Understanding and Preventing Ideologically Justified Violence in Custodial Settings: The MICO Paradigm
Author | Christopher Dean |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855231154598 |
Published date | 01 March 2023 |
Date | 01 March 2023 |
Subject Matter | Articles |
Understanding and
Preventing Ideologically
Justified Violence in
Custodial Settings:
The MICO Paradigm
Christopher Dean
1
Abstract
Internationally, secure institutions face a range of challenges presented by
detainees convicted or suspected of terrorism-related crimes and those
interested or involved in groups that support ideologically justify violence
(IJV). Currently, there is an apparent absence of a theoretically grounded
but operationally focused paradigm (or conceptual lens) for understanding
and preventing IJV within such settings. In response, this article presents
such a paradigm, to inform and direct the implementation of coherent orga-
nizational policies and practices to address this issue. The paradigm, its the-
oretical basis, its implications for correctional policy and practice, and
limitations are outlined and discussed.
Keywords
extremism, terrorism, prisons, policy
Introduction
The challenges presented by ideologically justified violence (IJV) in secure
settings internationally are widely publicized and increasingly better
1
Identity Psychological Services Ltd, Warrington, UK
Corresponding Author:
Christopher Dean, Identity Psychological Services Ltd, Warrington Business Centre, c/o
Townley & Co. Ltd, 67 Bewsey St., Warrington, Cheshire, WA 27JQ, UK.
Email: christopherdean@identifypsychologicalservices.com
Article
The Prison Journal
2023, Vol. 103(2) 194–214
© 2023 SAGE Publications
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/00328855231154598
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understood (see Basra & Neumann, 2020; Neumann, 2010; Silke, 2014).
These include the challenges presented by the crime-terror nexus; the rising
number of individuals remanded or convicted for terrorist-related crimes;
and the risk of detainees becoming “radicalized”to IJV and carrying out
attacks either inside places of detention or in the community (see Basra &
Neumann, 2020). Measures to prevent this have been implemented through
a range of organizational policies and practices, such as the use of specialized
assessment protocols (see Lloyd & Dean, 2015; Pressman & Flockton, 2012),
tailored interventions (see Dean, 2014; Koehler, 2017), targeted security
operations and intelligence gathering (Newman & Clarke, 2008), and tailored
regimes (see Butler, 2020; Jones & Morales, 2012). These vary significantly
in the extent to which they are theoretically or evidentially informed, their
aims and outcomes are understood, or they are coordinated within institutions.
While many secure institutions recognize that preventing IJV is important,
this is often not informed by a shared and evidence-based understanding.
Some consequences of this are that policies and practices are implemented
without clear aims or appreciation for their likely outcomes or how these
may integrate and work together, so that staff are less able to judge
whether these are effective or counterproductive. Perhaps most importantly,
this lack of shared understanding may also obscure how perverse outcomes
may be remedied. To address these issues, this article outlines an accessible,
theoretically informed paradigm (or conceptual lens) to help staff understand
why detainees become involved in IJV to inform decision making about how
this can be effectively and appropriately prevented.
Theoretical and Applied Basis of the Paradigm
The term IJV is used to more accurately characterize and define the nature of
this behavior than other terms referred to in the literature, such as violent
extremism (see Khalil et al., 2019a, 2019b). IJV is primarily distinguished
from other forms of violence by being influenced by the sociopolitical
context in which it occurs (Cooper, 1985; LaFree & Dugan, 2004).
However, it is not so different that it cannot be conceptualized or managed
in similar ways (Dean, 2016; Mullen, 2010). Commonalities between IJV
and other forms of violence have been identified by major criminological the-
ories (Lafree & Freilich, 2016) and confirmed by recent meta-analyzes
(Wolfowicz et al., 2020, 2021). Over several decades, correctional policies
and practices internationally—especially those relating to assessment and
rehabilitation—have been informed by the General Personality and Social
Cognitive Learning model of criminal conduct (as translated through the
Risk Need Responsivity Model) and decision or action theories (Andrews
Dean 195
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