Pains of Imprisonment Beyond Prison Walls: Qualitative Research With Females Labelled as Not Criminally Responsible

• Published date: 01 October 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19875579
• Date: 01 October 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X19875579

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2020, Vol. 64(13-14) 1343 –1363

© The Author(s) 2019

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X19875579

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Article

Pains of Imprisonment

Beyond Prison Walls:

Qualitative Research With

Females Labelled as Not

Criminally Responsible

Anouk Mertens1 and Freya Vander Laenen2

Abstract

Research on the importation and deprivation models has focused almost exclusively

on male inmates, and these models have not yet been studied in any setting other

than prison. This research explores the importation and deprivation experiences

of females labelled as not criminally responsible (FNCR). During the first part

of the study, all the participants interviewed were in prison (n = 51). Follow-up

interviews were carried out 18 months later, and while some participants were

still in prison, others had been moved to (forensic or general) care. At that point,

the study transcended the prison walls and extended its theoretical framework to

forensic and general care facilities. In conclusion, the importation and deprivation

framework, and the pains defined by Crewe, can be applied to FNCR in different

types of setting. Most women were strongly affected by deprivations in prisons and

in forensic care. Participants in forensic care sometimes felt more deprived than

those in prison facilities.

Keywords

pains of imprisonment, importation and deprivation models, females labelled as not

criminally responsible, lived experiences, prison facilities, (forensic) mental health

care, follow-up research, qualitative research

1National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology, Department of Criminology, Brussels, Belgium

2Ghent University, Department of Criminology, Penal Law and Social Law, Institute for International

Research on Criminal Policy, Ghent, Belgium

Corresponding Author:

Anouk Mertens, Scientific Researcher, National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology, Department

of Criminology, Federal Public Service Justice, Kruidtuinlaan 50 box 71, BE 1000 Brussels, Belgium.

Email: Anouk.Mertens@just.fgov.be

875579IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X19875579International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyMertens and Vander Laenen

research-article2019

1344 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 64(13-14)

Introduction

Prison Studies

Prison life has been a popular subject of research for many years (Dhami, Ayton, &

Loewenstein, 2007). Following seminal work in prison sociology (Clemmer, 1940;

Goffman, 1961; Irwin & Cressey, 1962; Sykes, 1958), two dominant models—the

importation model and the deprivation model—were developed to explain inmates’

behaviour and experiences (Crewe, 2007).1 The importation model argues that inmates’

behaviour and experiences in prison can be explained by their personal characteristics

and lifestyle prior to confinement, which they “import” into prison (Irwin & Cressey,

1962). The deprivation model assumes that features of the institution itself can help to

explain inmates’ behaviours and experiences while in prison. In addition to being

deprived of their liberty, inmates experience restricted sexual relationships and a loss

of autonomy and security, and are deprived of the goods and services that they previ-

ously enjoyed. These deprivations are well known as the “pains of imprisonment”

(Sykes, 1958). More recently, Crewe (2011) revisited Sykes’s theory, suggesting that

modern penal practices have created some new types of pain. He identified the pains

of indeterminacy, psychological assessment, and self-government in inmates who are

given an indeterminate or indefinite sentence. These pains relate to insecurity about

the unpredictable timing of conditional releases, to the forms and processes of psycho-

logical assessments that define prison life and determine inmates’ future, and to

inmates’ increased responsibility for their own behaviour (Crewe, 2011).

Although the importation and deprivation models have been widely used in prison

research, empirical studies have focused almost exclusively on male inmates or have

investigated male and female inmates without distinguishing between them (Gover,

Pérez, & Jennings, 2008). However, research suggests that imprisonment may have a

different effect on female than on male prisoners (Celinska & Sung, 2014; Lippens,

Nuytiens, & Scheirs, 2009). As assumed by the deprivation model, females seem to find

imprisonment more painful, and adapt differently to a prison environment (Crewe,

Hulley, & Wright, 2017). Consequently, some scholars have suggested that researchers

should be more sensitive to the impact of gender differences on prison behaviour

(Celinska & Sung, 2014; Dye, 2011; Gover et al., 2008; Harer & Langan, 2001). Only a

small number of studies have specifically investigated gendered pains of imprisonment

(Crewe et al., 2017; Jones & Schmid, 2003). These studies found that women are more

affected than men by the loss of contact with friends, family, and, particularly, their chil-

dren (Crewe et al., 2017; Jones & Schmid, 2003). Women also find the lack of autonomy

and control more stressful than men, which is regularly strongly related to previous

(imported) traumatic experiences (Crewe et al., 2017). Gender comparative research has

also suggested that women are less often affected by being deprived of heterosexual

relationships and security (Crewe et al., 2017; Douglas, Plugge, & Fitzpatrick, 2009;

Few-Demo & Arditti, 2014; Pritchard, Jordan, & Jones, 2014; Vandebosch, 2002).

Regarding imported characteristics of inmates, research has found that females are

more vulnerable than males for several reasons (Favril & Dirkzwager, 2019; Granja,