N0338670
The prison system in England and Wales could reasonably
be described as being in crisis. Discuss.
Within any society, no matter how embryonic, crime and deviant behaviour is always almost certainly present. Due to the ever presence of crime, there are nearly always certain measures, procedures and administrative bodies in place to deal with the matter. In most countries the measures in place, could be described as the commencement of criminal justice proceedings and the use of some form of prosecution and punishment service. Within England and Wales, upon conviction of a criminal offence and having been sentenced to a custodial term, her majesty’s prison service is employed to carry out, and manage the punishment of any said individual. This is where the basis of this essay lies, within her majesty’s prison service and the in-depth exploration of the administration itself. This will be accomplished through various readings and research with a view to eventually be able to identify whether the prison system in England and Wales could reasonably be described as being in crisis.
In order to efficiently and accurately begin to draw conclusions regarding what state the prison system is in, it would be prudent to first establish what factors would contribute to any of the prison system’s failings resulting in a said crisis, whilst also revealing what elements or circumstance would suggest that the prison system is functioning both smoothly and successfully. Firstly it is necessary to properly define how the term crisis is employed in this context, and to move away from any suggestion that it may mean the penal system as a whole, is in dire straits and on the verge of collapse. In order to have any factual grounding it is more likely that crisis is meant to be descriptive of a manner of underlying problems impeding the smooth flow of the system. From approaching the subject from this viewpoint, it is possible to present a strong case that the prison system is in a state of crisis. Continuing down this tangent would naturally lead to the most obvious question regarding how to judge the prison system effectively, by asking if the system is still socially relevant and up to date whilst fulfilling its main directives.
‘Perhaps few would dispute that the penal system has serious problems – but is it really in a state of crisis? Then again, how long can a crisis last whilst remaining a crisis rather than business as usual?’ (Cavadino & Dignan, 2001: 12)
Here Cavaindo and Dignan are explaining that due to the nature of the work involved in the penal system, dealing with budget changes enforced by changing political stances, and the huge moral challenge that is involved in managing the penal system, it is difficult to classify the system as in a crisis, as all day to day running’s of the system are bound to encounter some form of trouble which shall have to be addressed and resolved. Therefore meaning that despite encountering many hitches along the way, the prison system due to its special circumstances could be viewed as successful, well at least from a social and political point of view.
Despite this, a crisis cannot be fully ruled out due to certain failings that are obvious when the system is viewed from a penological aspect. To gain more insight into this, we need to delve further into who the penal system serves, how it does this and ultimately who benefits.
Firstly there is the important role that prison plays within society. The penal system serves a huge purpose within modern Britain, whilst the obvious one being maintaining and managing the captivity of criminal offenders, but also on so many other levels. Despite being touted as a sinking ship, and the public viewing it as such, beneath the surface her HM‘s prison service is serving the whole of British society by deterring crime, due to the fear of incarceration, thus in turn empowering the police and aiding them in continually maintaining the social status quo within the United Kingdom, and preventing any outbreak of anarchy. This standpoint illustrates the penal system in its most primitive form, a tool.
Due to HM’s prison system being essentially state controlled, a Marxist may argue that it is an RSA (Repressive State Apparatus.) This is due to the system being employed to keep an obvious social structure by the state, through keeping the lower classes in line via fear of any custodial repercussions. This point of view enables us to continue evaluating the performance of the penal system, by seeing the various ways in which it is used by the state. As a repressive tool, it is used in various times of divergence, and this in itself may explain the difficulties that allegedly plague the system.
‘Although the RSAs appear to be quite disparate, they are unified by subscribing to a common ideology in the service of the ruling class; indeed, the ruling class must maintain a degree of control over the RSA’ (Felluga, Dino. “Modules on Althusser: On Ideological State Apparatuses.” Introductory Guide to Critical Theory.)
In keeping with the analysis of the alleged state of crisis within our prison system, a possible area that may give birth to this opinion is the apparent involvement of the media. It is through this medium that a crisis is cultured and gathers momentum within the public eye. Examples of this include the media coverage of any prisoner unrest and escape attempts. On the other hand, it is also where alleged crises can be played down by government officials, or even where the system can be praised. Michael Howards famous ‘Prison Works’ speech is a prime example of how the media can be used by the government to counteract any negativity towards the penal system and even praise its good work, despite the media frenzy surrounding the topic.
“Today the prison population reached 60,000. It is no coincidence that recorded crime has fallen by record amounts over the last four years at the same time that the prison population has risen.’ (Michael Howard, 1993)
The above quotation illustrates how the media can also be used to the prison systems advantage, rather than solely as a crises creating tool.
Regarding any said crisis there may or may not be within HM’s prison service, there are a few mainstream theories regarding the issue which are freely available via many media platforms. The one I shall be discussing in this essay is known as the Orthodox account and is heavily described within Cavadino and Dignan’s work ‘The Penal System: An Introduction.’
‘This passage gives us almost all the components of the ‘orthodox account’ of the penal crisis, The crisis is seen as being located very specifically within the prison system- it is not seen as a crisis of the whole penal system, or of the criminal justice system, let alone as a crisis of society as a whole. The immediate cause of the crisis is seen as the combination of different types of difficult prisoners- what has been called the ‘toxic mix’ of prisoners (Home Office, 1984a:para 124) – in physically poor and insecure conditions which could give rise to an explosion.’ (Cavadino & Dignan, 2001: 13)
Here the orthodox theory is explained as accepting there is a crisis but that the crisis is located within the prison system, and not the penal system as a whole. Through the identification of various issues within the prison sector and the accumulation of such leads to a burst of unrest/riots. This theory illustrates that the rising number of inmates is having a severe effect and is could be touted as the initial catalyst behind the rest of the factors influencing any said crises. The number is not only high, but it is ever rising with more people than ever before being sent to prison, and for longer periods of time. This in part is down to governmental policy, put in place after Michael Howard’s famous prison works speech.
The high numbers of new inmates eventually snowball, as previously described act as a catalyst for a whole new range of problems explained in the orthodox account. The first being the issue of overcrowding leading to bad conditions within any said prison. Research suggests it is not simply a case of not enough room in the system for offenders, just that the number of inmates is not evenly spread throughout the full breadth of HM’s prison services.
‘At the end of October, 82 of the 130 prisons in England and Wales were overcrowded, it says. Almost 20,000 inmates in 2010/11 were “doubling up” in cells designed for one person.’ (O’Hara, J. The Guardian Newspaper, December 2011)
This statistic alone shows the depth of the problem, with the problem beginning to raise issues of humanitarianism.
The third factor explained in the orthodox account is the issue of understaffing, with limited staff working excessive hours. This can be said to be a critical factor in the basis of a said crisis, as insufficient staff levels means staff are forced to work longer harder shifts and are more inclined to make mistakes leading to further prisoner unrest or worse living conditions. The next player in the supposed prison crisis is the issue of security. There have been many high profile lapses within HM’s prison service, with many inmates having escaped or attempted to do so. This is turn is seized upon by the press storm, and is made out to be much worse than it actually is, thus creating a moral panic and the impression that the system is in crisis.
‘Prison officers helped five IRA prisoners and an armed robber to escape from the Whitemoor security jail, in Cambridgeshire, and engineered a cover-up of their role in the breakout, a leading barrister claimed yesterday.’ (Jury L & Cusick J, The Independent Newspaper, January 25th, 1997)
Above is an extract from an article detailing the infamous Whitemoor prison escape. The account tells of how 6 inmates managed to breach prison security and escape custody in 1994. The media seized upon this, with a media frenzy ensuing.
The final instalment of the orthodox account is possibly the most widely valued. It is the phenomena known as the ‘toxic mix’. This is where certain people who are more disposed to causing trouble than others, but when in custody and living within a confined space the rate of disturbances rockets.
After reviewing the above account, it is possible for one to make the point that all the factors above have been apparent within HM’s prison service and have in some way or another caused some manner of unrest. Whether the word crisis could be branded to them though is a tough ask, as although there have been riots within the system, it could be argued there are other definitions of crisis.
There are many opposing theories to the orthodox, all with their own reasoning’s and weight behind them. Despite this the orthodox is widely accepted as the most valid. As above it is clear to see that a variety of factors can easily flare up when they are thrown into the mixing pot together, in this case a confined space with little room for tolerance. The issue of overcrowding and unsanitary conditions is a problem, but regarding conditions in our jails they are luxurious compared to some of our European neighbours. Also the understaffing concern, despite possibly being a factor in a burst of unrest, does have its advantages. It means that the workforce, although small, become well acquainted with their inmates and also highly skilled, gathering experience at a rapid pace, due to the increased working hours. To summarise it is evident there are a whole variety of problems present within the prison service, but not throughout the whole of the penal system. Whether these factors can be classified as putting HM’s prison service in a state of crisis is highly debatable. This is due to the large amount of evidence of these crisis contributing factors within the system, but also the special nature that the system does. In such a conflict filled niche, there are bound to be complications regarding the efficient running of things. As explained before it is hard to say at what time period a crisis turns into everyday life.
To conclude, it could be said that the points presented in this essay, such as the orthodox account, can make a very strong argument that the prison system in England and Wales, is in a state of crisis. Although key workings such as Cavadino and Dignan could argue otherwise, by suggesting the job the system does, although not a pretty sight and full of misdemeanours, eventually does fulfil its purpose. It is only from an inside penological view that the failings become more obvious. With this the prison service could be classified a social success, as its purpose of detaining dangerous criminals is certainly being fulfilled, and certainly not enduring a crisis.
Word count: 2,162 without reference list
References
O’Hara, M. (2011). Call to cut overcrowding burden on prisons. Available: • http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/14/prison-overcrowding-burden-england-wales. Last accessed 30/11/2012.
Felluga, D. (1997). Introduction to Louis Althusser. Available: http://www.cla.purdue.edu/english/theory/marxism/modules/althusserisas.html. Last accessed 30/11/2012.
Boin, A & Rattray, W. (2001). Understanding Prison Riots. Available: • http://www.observatoriodeseguranca.org/files/Entendendo%20as%20Rebelioes.pdf. Last accessed 1/12/2012.
Davadino, M & Dignan, J (2007). The Penal System: An Introduction. London: Sage Publications. 8-14.