Prison: Ideology, Policy and Law (LAWS0086)

This module aims to examine the roles that the contemporary prison plays in the criminal justice system and to explore emerging trends in prison policy and prison law.

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Despite a generally declining rate of crime the prison population in England and Wales has risen dramatically over the last twenty years and now stands at an unprecedented level for both men and women. We lock up more people per head of population than virtually all our Western European neighbours but significantly fewer than the United States.

Nonetheless mass incarceration, whilst initiated earlier in the U.S., has occurred in a number of European countries. In England and Wales the growth in numbers is due primarily to a shift in the sentencing practices of both the magistrates’ and Crown courts: the courts more frequently resorting to custodial sentences as well as imposing longer periods in custody.

The increasing reliance on the prison across a number of western democracies, together with its rising social and fiscal costs, raises the question of why we remain committed to this particular form of punishment. In addition the coercive nature of imprisonment and its designation as a practice authorised by the state impels us to critically evaluate the development and operation of prison policy and prison law.

Course content

This module aims to examine the roles that the contemporary prison plays in the criminal justice system, to explore emerging trends and  to integrate our understanding of the ideology, policy and legal governance of the practice of imprisonment.

It will consider key theoretical perspectives that have been used to understand the purpose of imprisonment and legitimise its operation in different historical and cultural contexts; and will critically examine prison governance, law and policy, their theoretical foundations and political construction, in the light of modern research evidence.

We then examine in depth a number of contemporary policy debates including prisoners’ rights; the imprisonment of women; life sentence prisoners, foreign national prisoners and deaths in prison. Whilst the module will focus largely on prisons in England and Wales we encourage participants to take the opportunity to compare prison systems from other jurisdictions.

Module syllabus

This module is subject to change.

The following issues are broadly indicative of the content of the course:

The Structure of Imprisonment: Issues of Power and Legitimacy

• Introduction: Overview of the prison system and the phenomenon of mass incarceration
• The prison population
• The ideology of imprisonment
• Prison governance

Prisons’ Accountability and Prisoners’ Rights: The Experience of Imprisonment and Issues of Equality and Legitimacy

• Women’s prisons
• Life sentence prisoners
• Deaths in prison
• Foreign national prisoners
• The reality of prison – visit to prison (if possible) or examination of issues raised in the course through the medium of recorded prison documentaries
• Overview & summative  essay guidance

Recommended materials

Students might wish to look at any or all of the following over the summer and during the course:

• Scott, D. & Flynn, N. (2014) Prisons and Punishment: The Essentials, Sage, London
• Scott, D. & Codd, H. (2010) Controversial Issues in Prisons, Open University Press, Milton Keynes
• Jewkes, Y. & Johnston, H. (eds) (2006) Prison Readings: A Critical Introduction to Prisons and Imprisonment,Willan, Cullompton
• Easton, S. (2011) Prisoners’ Rights: Principles and Practice, Routledge, Milton Park, Abingdon

All four are relatively inexpensive (check the usual online book stores) and provide different angles on the subject of imprisonment. A description of the content of each of these books can be accessed on the publishers’ websites.

Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, once students have made their module selections upon enrolment.

Key information