The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: Concepts and an Agenda for an Emerging Field

Tomczak, Philippa; Buck, Gillian

doi:10.1111/hojo.12326

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…The proliferation of entertainmentoriented forms of dark tourism is a trend. Some of these arrangements and networks involving non-profits and state-run sites also show the overlap between penal system entities and the charity sector (Tomczak & Buck, 2019;Maguire et al, 2019), although relying on such shaming tropes runs opposite to the mandates of many non-profits in the social services sector that work with people pushed to the margins requiring inclusion. Mason and Sayner (2019) describe several ways that silence manifests in museum spaces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Can you make it out alive?” Investigating Penal Imaginaries at Forts, Sanitaria, Asylums, and Segregated Schools

Mussell

Walby

Piché

2021

Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice &Amp; Criminology

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We draw from literature on penal imaginaries to examine representations at fright nights and other staged cultural scenes from across Canada and the United States that reproduce justifications for imprisonment and punishment. Based on an analysis of online content and news coverage of fright nights organized at forts, sanitoria, psychiatric institutions/asylums, and segregated schools, we demonstrate that these displays mobilize stereotypes and shame to denigrate prisoners and naturalize imprisonment. Moreover, we show that these displays invoke health tropes concerning contagion to intensify fears regarding prisoners by portraying them as a threat to the social body, further rationalizing the existence of human caging as a means of addressing social unease and anxieties. Relying on ideas of risk and contamination, this penal imaginary reproduces punitive ideas that normalize the deprivation of liberty including in (COVID-19) pandemic times. We conclude by discussing the significance of our findings for the study of penal imaginaries and penal spectatorship. well as their representations on screen and other cultural sites (Brown, 2009). The process of representing punishment for profit in ways that are often demeaning to prisoners is common at prison museums (Walby & Piché, 2015). Infatuation with penality extends to fright nights held at forts, jail and bail fundraisers held by nonprofit organizations, and other kinds of Halloween seasonal events meant to entertain and enthral. We define fright nights as seasonal horror themed events staged at night, while a jail and bail is an event where volunteers are "jailed" and supporters make donations for their "bail." Such events continue and take on new meaning during the COVID-19 pandemic era, with continued alarm over containing "risk," which we address in the conclusion of the paper.Tourism and heritage managers are often concerned with the views of visitors (Devine, 2016), and may take steps to appease them, including by adjusting content or marketing them to be more entertaining, but not necessarily more educational.Museums and tourist sites often put artifacts on display, which draws the tourist gaze toward them, while stripping the objects of context (Ott et al., 2011). Digital displays and communications are a part of the new world of tourism and museums (Webmoor, 2008). Beyond professional curation, there are many amateur displays organized by a

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Can you make it out alive?” Investigating Penal Imaginaries at Forts, Sanitaria, Asylums, and Segregated Schools

Mussell

Walby

Piché

2021

Journal of Qualitative Criminal Justice &Amp; Criminology

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“…Although we focus on imprisonment, mass incarceration has occurred in parallel with mass supervision in the community (McNeill and Beyens, 2013; Miller, 2014; Phelps, 2017), and volunteers and voluntary organisations are implicated across criminal justice institutions globally (Tomczak, 2017; Tomczak and Buck, 2019a). Our analysis has implications for other forms of voluntary sector and citizen involvement in criminal justice across jurisdictions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For analyses of policing; court interpreters; court escort; prison; community supervision; electronic monitoring seeTomczak and Buck 2019a. …”

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confidence: 99%

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Evaluating voluntary sector involvement in mass incarceration: The case of Samaritan prisoner volunteers

Tomczak

Bennett

2020

Punishment & Society

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Mass incarceration and supervision operate through a mixed economy. Using the case study of Samaritans’ emotional support for prisoners in distress in England and Wales, we present an original framework of five normative criteria to facilitate nuanced assessment of voluntary sector criminal justice participation. This is an urgent, significant task for theory and practice: we need to find forms of public input that can deconstruct bloated penal systems. Whilst citizen involvement can be a positive form of ‘people power’, our assessment of Samaritans’ ostensibly welcome humanitarian intervention reveals how it deflects attention from severe shortcomings of the penal system. In the context of mass incarceration, we conclude that voluntary sector and citizen involvement in individualised service delivery alone risks obscuring deep problems and delaying much-needed change. This topic is particularly timely, given increasing non-state involvement in criminal justice and the global problem of prison suicide.

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“…• the impact of penal drift 21 on the core values of many penal voluntary sector organizations (Corcoran, Maguire, & Williams, 2019) (Tomczak & Buck, 2019a;Tomczak, 2013;Tomczak & Albertson, 2016) whose call for more attention to the form, purpose, and impact of the penal voluntary sector has almost immediately translated into more meaningful criminological and sociological research in this area. 21 'Penal drift' is "a familiar concept in the voluntary sector literature, signifying the migration of charitable organizations away from their founding principles and priorities" (Corcoran et al, 2019, p.431).…”

Section: The Penal Voluntary Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying, navigating, resisting, and eliminating structural stigma and the collateral consequences of punishment: The role of the penal voluntary sector in supporting people with criminal records in Canada

McAleese¹

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This dissertation examines how actors within Canada's penal voluntary sector identify, navigate, resist, and strive to eliminate structural stigma and collateral consequences of punishment. Using an approach to qualitative research informed by institutional ethnography, anti-oppressive practice, and public criminology, my research explores how practitioners attempt to support people with criminal records despite many exclusionary policies and practices -including those enforced by the penal voluntary sector itself -that create obstacles to various social domains (e.g., employment and housing). This research is motivated by my experience working in the penal voluntary sector during a period (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) in which many punitive policies, including changes to Canada's Criminal Records Act, were brought into effect by a federal Conservative government and maintained by a subsequent Liberal government.To understand the penal voluntary sector's role in supporting people with criminal records in the community, I conducted twenty-two interviews with various sector actors. I also attended several conferences, meetings, and events alongside practitioners to stay connected to the sector and ensure an ongoing understanding of the important issues to people with criminal records and those who support them. Additionally, I incorporated analysis of texts (e.g., policies, forms/assessments, public consultation reports, parliamentary committee studies) to frame the political, institutional, and social relations that shape the day-to-day experiences of practitioners and the people they support in the community. Finally, I engaged public criminology as part of my research methodology and included reflections on my advocacy work throughout the dissertation.While critical sociologists and criminologists mostly describe the penal voluntary sector as a net-widening mechanism, I maintain that understanding the day-to-day work within the sector is crucial to identifying, navigating, resisting, and eventually eliminating structural stigma and collateral consequences of punishment. Additionally, I contend that spaces where practitioners meet (e.g., conferences) are key sites for developing communities of care through which academics, practitioners, advocates, and people with criminal records can work towards a just transition from penal and other related systems (e.g., homelessness). Finally, I reflect on academia's role in resisting and eliminating carceral power and structural stigma and on the lessons learned from my efforts at doing so. vi 5. Navigating .

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The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: Concepts and an Agenda for an Emerging Field

Cited by 11 publications

References 86 publications

“Can you make it out alive?” Investigating Penal Imaginaries at Forts, Sanitaria, Asylums, and Segregated Schools

“Can you make it out alive?” Investigating Penal Imaginaries at Forts, Sanitaria, Asylums, and Segregated Schools

Evaluating voluntary sector involvement in mass incarceration: The case of Samaritan prisoner volunteers

Identifying, navigating, resisting, and eliminating structural stigma and the collateral consequences of punishment: The role of the penal voluntary sector in supporting people with criminal records in Canada

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