Casting Light On Prison Violence in Scotland

• Date: 01 August 2008
• Author: Lorraine Johnstone,David J. Cooke,Ed Wozniak
• Published date: 01 August 2008
• DOI: 10.1177/0093854808318867
• Subject Matter: Articles

CASTING LIGHT ON PRISON

VIOLENCE IN SCOTLAND

Evaluating the Impact of Situational Risk Factors

DAVID J. COOKE

Glasgow Caledonian University

ED WOZNIAK

International Corrections and Prisons Association

LORRAINE JOHNSTONE

Douglas Inch Center

Violence among prisoners and that between prisoners and staff is a perennial concern for all prison systems. That violent

prisoners are only violent in certain circumstances suggests a need to develop ways to understand not only the origins of vio-

lence in prison but also the situational contexts in which violence occurs. The technology of risk assessment has evolved dra-

matically in the last decade; however,the focus on individual risk factors has been at the expense of a de-emphasizing of the

role of situational factors. In this article, evidence for the importance of situational factors in relation to prison violence is

considered. The authors describe the development of a new risk assessment procedure—promoting risk intervention by situ-

ational management (PRISM). Within the context of the Scottish Prison Service, they conclude that systematic attention to

situational risk factors can help reduce prison violence.

Keywords: prison violence; risk assessment; structured professional judgment; situation risk factors; institutional risk factors;

violence

Nelson Mandela (2002), perhaps the world’s most famous ex-prisoner, once remarked,

“Many who live with violence day in and day out assume it is an intrinsic part of the

human condition. But this is not so. Violence can be prevented” (p. ii). This is a consum-

mation to be devoutly wished. Although long considered one of the pains of confinement

(Haney, 2005; Liebling & Maruna, 2006; Sykes, 1958), violence in prison is not inevitable:

Systematic risk management can influence rates of violence (Johnstone & Cooke, 2007).

In this article, we consider the history of violence in Scottish prisons over the last three

decades. The serious disruptions of the 1980s led to a radical shift in thinking about prison

violence, a shift from a model based on the pathology of the individual prisoner to one

based on an understanding of the influence that situational factors have in modifying—

whether increasing or decreasing—the rate of institutional violence. We describe this shift

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CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 35 No. 8,August 2008 1065-1078

DOI: 10.1177/0093854808318867

© 2008 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

AUTHORS’ NOTE: Address correspondence to David Cooke, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens

Road, Glasgow, G4 OBA, United Kingdom; e-mail: djcooke@rgardens.vianw.co.uk.