“A different world” exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Blagden, N; Perrin, Christian; Smith, Sam; Gleeson, Faye; Gillies, Laura A.

doi:10.1080/13552600.2016.1264633

Cited by 31 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…argued that sex offender treatment will always rely, to some extent, on the positive support of non-therapy staff irrespective of whether or not treatment takes place in a prison, residential facility, or in the community. Non-therapy staff can encourage, motivate, support, and provide opportunities for offenders to practice and rehearse the skills learnt within treatment (Blagden, Perrin, Smith, Gleeson, & Gillies, 2017). We argue that in the same way, offenders themselves, particularly when deployed as peer-supporters, can also provide such assistance and therefore contribute to overall treatment effectiveness.…”

Section: Caveats and Cautionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

The utility of peer-support in enhancing the treatment of incarcerated sexual offenders

Perrin

Frost

Ware³

2018

Self Cite

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Purpose In the quest to maximize treatment gains, recent research has shifted focus from treatment itself to the context in which treatment takes place. Such investigations have alluded to rehabilitative climate, therapeutic alliance, prison social climate, and the efficacy of group process. The purpose of this paper is to review peer-support as a mechanism via which these goals might be reached. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature on peer-support in carceral settings was undertaken in February 2017. Findings While there is very little research exploring peer-support in the context of offender rehabilitation, there are some promising signs from many qualitative investigations that peer-led roles can bridge many gaps in support within the therapeutic context. Research limitations/implications More research on the potential negative impact of peer-support in carceral setting is needed. Practical implications This paper proposes that the implementation of peer-support programs that operate alongside treatment interventions represent an encouraging direction for the future. It is argued that prisoner-led peer-support initiatives that are characterized by shared problem solving and reciprocal emotional support can greatly reduce the anxiety prisoners face surrounding treatment. It is suggested that, through peer-support, treatment gains may be enhanced and better assimilated into program-completers’ lives. Social implications Peer-support may assist current treatment approaches with sexual offenders and could therefore potentially contribute to reductions in recidivism. Originality/value This paper is the first to review peer-support in the context of imprisonment and offender therapy. It therefore provides an important status update for future researchers wishing to investigate this topic, and outlines several priorities that such research might interrogate further.

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Section: Caveats and Cautionsmentioning

confidence: 95%

The utility of peer-support in enhancing the treatment of incarcerated sexual offenders

Perrin

Frost

Ware³

2018

Self Cite

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“…In making these complaints about prison staff, prisoners imposed constraints on the sorts of staff–prisoner relationships that were able to develop, demonstrating the prisoner community’s ability to influence the operation of penal power. Researchers have repeatedly found that prison officers often have distant relationships with men convicted of sex offences, and they have tended to attribute this to the negative attitudes officers hold towards these men (Blagden et al, 2017; Kjelsberg and Loos, 2008). In this case, however, it was prisoners’ anxiety about being judged which contributed to distance.…”

Section: Monitoring Grassing and Breaking Boundariesmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Perfectly individualized and constantly visible’? Lateral tightness in a prison holding men convicted of sex offences

Ievins

2020

Incarceration

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Late-modern penal power has been described as ‘tight’. Through the increasing use of indeterminate sentences and psychological assessment, and the growing insistence that prisoners engage in self-government, the prison monitors and seeks to change those it holds. This tight and disciplinarian power is often described as contributing to the increasing fragmentation and atomisation of the prisoner community. However, this article, which is based on research conducted in a English medium-security prison for men convicted of sex offences, argues that tightness can operate through the prisoner community, in a process which it terms ‘lateral regulation’. It shows that prisoners spend a lot of time observing, categorising and policing their peers, in ways which replicate and often uphold the more formal systems of power. However, the relationship between these two systems of power is complex, and prisoners’ collective self-regulation can conflict with and challenge the demands of the penal institution, in a way which reveals some of the weaknesses in the institution’s disciplinary gaze, and indicates the normative motivations underlying this regulation.

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“…Contrary to the protected units in Italy or the special housing units in the USA, England and Wales (Jewkes, Crewe, IJCJ&SD 4 www.crimejusticejournal.com and Bennett 2016) allow inmates that are being held for sexual offenses to choose between custody in a Vulnerable Prisoners' Unit with detainees convicted of a similar crime, or in "normal" units with convicts of all kinds; there are also prisons populated only with sex offenders. As Blagden et al (2017) argue, living in a prison with only sex offenders can increase perceived inmate safety and have positive consequences on detainees' impression of the prison environment. Nevertheless, even specialized prison sites for sex offenders do not change the feeling of living in a "different world" in which it is difficult to understand whether therapists are potential allies or someone who judges them as other people do (Blagden et al 2017).…”

Section: Italy's Protected Units For Sexual Offendersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Blagden et al (2017) argue, living in a prison with only sex offenders can increase perceived inmate safety and have positive consequences on detainees' impression of the prison environment. Nevertheless, even specialized prison sites for sex offenders do not change the feeling of living in a "different world" in which it is difficult to understand whether therapists are potential allies or someone who judges them as other people do (Blagden et al 2017). While discussing these international strategies of imprisonment, it is important to emphasize, once again, that these choices significantly affect the life of a detainee-especially those convicted of a sexual offense.…”

Section: Italy's Protected Units For Sexual Offendersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discursive Chains: How Prison Becomes Real and Chains Identity Movements For a Sex Offender

Faccio

Mazzucato

Iudici

2020

Int J for Crime, Justice & Social Democracy

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Detainees enact a “self” that is faced with the prejudices and stereotypes of the crime for which that detainee was convicted. Of all inmates, sex offenders face the greatest risk of receiving social condemnation alongside their prison sentence. This empirical study worked with 32 male sex offenders over 18 years old that were housed in the “protected” unit of the Due Palazzi. The following analysis explores how these men are required to manage their “self,” hetero-narrations, perception of everyday interactions in the protected unit, and conceptions about the rehabilitation path. Moreover, the detainees’ view on the prison’s strategic opportunities for promoting effective change in their condition and identity are also examined. Discourse analysis applied to an open answer questionnaire showed that, rather than facing the stigma assigned to them, the detainees tend to minimize the importance of storytelling and construct alternative biographies to share with other inmates. Managing narratives allows the sex offenders to distance themselves from the perceived threats of living with other detainees; however, it also prevents the re-signification of their offenses. As such, the rules of “secrecy” must be considered by both qualitative researchers who conduct studies in prisons and prison administrators who plan the housing and treatment of sex offenders.

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“A different world” exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Cited by 31 publications

References 47 publications

The utility of peer-support in enhancing the treatment of incarcerated sexual offenders

The utility of peer-support in enhancing the treatment of incarcerated sexual offenders

‘Perfectly individualized and constantly visible’? Lateral tightness in a prison holding men convicted of sex offences

Discursive Chains: How Prison Becomes Real and Chains Identity Movements For a Sex Offender

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