Lecture 3: Prisons perpetual crisis Flashcards
What are the 8 components contributing to the crisis in prisons according to the Orthodox account?
1.The high prison population (or the ‘Number Crisis’)
2.Overcrowding
3.Bad conditions (for both prisoners and staff)
4.Understaffing
5.Unrest among the staff
6.Poor security
7.The toxic mix of prisoners
8.Riots and other breakdowns (epitomizes the state of crisis)
What were the significant outcomes or consequences of the Strangeways riot in 1990?
1-25 April 1990: 147 officers and 47 prisoners injured; two died.
£60 million in damages.
Prompted 20 ‘copycat’ or ‘solidarity’ prison riots.
What were the primary objectives of the Woolf Report commissioned after the disturbances at HMP Strangeways?
*Determine the causes of the riot.
*What was wrong with the prison system.
*What should be done to prevent it happening again.
what reccomendations were proposed as a progressive agenda for the prison system?
Presented 12 central recommendations along with 204 supporting recommendations.
According to the Woolf Report, what were the 2 relevant factors contributing to the Strangeways riot?
chronic overcrowding how many in men in spaces
Wholly unacceptable and inhumane’ conditions - 3 things
*Staffing problems - 3 things
Relevant factors:
*Issues around security and control.
*Problems with overcrowding and insanitary physical conditions
Chronic overcrowding: 1,647 men in spaces for 970.
‘Wholly unacceptable and inhumane’ conditions -
*Impoverished regime and unsanitary conditions.
*Shortage of clean clothes.
*Limited opportunity for work/ education/time out of cell.
*Staffing problems:
*Shortage of senior staff.
*No redress for perceived injustices. – if there was a problem staff doing nothing
*Arbitrary and oppressive staff behaviour, even mental and physical brutality
According to the Woolf Report’s findings, which aspects of the orthodox account of a prison crisis were supported and which were refuted?
The toxic mix of prisoners was the only refuted rest of the 7 was supported
3 Recommendations
Look at recommendations:
Orthodox account of the prison crisis
Number crisis/ Material crisis/ Crisis of conditions
What were the recommendations made by the Woolf Report regarding prison conditions and containment?
10 . amount of people in a prison to work
- What measure might be suggested to control the maximum number of inmates a single prison is allowed to hold
- What measures have been highlighted to ensure proper sanitation for all inmates in prisons, despite the persistence of inadequate sanitation in some facilities
- What was the status of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for purposeful activity and Self-inflicted Deaths (SIDs) based on the implementation of accredited standards in the given period
minimum use of custody.
Called for stronger community-prison links.
Urged for improved conditions and humane containment,
- suggesting prisons should not hold more than 400 people.
7.Proposed limiting an individual prison’s certified level of accommodation.
8.Emphasized providing access to sanitation for all inmates and abolishing practices like slopping out, although some prisons still lack appropriate sanitation.
- Accredited standards
What initiatives or measures have been introduced by the HM Government to tackle the issue of drugs in prisons?
The HM Government introduced ‘From harm to hope: a 10-year drugs plan to cut crime and save lives’ in 2021.
(have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs)
The plan emphasizes a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in all prisons, ensuring treatment availability for prisoners, facilitating lasting change towards a drug-free life, and aiming to prevent reoffending.
What were the significant impacts of COVID-19 on prisons according to the actions taken by HM Prison and Probation Service?
their cells for at least 23 hours a day.
Staff shortages caused by self-isolation and changes in the regime.
Reductions in food, with some prisoners receiving only one pre-packed meal daily.
no face-to-face visits and cancellation of Release on Temporary License (ROTL) programs.
Cancellation of early release schemes
Overcrowding exacerbating the spread of the virus within prisons.
What were the key elements of Lord Woolf’s promotion of justice within the prison system, as outlined in his recommendations?
the need for ‘justice’ and a better balance with security.
Included of ‘procedural justice’,
involving reasons for decisions
grievance procedures.
remove disciplinary function from the Board of Visitors (BOV).
5.Introduction of the concept of a contract of ‘legitimate expectations’, ensuring decent treatment.
when was IEP introduced
1995
What were the 4 primary objectives or aims of the Incentive and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme implemented in prisons?
Encouraging responsible behavior among prisoners.
Encouraging effort and achievement in work and other constructive activities by prisoners.
aimed at reducing re-offending.
Creating a more disciplined, better-controlled, and safer environment for both prisoners and staff.
Woolf called for more humane, secure and just prison system across England and Wales, characterised by better prisoner-staff relationships and an improvement in the quality of prison surroundings
IEP & Justice
IEP & Prisoner – staff relationships:
IEP & Justice
*Watered down justice?
*Privileges have to be earned not an inalienable right.
* *Scheme more about restoring authority rather than justice? E.g., Family links
staff relationships:
*The power to move prisoners up and down these levels is in the hands of prison staff.
*Issues of fairness disparity, legitimacy and discrimination.
What historical events and reviews have emphasized the importance of considering prisoners’ families in the criminal justice system?
- Strangeways Riot threw a spotlight on how prisoners’ families were treated.
- The forgotten victims – treated as peripheral to the whole process.
- Woolf called for better prospects for prisoners to maintain their links with families and the community through more visits and home leave and through being located in community prisons as near to their homes as possible
