Narratives of Young Men With Injecting Drug Use Histories Leaving Adult Prison
| Date | 01 September 2018 |
| Author | Peter Higgs,Shelley Walker,Mark Stoové,Mandy Wilson |
| DOI | 10.1177/0306624X17747829 |
| Published date | 01 September 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
research-article2017
Article
International Journal of
Offender Therapy and
Narratives of Young Men
Comparative Criminology
2018, Vol. 62(12) 3681 –3707
With Injecting Drug Use
© The Author(s) 2017
Article reuse guidelines:
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Histories Leaving Adult
https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17747829
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X17747829
journals.sagepub.com/home/ijo
Prison
Shelley Walker1,2, Peter Higgs2,3, Mark Stoové2,
and Mandy Wilson4
Abstract
This research focuses on an under-examined aspect of the post-release prison
trajectory for a seldom-researched cohort. Narratives of the immediate days/weeks
surrounding release were gathered from young men with histories of injecting drug
use (IDU). Twenty-eight participants (aged 19-24) released from adult prisons in
Victoria, Australia, participated in face-to-face in-depth qualitative interviews after
release. Analysis of findings through the lens of a “risk environment” framework
reveals how their experiences were compromised by risk factors embedded in the
physical spaces and social situations they inhabited, as well as the multi-sectoral policy
environments under which they were governed. A complex interplay between these
factors, young men’s drug use and broader issues of structural vulnerability, including
institutionalization and social disadvantage, combined to limit young men’s chances
of “success”1 on the outside. Narratives provide evidence for interventions that
transform risk environments into enabling environments, thereby promoting a more
successful transition from prison to community for young men with IDU histories.
Keywords
injecting drug use, young adult offenders, risk environment, prison release narratives,
young male prisoners
1Curtin University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia
2Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
3La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
4Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Corresponding Author:
Shelley Walker, National Drug Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University,
Suite 6, 19-35 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia.
Email: shelley.walker@postgrad.curtin.edu.au
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International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 62(12)
Background
... people don’t understand, when you’re in jail you get in a routine, you’re in a comfort
zone [...] even though you’ve got your back up and you’re always fiery and ready to
fuckin’ fight for your life, it’s a comfort zone, and when you get thrown back out and
you’ve got nothing, nowhere to go, no one to pick you up and you don’t know what
you’re doin’, anxiety goes through the roof ... people don’t understand that . . . when you
get out of jail, you’ve got nothin’ yeah, you’ve got absolutely nothin’. (Tarik, 23)
Tarik was 23 and had just completed a 2-year sentence in a maximum-security
prison. From age 11, when Tarik first started injecting drugs, he was in and out of
secure welfare, psychiatric units, and foster care; juvenile detention became his “sec-
ond home.” Since turning 18, he had spent 4 years in adult prison. On his day of
release, he had no one to collect him and nowhere to go. He felt anxious and certain he
would be back in prison again soon. Tarik is one of at least 7,000 males aged 18 to 24
years released from adult prisons in Australia each year (Avery & Kinner, 2015). It is
estimated (no authoritative data exist—Martire & Larney, 2009) this group constitutes
the highest proportion of releases from prison (Avery & Kinner, 2015). They account
for 17% (5,638 prisoners) of the Australian prison population, over one third are of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS],
2016), and many have injecting drug use (IDU) histories (Butler et al., 2008; Kinner,
Jenkinson, Gouillou, & Milloy, 2012).
Research on young adults in the criminal justice system has found they are much
more likely than their same-age counterparts in the community to have poor educa-
tional and employment histories, exhibit risky health-related behaviors (Butler et al.,
2008; Indig, Frewen, & Moore, 2014), been exposed to family violence and abuse,
spent childhoods in institutional care, and to have parents with incarceration histories
(Arditti & Parkman, 2011; Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2015).
Those with IDU histories have even more complex needs, including physical and men-
tal health comorbidities and increased risk of blood borne virus (BBV) infections
(Andrews & Kinner, 2012; Degenhardt et al., 2014). Furthermore, young men like
Tarik exiting prison are six times more likely to die in the year after release than their
peers in the community (van Dooren, Kinner, & Forsyth, 2013). They face logistical
and socio-emotional challenges, exacerbated by preexisting health conditions and
social disadvantage (Butler et al., 2008; Fougere, Thomas, & Daffern, 2013). In addi-
tion, younger men are more likely to be re-incarcerated than older men (ABS, 2010)
and those with IDU histories more so (AIHW, 2015; Andrews & Kinner, 2012). Whilst
their peers are transitioning into adulthood, undertaking tertiary education, employ-
ment, and independence from the adults in their lives, young men exiting prison are
faced with returning to disadvantaged communities (Vinson & Rawsthorne, 2015) with
limited financial resources or post-release support, and many lack the cognitive devel-
opmental tools to overcome these challenges (Arditti & Parkman, 2011).
A number of qualitative researchers from Australia (Halsey & Deegan, 2015), the
United Kingdom (Forste, Clarke, & Bahr, 2011; Harvey, 2012), and the United States
(Abrams & Terry, 2014; Arditti & Parkman, 2011; Hanrahan, Gibbs, & Zimmerman,
Walker et al.
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2005; Inderbitzen, 2009; Martinez & Abrams, 2013; Seal, Eldrige, Kacanek, Binson,
& MacGowan, 2007) have studied the post-release experience from juvenile detention
and adult prisons, for males aged 18 to 24 years. Halsey’s and Deegan’s (2015) longi-
tudinal Australian study, involving in-depth interviews with male offenders aged 15 to
29 over a 10-year period provides useful insights about the complex factors that pro-
mote and prevent desistance for this group. Their study highlighted the chronic chal-
lenges young men face, recognizing that policies focused on “fixing the offender”
address these issues only tangentially. In addition, a meta-synthesis by Martinez and
Abrams (2013) about the dynamics of informal social support for returning young
offenders (ages 14-24) found family and peers were particularly important for provid-
ing emotional and material benefits. However, balancing peer support and expecta-
tions with temptations to reengage in crime, and negotiating potential negative
dynamics within families, created stress and complications for their reentry experi-
ence. In addition, Hanrahan et al.’s (2005) study of young men’s perceptions of parole
supervision and revocation illustrates the myriad challenges they face at release,
including housing difficulties, complex family relationships, and adhering to strict
post-release requirements.
Findings of the above studies provide important insights into the many issues
young men face as they prepare to leave custody. Difficulties navigating social rela-
tionships; dealing with discrimination, stigma, and housing insecurity; and facing
the fear of making mistakes as they try to avoid re-incarceration were amongst chal-
lenges highlighted. However, despite the overrepresentation of people with IDU his-
tories in prisons, and their increased risk of re-incarceration compared with
noninjecting peers, none of these studies targeted young men with IDU histories.
Furthermore, little scholarship exists about the immediate period of release from
prison. Inderbitzen’s (2009) ethnographic study of five young men released from a
juvenile correctional facility in the United States and Visher, LaVinge, and Travis’
U.S.-based study (2004) of the prison to community transition for men and women
over 18 are two of few studies that focus on the hours and days surrounding prison
release. For the young men in Inderbitzen’s study, hopes and fears prior to release
and experiences soon after release revealed that the “transition out of a juvenile
detention was one of the most significant challenges they would ever face” (p. 470).
Confronted with a myriad of obstacles, participants struggled to build successful
independent lives, having left “the safety net” of the institution with few resources
and limited post-release support. The adults in Visher et al.’s study (2004) described
turbulent accounts of the release experience, with only a quarter having participated
in pre-release programs. Furthermore, more than half had no one meet them at the
prison gate, and many were released into unstable housing with limited financial
resources. Although findings of these U.S. studies provide useful insights into this
transition period, a detailed understating of what transpires for young men with IDU
histories remains relatively unexplored. Furthermore, given Australia’s historical
emphasis on harm reduction responses to illicit drugs and lower incarceration rates
than the United States, understanding young men’s experience from an Australian
perspective can add important new insights.
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International Journal...
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