Surveillance and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals
| Author | Mike Vuolo,Lesley E Schneider,Eric G LaPlant |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14624745221080696 |
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Surveillance and
the experience of the
COVID-19 pandemic
for formerly incarcerated
individuals
Mike Vuolo
Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University
Lesley E Schneider
Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University
Eric G LaPlant
U.S. Veterans Health Administration
Abstract
To date, most criminal justice research on COVID-19 has examined the rapid spread
within prisons. We shift the focus to reentry via in-depth interviews with formerly incar-
cerated individuals in central Ohio, specifically focusing on how criminal justice contact
affected the pandemic experience. In doing so, we use the experience of the pandemic
to build upon criminological theories regarding surveillance, including both classic the-
ories on surveillance during incarceration as well as more recent scholarship on com-
munity surveillance, carceral citizenship, and institutional avoidance. Three findings
emerged. First, participants felt that the total institution of prison “prepared”them
for similar experiences such as pandemic-related isolation. Second, shifts in community
supervision formatting, such as those forced by the pandemic, lessened the coercive
nature of community supervision, expressed by participants as an increase in autonomy.
Third, establishment of institutional connections while incarcerated alleviated institu-
tional avoidance resulting from hyper-surveillance, specifically in the domain of health-
care, which is critical when a public health crisis strikes. While the COVID-19
Corresponding author:
Mike Vuolo,Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 238 Townshend Hall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall,
Columbus, OH 43201.
Email: vuolo.2@osu.edu
Article
Punishment & Society
2023, Vol. 25(2) 386–406
© The Author(s) 2022
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14624745221080696
journals.sagepub.com/home/pun
pandemic affected all, this article highlights how theories of surveillance inform unique
aspects of the pandemic for formerly incarcerated individuals, while providing pathways
forward for reducing the impact of surveillance.
Keywords
COVID-19, surveillance, reentry, community supervision, incarceration
Introduction
COVID-19 has arguably been the most socially disruptive public health event in a
century, placing considerable strain on healthcare and disrupting daily life. Criminal
justice research has justifiably focused on prisons and jails thus far, as they are ideal
environments to facilitate transmission (Byrne et al., 2020; Couloute, 2020). However,
the pandemic may also have unique impacts for formerly incarcerated individuals
attempting to reintegrate into conventional society, and most of whom are still under
community supervision. Here, we examine how incarceration affected the COVID-19
experience for those reintegrating by capitalizing on an ongoing study with established
participants. Through in-depth interviews with formerly incarcerated adults in central
Ohio, we centre the lived experiences of our participants during the pandemic, and the
relevance of prior incarceration to those experiences. Simultaneously, we use the pan-
demic experience to inform criminological theories regarding surveillance, including
classic theories on incarceration and recent scholarship on community supervision, car-
ceral citizenship, and institutional avoidance. Three findings emerged, with participants
describing how: (1) the total institution of prison made them feel “better prepared”for
similar experiences such as pandemic-related isolation; (2) shifts in community supervi-
sion formatting reduced the coerciveness of community surveillance through increased
autonomy; and, (3) establishing quality connections to social institutions while incarcer-
ated minimized institutional avoidance, specifically within healthcare. We begin by high-
lighting relevant literature in each of these areas.
Effects of surveillance during incarceration and reentry
Classic theorizing characterized prison as a total institution wherein individual autonomy
is lost and the self is transformed within a system of surveillance (Goffman, 1961;
Foucault, 1995; Sykes, 1958). In Foucault’s (1995) terms, the state seeks to turn indivi-
duals into docile bodies, such that people typically behave as if they may be under sur-
veillance. Prison is the ultimate manifestation of this effort, disciplining the body to
follow rules even in physical isolation. Through the “pains of imprisonment”(Crewe,
2011; Fleury-Steiner and Longazel, 2013; Haney, 2006; Johnson and Toch, 1982), the
self is reformulated to conform to systems of power (Crewe, 2011) and produces a
new class known as the carceral citizen (Miller and Stuart, 2017). Loss of autonomy
and isolation within prison represent the main mechanisms (Sykes, 1958) whereby the
Vuolo et al. 387
To continue reading
Request your trial