer has just entered the area, so beware. Concealed behind tons of concrete, bricks and steel lies a truly bizarre world. A world neither known or understood by most people. This world is called prison. Unlike the police, whose duties and responsibilities are widely understood by the community which they protect, the correction officer is seldom thought of. Both professions share many of the same problems, though the police are forever in the public eye keeping their community well-informed of the services they provide. However, the same is not true in regards to the duties performed by a correction officer, who, for many years has dealt with poor public relations, unfair media coverage and the 'out of sight, out of mind' feeling from the public. But enclosed within the thick walls of the prison the job is no less dangerous, as the same risks to personal safety are taken. This insightful book traces prison life through the eyes of the correction officers -- the unsung heroes of the criminal justice system.