Reviews : Tom Shannon and Christopher Morgan Black Swan, 1997; £6.99 pbk
| Author | Roger Kennington |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/026455059704400110 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
47
This
book
is
ideal
for
the
inexperienced
probation
officer
and
will
go
on
my
reading
list
for
DipSW
students.
As
well
as
offering
a
basic
course
in
prison
slang
and
an
introduction
to
the
lifer
system,
Tom
answers
directly
many
of
the
questions
most
of
us
are
too
polite
to
ask.
How
do
drugs
get
into
prisons?
What
about
the
scams
and
the
violence?
Is
the
dispersal
system
out
of
the
control
of
staff?
What
about
sex?
One
of
the
more
amusing
dilemmas
to
perplex
Tom
concerns
a
prisoner’s
attempts
to
seduce
him
with
tasty
foodstuffs.
Can
Tom
avoid
sex
yet
keep
getting
the
eclairs?
In
his
artless
fashion,
Tom
provides
insightful
analyses
of
the
prisoner
culture,
racial
dynamics
between
prisoners,
the
impact
of
drugs
and
HIV.
With
considerable
self
awareness,
he
explains
the
anti-social
institutional
behaviour
and
self
destructive
conduct
which
infuriates
probation
officers
who
see
their
lifers
shooting
themselves
in
the
foot.
There
are
also
insights
into
the
coping
strategies
required
to
endure
a
long
sentence.
Tom’s
experiences,
some
vividly
described,
others
all
the
more
powerful
for
understatement,
illustrate
the
brutality
of
prison.
Establishing
common
ground
with
Chris,
Tom
writes:
’Twenty-five
years
in
the
Army,
you
could
think
of
a
hundred
ways
for
an
all
male
society
to
degrade
themselves’ .
He
describes
most
of
them.
Yet
this
is
a
heart
warming
book,
one
which
should
encourage
all
probation
officers
of
isolated
long
term
prisoners
to
appreciate
the
difference
a
well
selected
volunteer
can
make.
Royalties
from
the
sales
proceeds
will
be
used
to
found
the
Shannon
Trust
which
will
aim
to
help
lifers
cope
with
one
of
their
greatest
problems -
release.
Susan
Barter
Lecturer
in
Social
Work,
University
of
Bath
BETRAYAL
SEXUAL ABU
SE BY
M
EN
WH
O
WO
RK
Betrayal
of
Trust:
Sexual
Abuse
by
Men
Who
Work
With
Children ...
In
Their
Own
Words
Mathew
Colton
and
Maurice
Vanstone
Free
Association
Books,
1996;
pp 180;
£15.95
pbk
Seven
men
(all
white),
imprisoned
for
sexual
offences
against
children
with
whom
they
worked
(teaching,
voluntary
work,
Priesthood)
describe
their
lives
and
behaviours.
The
book
yields
qualitative,
descriptive
information
to
form
the
basis
of
research
with
a
bigger
controlled
sample.
It
gives
fascinating
insights
into
the
minds
of
these
abusers
of
whom
we
are
increasingly
aware.
There
is
an
overview
of
theory
and
knowledge
of
sexual
abuse,
but
most
chapters
quote
the
offenders,
with
short
commentary
from
the
authors.
The
men’s
early
lives
were
characterised
by
feeling
different.
There
is
a
sense
of
distance
from
male
figures
and
discomfort
about
’macho’
culture.
Only
two
identify
being
sexually
abused.
Research
might
ask
how
common
these
experiences
were
for
non-
abusers
brought
up
in
post-war
Britain.
All
had
difficulty
in
sexual
development.
Four
describe
coping
with
being
homosexual
when
it
was
illegal
and
suppressed.
The
theme
of
equating
abuse
of
boys
with
homosexuality
is
not
generally
prevalent.
However,
one
man
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