Prisons

Hindpal Singh Bhui argues that we need to look at who is sent to prison and why to disentangle reality from ideology and myth. Including the voices of prisoners, prison staff and victims, he asks whether prison is an institution for managing marginalized people, or if there is a better way to achieve the socially useful goals of prisons.

The soundscape of prison life is that of constant clangs, bangs and jangles. What is the significance of this cacophonous din to those who live and work with it? This book is the story of a year spent with a UK prison community, bringing its social world vividly to life through aural ethnography.

This book is a unique ethnographic study of a racially exclusive Malay Muslim gang, Omega, which has its roots in Singapore’s prisons. In demonstrating that gang involvement can be an adaptive strategy for marginalized groups, this book promotes a more inclusive and restorative justice model for people with repeat convictions.

This timely book addresses an overlooked area of criminal justice by focusing on the reality of pregnancy and new motherhood in prison. Based on the experiences of women in mother and baby units, it passionately argues the case for minimising harm, making key reading for criminology and midwifery students and researchers.

The year 2023 marks 50 years of mass incarceration in the United States and this timely volume addresses the ramifications of this policy on justice-impacted people and our communities. It offers practical solutions for advocates, policy and lawmakers for addressing mass incarceration and its effects to create a more just, fair and safer society.

This original study of the lives of prisoners’ families adds a feminist perspective on the understanding of carceral geography. She relates the testimonies of families as they navigate new challenges, and measures the impact of imprisonment on their emotions, relationships, identities and experiences of spaces, both inside and outside prison.

This insightful book identifies the risks posed by prison lockdowns to minority ethnic prisoners, foreign national prisoners and prisoners from Traveller and Roma communities who are disproportionately represented in prisons across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

This book discusses the failings of the prison system in many countries and offers positive pointers for the future. It shows the way forward will be through initiatives such as Justice Reinvestment and in the Human Development model.

Male prisons can be dangerous places with a climate of distrust, but can long-term prisoners be given the space to reflect and grow ? This ground-breaking study found that engaging prisoners in philosophy education enabled them to think about some of the ‘big’ questions in life and as a result to see themselves and others differently.

Founded in cultural, textual, and ethnographic analysis, this distinctive and engaging book proposes an imaginative criminology, focusing on how spaces of transgression, control or confinement are lived, portrayed and imagined.

Prison suicides reached a record high in 2016 in England and Wales. Provides the first detailed case study of the investigations that follow prison suicides with findings relevant at a global level.

Focusing on one of the most interesting developments in UK prisons over the past 10 years, this book examines the early history of the Prison Radio Association and the formation of the first national radio station for prisoners. It shows how a relatively small-scale media activism came to be an intrinsic part of prison culture.