Review: The Prisons Handbook
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X0207500109 |
| Published date | 01 March 2002 |
| Date | 01 March 2002 |
| Author | Robyn Malan de Merindol |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEW
THE
PRISONS
HANDBOOK
Mark
Leech
and
Deborah Cheney
Winchester: Waterside Press, 2001
ISBN 1-872-870-97-X
This is the fifth edition of the Prisons Handbook and is the most
comprehensive of the five.
It
is largely the project of Mark Leech,
Chief Executive of UNLOCK, the National Association of ex-
offenders, and this year it has been co-authored by Deborah Cheney,
lecturer in Criminal Law and Penology and Deputy Director of Kent
Criminal Justice Centre. Their research is supplemented by contribu-
tions from a broad range of people with an interest in prisons, their
workforce and clients. These include: academics, representatives from
the Prison Service and the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the
Board of Visitors, prison governors, prisoners, ex-prisoners and both
Martin Narey and Sir David Ramsbotham.
The purpose of this book appears to be threefold; first to make
transparent, to any who care to look, all aspects of prison life; secondly
to provide practical information for prisoners and their families; thirdly
to be a valuable resource for anyone engaged in research in the penal
system.
In the spirit of transparency the intimacies of a prison sentence are
laid bare, from the reception process, visits and activities, the dis-
ciplinary system, pay and privileges, a prison-by-prison guide for
England and Wales through to sentence calculation and release. Invalu-
able practical information to prisoners and their families is provided in
the book offering details such as key officers in each prison, the prison
regimes and facilities, information about visits and correspondence and
details of how to get to each prison including by public transport.
It
also lists helpful organisations such as the Federation of Prisoners'
Families Support Groups and INQUEST, a support group concerned
with deaths in custody. There are also details of approved probation
and bail hostels, of prison policies such as race relations and disability,
and a large section on the Human Rights Act. As a resource for anyone
who may be engaged in research on any matters relating to the penal
system, the book offers the latest inspection reports, Prison Service
Orders, Prison Rules, a substantial section on Penal Case Law, and
Parliamentary Questions and Answers on prisons, July 1999 - July
2000.
My research has indicated that this book is highly respected by
professionals working with prisoners, particularly where their input
is intended to be rehabilitative. The scope is such that it includes all
the programmes offered at different establishments; it is, therefore,
possible to plan a sentence to include beneficial and compulsory
programmes from NVQs to the SOTP (Sex Offender Treatment Pro-
gramme). The prisoners I spoke to tended to use the book to inform
The Police Journal, Volume 75 (2002) 89
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