Women’s Imprisonment: Models Of Reform And Change
| Date | 01 June 2002 |
| Author | Pat Carlen |
| Published date | 01 June 2002 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050204900202 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Models Of Reform And
Change
Pat Carlen discusses women’s imprisonment in the light of three
models of recent reform and change in responses to female
lawbreakers in several jurisdictions. She highlights some of the
inherent contradictions of attempts at prison reform and concludes
that the main thrust of such reform should be to increase
decarcerative sentencing and experimentation with innovative
community penalties.
The closing decades of the twentieth and between various sectors of criminal
century saw growing international
justice and related agencies and, more
concern about the increasing numbers of
importantly, within and between
women in prison, the effects on their
governments competing for populist
children, the realisation that gaoled women
electoral approval of their law and order
have different lawbreaking profiles and
policies.
rehabilitative requirements to males, and
One of the objectives of the
the seeming intractability of the associated
international research (funded under the
problems. A policy concern in many
Economic and Social Research Council’s
jurisdictions focused on the desirability of
‘Future of Governance Programme’, Award
fashioning and co-ordinating gender-
No: L21652033) which I conducted during
specific policies which would: slow down
2000 and 2001, was to develop models of
the rate of women’s offending and/or
some recent attempts at reform and change
imprisonment; engender less damaging,
in women’s imprisonment. In twenty years
and more effective, penalties; and reduce
of campaigning for more appropriate
the time women spend in custody and/or
responses to women who break the law, I
away from their young children.
have repeatedly seen the spirit of many
Yet, though there was broad agreement
reforms either neutralised by the mode of
about the inappropriateness of imprisoning
their implementation or undermined by
so many minor or drug-addicted female
processes (such as poverty and
offenders, and although there was no
homelessness) well beyond the remit of
shortage of ideas about what should be
prison and other criminal justice personnel.
done, reforms have repeatedly faltered
Yet, I was not satisfied with analyses that
because of a lack of holistic purpose within
imply that all attempts at prison reform are
76
always and already at risk of neutralisation
such varied cultures and traditions that I
by a malign and conspiratorial state.
was less certain than usual that we were
Moreover, although I find it difficult to
talking about the same ‘thing’ – or not.
embrace the concept of the ‘good prison’, I
There may be areas of social policy
do believe that prisons can be better or
where it is easier to talk about ‘what works’
worse places according to their modes of
than it is in relation to criminal justice. But
operation and regime design. Furthermore,
in penal policy, it is difficult to get
my research experience over the years
agreement as to the nature of the problem to
convinces me that the vast majority of
be addressed, let alone the best ways of
criminal justice personnel involved in
addressing ‘reform and change’ and then
reform and change have a genuine
assessing ‘what works’. The ‘hard
commitment to achieving a more just,
evidence’ preferred by governments would
humane and effective penal system. The
demonstrate positive relationships between
aim, therefore, of developing models of
interventions and reductions in recidivism,
change and reform was to investigate the
and though (given the financial incentives
complex conditions under which recent
to produce it) such ‘hard evidence’ might
programmes of reform in women’s
appear to be forthcoming in relation to
imprisonment have been instituted,
participants in particular projects, without
implemented and developed. This article
detailed knowledge of the characteristics of
describes and discusses three models,
project members, together with information
which primarily focus on Scotland,
about the other influences on them at a
England and Canada.
particular time, it is usually difficult (if not
impossible) to isolate any one factor as
being solely responsible for any
individual’s desistance from crime – even
Investigation
were such a complex phenomenon to be
amenable to sensible assessment in the
The empirical investigation consisted of
short term (see Carter et al, 1992). The
formal and informal interviews with key
favoured official modes for assessing
criminal justice personnel involved in the
reform and change often complicate
reform and change of responses to female
matters still further, especially when
offenders in England, Scotland, Israel,
demands for quantitative assessments of
North Carolina, Massachusetts, and New
policy ‘successes’ or ‘failures’ are made in
South Wales; and documentary analysis
situations where they are either impossible
and literature review of reforms in the
to produce in meaningful form or where
Canadian Federal Prisons for women
they are simply inappropriate.
during the last decade of the twentieth
With such difficulties inherent in the
century. The strategy employed was a
research subject matter, it was decided to
broad brush one: to identify trends and
identify reform programmes and innovative
underlying ideological, political and
projects in several jurisdictions and ask
economic conditions conducive to effective
their leaders what, in their opinion, were
reform in terms of the stated objectives of
the conditions conducive to running
individual programmes/projects. This
innovative, holistic and gender-specific
strategy was bedevilled with problems of
programmes for women lawbreakers which
definition: as to ‘effectiveness’ (according
might reduce their offending and increase
to which criteria?); of comparison – insofar
their social options. The following
as most of the programmes/projects took
innovative projects, programmes, regimes,
forms that were not directly comparable
or units were subsequently identified:
with each other in any usual sense of the
word; and of translation, insofar as my (all
•
Cornton Vale’s anti-suicide regime in
English-speaking) respondents came from
Scotland;
77
•
The Prison Service’s Women’s Policy
have other functions, but the only
Group (WPG) and the Hereford and
characteristic sentenced prisoners have in
Worcester Probation Service’s Programme
common is that they have been convicted
for Women Offenders, both in England;
of a crime for which the sentence of the
•
The Women’s Unit of the Hampden
court was punishment, either by a term of
County Correctional Centre and Hart
immediate imprisonment, or by one of
House, Tewkesbury, both in Massachusetts,
those ‘alternatives’ to custody which are
USA;
backed up by the explicit threat of
incarceration for non-compliance with
•
The Women at Risk Programme in
sentencing conditions. Like all other
North Carolina, USA;
‘others’, therefore, alternatives to
•
The Israeli Rehabilitation of Prisoners
imprisonment are predicated upon the
Authority’s employment unit for female
continued existence of the binary partner;
ex-prisoners and hostel for ex-prisoner
in this case, the prison itself. It is for this
mothers and their babies in Jerusalem; and,
reason that the research centred on the uses
•
In New South Wales, Australia, the
and abuses of imprisonment for women,
Parramatta Transitional Prison, the Mother
even though, of course, the majority of
and Baby Programme and the Drugs Court.
convicted women do not receive a prison
sentence.
Information from some of these
projects (though not from all of them),
The second domain assumption was
together with information about reform of
that, because a logical and necessary
the federal women’s prison system in
condition of imprisonment is that prisoners
Canada, provided the data within which
must be kept in (otherwise the prison would
the following models were developed.
be no more), there are logically, and
However, the main arguments are drawn
necessarily, limits to prison reform. Yet,
from official descriptions and academic
obvious as that may be, ever since the
analyses of attempts to reform women’s
inception of penal incarceration, the
imprisonment in England, Scotland, and
punitive function and total security
Canada (Task Force on Federally
requirements of the prison have been
Sentenced Women, 1990 – for Canada;
repeatedly occluded by governmental,
Social Work Services and Prisons
professional or reformist claims that
Inspectorates for Scotland, 1998; Home
prisons – especially women’s prisons – are,
Office 2000 – for England and Wales;
or could be, for something other than
also, Carlen 2001; Harmah-Moffat, 2001;
punishment and incarceration: for example,
Harmah-Moffat and Shaw, 2000).
psychological readjustment, training in
The major concept which mobilises
parenting, drugs rehabilitation, general
...
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