‘It's as if you're not in the Jail, as if you're not a Prisoner’: Young Male Offenders’ Experiences of Incarceration, Prison Chaplaincy, Religion and Spirituality in Scotland and Denmark

AuthorROBERT MCLEAN,LINE LERCHE MØRCK,NIGHET RIAZ,ROSS DEUCHAR,YONAH HISBON MATEMBA
Date01 May 2016
Published date01 May 2016
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12160
The Howard Journal Vol55 No 1–2. May 2016 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12160
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 131–150
‘It’s as if you’re not in the Jail, as if
you’re not a Prisoner’:YoungMale
Offenders’ Experiences of
Incarceration, Prison Chaplaincy,
Religion and Spirituality in Scotland
and Denmark
ROSS DEUCHAR, LINE LERCHE MØRCK,
YONAH HISBON MATEMBA, ROBERT MCLEAN
and NIGHET RIAZ
Ross Deuchar is Assistant Dean, School of Education, Institute for Youth and
Community Research, University of the West of Scotland; Line Lerche Mørck is
Professor, School of Education, Aarhus University, Copenhagen, Denmark;
Yonah Hisbon Matemba is Senior Lecturer, Robert McClean is PhD Research
Student, and Nighet Riaz is PhD Research Student, School of Education,
Institute for Youthand Community Research, University of the West of Scotland
Abstract: This article explores Scottish and Danish young male offenders’ experiences
of incarceration, prison chaplaincy, religion and spirituality.The findings from in-depth
face-to-face semi-structured interviews (n =15) suggest that although Scotland and
Denmark are increasingly secular countries, the prison environment (deprivation of lib-
erty, vulnerability and feelings of guilt) seems to engender pro-religious/spiritualattitudes
and an interest in prison chaplaincy services. Working with interfaith chaplains enabled
the young inmates to take small steps towards managing the social strains that led them
into offending, and the ‘painful’ experiences they encountered during imprisonment. The
holistic chaplaincy services that they were offered helped to nurture some initial turning
points that stimulated identity and behaviour change linked to transitional masculinity,
and in some cases to an increased commitment towards criminal desistance.
Keywords: spirituality; religion; chaplaincy; prisons; masculinity; desistance
This article is based on research undertaken in one young male offenders’
institution in Scotland and two remand prisons in Denmark. It explores
the experiences of young male offenders regarding the salutary effects of
religion, spiritualty and chaplaincy on their lives in prison and the ex-
tent to which these contribute towards behavioural change and increased
131
C
2016 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol55 No 1–2. May 2016
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 131–150
commitment to criminal desistance, an issue that has received little at-
tention in the discourse (Sundt and Cullen 2002; O’Connor and Duncan
2011). In spite of the evidence suggesting that religious or spiritual prac-
tices may have a humanising influence on prisons (Maruna, Wilson and
Curren 2006; Schroeder and Frana 2009), in many parts of the world –
particularly those that are overtly secular,such as Scotland and Denmark –
these practices rarely feature within criminal justice policy (see Parkes and
Bilby 2010).
In Scotland, although there have been significant reductions in reof-
fending rates over the last decade, it has been highlighted that the total
economic and social costs of offending currently stand at £3 billion, and
that young men aged under 21 years are most likely to reoffend (Audit
Scotland 2012). In Denmark, young males aged less than 25 years also re-
offend the most (Kriminalforsorgen 2013). Among Danish prisoners aged
15–20 years, about 37% reoffend and of those aged 21–30 years, about
32% reoffend (Graunbøl et al. 2010). In Scotland, it is recognised that the
prison system has an important role to play in rehabilitating offenders, and
that purposeful activity should support the development of strengths and
potential, as well as addressing risks and needs (Scottish Prison Service
2014). Purposeful activities are defined as ‘any supervised and/or struc-
tured activity that contributes to reducing re-offending’ (Scottish Parlia-
ment 2013, p.9). As part of this approach, prison chaplains are part of a care
team within Scottish prisons along with prison officers, doctors, psychol-
ogists, mental health nurses, social workers, prison managers, and other
specialists.
In contrast to Scotland, the Danish prison chaplaincy works inde-
pendently from the established prison system, and the chaplains based
within the two Copenhagen prisons that were the focus for our research
also work in close collaboration with Katalysator (Catalyst) and Islamic-
Christian-study-center (IKS), both non-governmental organisations pro-
viding community-reaching support beyond the prison, which includes
organising voluntary mentorships for former prisoners.
Scotland and Denmark, with a comparable population of 5.3 million
(2011) and 5.6 million (2013) respectively, are largely secular societies (see
Iversen 2006; Field 2001). In Scotland, the latest (2011) statistics indicate
that within a ten-year period, the percentage of the population who identify
themselves as Christian has declined from 65.09% to 53.80%, while those
with ‘no religion’ have increased from 27.55% to 36.70% (Scottish Gov-
ernment 2013). In Denmark, although most people (83%) are born into
the Evangelical Lutheran Church (as the national church) or ‘Folkekirke’,
there is a growing Muslim population (4%) and about 1% belonging to
Roman Catholic, Jehovah’s Witness, Serbian Orthodox Christian, Jewish,
Baptist, and Buddhist; overall only 42% of the people consider themselves
as religious (Vinding and Christoffersen 2012). The work of Rasmussen
(2010) in Denmark excepted, owing to the secular nature of the two coun-
tries’ lifeworlds and despite prisoners’ interest in chaplaincy services, there
has been little attention given to the role of prison chaplaincy and, indeed,
the potential role of spirituality or religion in addressing risks and needs
132
C
2016 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT