Penology Lecture 1 --> What is the Purpose of Prisons?
- Created by: EmilyEther
- Created on: 29-09-20 12:00
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- The Purpose of Prisons
- HM Prison Service
- Holding incarcerated people securely
- Reducing the risk of recidivism
- A safe and well-ordered establishment
- Sticking to prison rules
- BUT, not all prisons are uniform (level of security, male / female) - different measures are needed for different places
- Categories of prisons
- Prisons are categorised based on perceived:
- Risk of harm to others
- Risk of escape
- Threat to stability and control of a prison
- Security categories:
- Cat A --> most secure
- Cat B
- Cat C --> open prisons
- Cat D --> least secure (low degree of crime committed)
- Prisons are categorised based on perceived:
- Strangeways Prison Riot
- Prison in Manchester. Prisoners rioting due to poor conditions and bad treatment from staff
- Lasted 25 days --> 1st of April to 25th of April
- 147 prison staff and 47 incarcerated people were injured. 1 officer was killed, 1 incarcerated individual was killed (a sex offender who was attacked by other prisoners)
- Riot resulted in the Woolf Report:
- Overcrowding (1600 people in 890 places)
- Bad conditions
- Unrest among staff (understaffed)
- Poor security (mixed ages in wings)
- Poor relationships between staff and prisoners
- Focus on security, control and justice needed in prisons
- 'Crisis of legitimacy'
- Conditions inside prison shouldn’t be further punishment after losing their liberty and freedom --> ‘We prepare them for the return to the community in a way that makes them less likely to reoffend’
- Theories of Sentencing
- Deterrence (individual and general)
- Incapacitation
- Retribution
- Denunciation
- Rehabilitation / Reform
- Reparation / Restitution
- Prison Population in England and Wales
- 95% men, 5% women, 1.6 per 1k people reported as being transgender. Most aged 25-49, 1/3 in their 30s
- Over 1/4 of PP from minority ethnic group --> overepresentation
- PP risen by 77% overall in the past 30 yrs
- Sentences are getting longer - 12.4 months in 2008, 15.1 months in 2019
- PP declined for 16 weeks during COVID-19 lockdown
- Small figures for committed crimes doesn't mean they don't happen - just not processed as much
- Social Characteristics of people in prisons
- Socially and economically deprived, low educational level
- History of school exclusion / childhood abuse
- Poor standard of health, mental heath issues (72% of men & 70% of women report 2 or more MH issues, 10% thought to be serious
- Drug / alchol abuse, suicide risk / self harm
- CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION!!!
- Bromley Briefing Summer 2019
- In an average week in England and Wales (2017-19):
- 5 or 6 individuals died (1 or 2 of those = self-inflicted)
- Just over 1k self-harm incidents
- Over 600 assaults (more than 70 = serious)
- Almost 200 assaults on staff (20 = serious)
- Constant reports of understaffing and overcrowding
- Cost-effectiveness issues in prisons
- Prison costs about £40k per year
- In 2020 -> 49% of prisons = overcrowded
- RECIDIVISM -> nearly 1/3 re-convicted within a year
- In an average week in England and Wales (2017-19):
- HM Prison Service
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