Prison Journal, The

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Latest documents

• “Every Day I was Crying about Something”: Lingering Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Working in Juvenile Prisons

  Staff working in prison settings experience high rates of job-related stress which was amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty staff members from a juvenile prison were interviewed to determine the unique mental health symptoms and stressors several years after initial shutdown procedures. Anxiety, PTSD symptoms, and sleep disturbances were reported; sometimes resulting in staff avoiding interactions with youth. Some positive aspects were noted, but overall, results indicated a continued need for mental health support and policy changes for staff. As noted by one participant, “If you don’t have the direct care staff, you don’t have a facility.”

• Skills and Competencies Incompatible With Crime: A Theory of Criminal Lifestyle Change

  This article presents a theory-based model of criminal desistance organized around the four behavioral styles of a criminal lifestyle. These four behavioral styles (irresponsibility, self-indulgence, interpersonal intrusiveness, and social rule breaking) were enlisted for the purpose of identifying four skill sets (accountability, introspection, empathy, and assimilation) with the power to serve as obstacles, deterrents, or barriers to continued criminal activity. Definitions, assessment procedures, intervention strategies, and changes in a person's involvements, commitments, and identifications are outlined for each skill set or competency, all in an effort to demonstrate the purpose, scope, and long-term value of each component of the model.

• Abortion and Contraception Policy in Prisons in Canada

  Little is known about abortion and contraception policy in prisons in Canada. The aim of this study was to determine policies governing access to abortion and contraception in prisons in Canada. Between 2022 and 2023, we sent freedom of information requests to each province and territory and to the federal government of Canada, requesting any information with respect to policies governing abortion and contraception in prisons and jails. Our review identified only one outdated policy pertaining to abortion access, and no policies governing hormonal contraception. The lack of proactive policy to assert access to commonly required services threatens reproductive autonomy.

• Themes From Currently Incarcerated Individuals About How to Close the School-to-Prison Pipeline

  The school-to-prison pipeline (STPP) is a metaphor for the pathway through which individuals are “pushed” out of school and into the criminal justice system. Research suggests that the disproportionate representation of marginalized groups in the STPP has important implications for their incarceration experiences as adults. Nevertheless, no research of which we are aware asks incarcerated individuals to provide recommendations to deal with the STPP. We use qualitative data from approximately 500 individuals incarcerated in a Southeastern state to gain insight about their recommendations for improving disciplinary practices in school settings. Themes that emerged from their responses include the importance of communication between students and teachers and various support programs. Important racial differences in the themes also exist.

• Moving Beyond the Impasse: Importation, Deprivation, and Difference in Prisons

  This theoretical article uses an intersectionality lens to show that, together, the importation and deprivation models can act as an important theoretical tool for understanding the lives of incarcerated people who deviate from the expected population of young, white, able-bodied, hearing males. We use examples from the lives of incarcerated d/Deaf people and incarcerated women to introduce a pain-difference continuum, where the extent to which someone differs from what is ‘expected' in prison correlates with the types of pains/deprivations they experience. We acknowledge the impact of imported oppression and coin the term “imported coping,” where people utilize pre-existing strategies to navigate prison's pains.

• Applying the Risk–Need–Responsivity (RNR) Model to Transgender Women in the Criminal Justice System

  Transgender women are at least twice as likely as cisgender people to be incarcerated in their lifetimes, and, in custody, they experience harassment, abuse, and denial of affirming healthcare. Despite several legal and policy changes intended to improve these conditions, there has been little discussion about the need for evidence-based rehabilitation with the population. This article examines the use of the risk–need–responsivity (RNR) model with transgender women in the criminal justice system and discusses how it can be beneficial for tailoring rehabilitation services to address the unique needs of the population, thereby improving opportunities for successful community reintegration.

• Crafting Convict Criminologists: An Invitation to Join Us in Prison

  As the second age of prison education begins to take shape with the reintroduction of Pell Grants to incarcerated people across the United States, there is a need for both effective teachers and effective teaching techniques. As previously and currently incarcerated educators, we offer a brief overview of imposter syndrome in prison while mapping a pathway through the use of communication for overcoming obstacles to education present in correctional settings. We end with a call for educators both inside and outside of prison to expand and pilot in-prison educational programs.

• “The Soul Recognizes Itself in Somebody Else”: The Healing Value of Forgiveness among Formerly Incarcerated People in the Profession Practice of Peer-Support

  The present study focuses on perceptions of forgiveness among formerly incarcerated people engaged in peer-support roles, based on their lived experience and referred to as wounded healers. Participants were 26 men and women with a history of addiction, trauma, and incarceration who are employed in formal peer-support positions and in the community. The participants reported achieving personal and social forgiveness through their peer work, expressing their social acceptance which is relevant to their recovery. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed from the perspective of convict therapy and Enright's forgiveness therapy.

• Statewide Prison Language Mandates: Where Intention and Implementation Diverge

  Person-centered language has increasingly been adopted in criminal legal contexts. Recognizing the harmful effects of stigmatizing language, some states have mandated correctional staff to use person-centered language instead of “prisoner” or “inmate.” However, little is known about the implementation of these mandates. To address this, the current study utilized interviews with 87 incarcerated people and 15 staff members in two prisons in a state that recently adopted a mandate. The findings suggest that the mandate has not substantially altered the terminology used or treatment people receive. This research builds understanding of how language affects the carceral experience, highlighting its limitations when unaccompanied by culture change.

• Facility Improvement in a Thai Prison through Decentralized Management and Alternative Funding

  Thai correctional institutions face budget constraints that hinder facility improvements. This study proposes a decentralized management approach using in-kind donations rather than central funding. The strategy includes partnering with manufacturers for rejected but usable materials and reusing excess construction materials from nearby projects. Benefits include tax breaks, lower disposal costs, improved prison facilities, inmates’ skill development, and environmental sustainability. A case study at the Thonburi Detention Center showed significant improvements at lower costs. Future research involves refining the approach with service design principles, a digital exchange platform, and introducing environmental credits to enhance participation and impact.

Featured documents

• The Correctional Services Canada Institutional Mother Child Program: A Look at the Numbers

  Women are the fastest growing population in federal prison in Canada. Women's incarceration has significant implications for families, as approximately two-thirds have children who face intergenerational trauma, risk of criminalization, and health concerns. The Correctional Services Canada Mother...

• Interventions to Prevent Prison Violence: A Scoping Review of the Available Research Evidence

  Although a reasonably large body of knowledge is now available to describe prison violence, much less is known about the effectiveness of violence prevention interventions. In this scoping review, ten different research databases were searched to identify recent evaluation studies that adopted an...

• Philosophies and Decision Making in Parole Board Members

  Parole boards have discretion to make prison release decisions by applying a number of factors. While prior research has identified factors that are important, little is known about how parole board members interpret the factors and the degree to which members’ characteristics affect decision...

• “The Pill Line Is Longer Than the Chow Line”: The Impact of Incarceration on Prisoners and Their Families

  Incarceration removes individuals from their families and their communities, increasing the potential for disrupted relationships, community fragmentation, and burden on service systems. Based on focus groups with 38 male and 39 female inmates and interviews with 21 family members, this study...

• A Symposium to Mark the Publication, by New York University Press, of Ian O’Donnell's Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose

  Recognizing the major scholarly contributions to criminology by the noted Irish criminologist, Ian O’Donnell, The Prison Journal invited seven contemporary corrections and punishment scholars to offer insights into O’Donnell’s new book, Prison Life: Pain, Resistance, and Purpose. Offering...

• Experiences of Vulnerability in Adult Male Prisoners: An Integrative Review

  Vulnerability linked to offenders tends to focus on victims and society. Understanding prisoner vulnerability is important to better address the negative impact of prison life. This article reviews the evidence of vulnerability reported by male prisoners. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for...

• Assessing the Effects of Local Crime Hotspots on Parole Recidivism

  This study tests hypotheses based on crime pattern theory: (a) There are associations between parolee recidivism and property, drug, and violent crime hotspots within 1,200 feet of their residences; (b) these effects are uneven, with smaller associations found closer to the parolee residence....

• Male Inmate Perceptions of the Visitation Experience

  There is a lack of empircal research on male inmate experiences with familial contact and visitation. Utilizing surveys and interviews of men incarcerated in a southwestern correctional facilitiy, the results provide insight into the nature of their contact with their children and families and...

• Gendered Adherence: Correctional Officers and Therapeutic Reform in a Reentry Facility

  How do correctional officers (COs) adhere to changing workplace philosophy and practices during interactions with inmates? This study explores COs’ perceptions and interactions during organizational change to examine how different factors (such as gender, position/rank, and reason for interaction)...

• Hiring and Training Requirements for Correctional Officers: A Statutory Analysis

  U.S. state statutes provide the minimum hiring and training requirements for correctional officers (COs), but it is unclear whether COs have achieved professionalism. This article utilizes a statutory analysis to examine state hiring qualifications and training requirements for COs. The findings...