Visiting time
| Author | Marie Hutton |
| Date | 01 September 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550516663644 |
| Published date | 01 September 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Visiting time:
A tale of two prisons
Marie Hutton
University of Sussex, UK
Abstract
Prison visitation remains an under-researched and under-theorised aspect of prison
life. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, this article takes an in-depth look at the lived
experience of the prison visit from the perspectives of prisoners and their visitors. First,
this paper describes the inherently problematic nature of current visits practice
reflecting on the restrictions placed on prisoners and families and the longer term
implications for their lives post-release. Whilst acknowledging these fundamental
flaws, the paper then, describes what can make some visiting experiences more
‘survivable’ than others by comparing visiting experiences at two ostensibly similar
prisons
Keywords
prison conditions, prison visits, prisoners’ families, rehabilitation
Introduction
Most studies treat the visits hall as peripheral to the ‘main’ prison or primarily speak
to visits in relation to their capacity to influence re-offending rates (Duwe and Clark,
2013; Cochran, 2013; Mears et al., 2012). Aside from rare, but valuable,
exceptions (Comfort, 2007; Christian, 2005; Kotarba, 1979; Sharratt, 2014)
there is a dearth of research on the lived experience of the prison visit. In Prison
Service Instruction 16-2011 (that details expected general standards around visits
practice), the predominant focus from the perspective of the National Offender
Management Service (NOMS) is value of prison visits for their utility:
Corresponding Author:
Marie Hutton, Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK.
Email: M.Hutton@sussex.ac.uk
Probation Journal
2016, Vol. 63(3) 347–361
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0264550516663644
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The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
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