Drill, discipline and decency? Exploring the significance of prior military experience for prison staff culture

Abstract

Building on prior theorization of the prison–military complex and critiques of Foucault’s claim of similarities between the prison and the military, this article uses the example of ex-military personnel as prison staff to consider the nature of this relationship. In a UK context in which policy discourse speaks of ‘military’ methods as an aspiration for the Prison Service but where critical prison scholars use this term more pejoratively, it draws on a unique survey of current and former prison staff to explore the perceived characteristics of ex-military personnel, and the relationship between military service and prison staff culture. The article finds that although some ‘military’ characteristics recall more negative ‘traditional’ cultures, others point towards more professional and compassionate attitudes, challenging the notion that ‘militarism’ necessarily engenders authoritarian and punitive prison regimes.

“Always on parade”: Pregnancy experience of active-duty air force members.

“…Military culture is driven by tradition and ceremony related to organizational goals of ensuring national security. Military personnel adhere to strict discipline and order to promote safety and protection in potentially dangerous and life-threatening situations (Moran & Turner, 2021). Traditional military culture values submission to a rigid, hierarchical authority structure, obedience to authority, and uncompromising adherence to prescribed social roles (Moran & Turner, 2021; Schaefer et al, 2021).…”

Carceral and military geographies: Prisons, the military and war

“…Conversely, as at Fort Dix, conversion has been seen as a ‘win-win’; a means to soften the economic blow of military downsizing and retrenchment on communities local to bases slated for closure, which previously employed hundreds of civilians, whilst at the same time reducing the cost of creating a new prison by re-using pre-existing military infrastructure (Hanley, 1992). In this case, the direct intention that those who used to work at the military base will now be employed at the new prison, implicitly assumes that their prior experience will equip them well for this type of work – a supposition that speaks to assumptions about the convergence of military/prison working practices critiqued by Moran and Turner, 2021.…”

“…More broadly, military ranks and quasi-military insignia are commonly used to describe prison officer grades (King, 2013: 32) and, in terms of who is physically present within prisons, Veterans-in-Custody are known to make up the largest occupational group within UK prisons (Wainwright et al, 2017: 741). Perhaps less well known is the fact that ex-military personnel are and have been employed in prisons in large numbers (Moran and Turner, 2021, 2021b; Treadwell, 2010; Turner and Moran, 2021). Arguably these less-tangible synergies between the prison and the military – which have seen (ex)military personnel overseeing, governing, and present in large numbers (as both prisoners and staff) within prison facilities – are perhaps just as influential as the more overt prison-military connections described above, but conceivably more subtly pervasive.…”

The prison as a postmilitary landscape

“…And today, the UK government targets recruits with 'a sense of duty and discipline' from the armed forces (Ministry of Justice, 2016, p. 6). Whether finding themselves incarcerated as a result of an inability to cope with civilian life, or working in prison as a new career, for these individuals the post-military period is arguably characterised by a postmilitary milieu of communal spaces, uniforms, regimes, tight schedules, a clear hierarchy of control, a focus on security, and many other ex-military personnel in proximity (Moran & Turner, 2021aTurner & Moran, 2021). In this vein, it is pertinent to consider whether the presence of military structures, symbols and persistent identities serve to materialise a more complex manifestation of the (post)military landscape.…”

“…For some, this included participation in the UK's only prison-based Army Cadets unit (Forces Network, 2020). These young men housed in former-military buildings, participating in military training, celebrating moments in military history, and supervised by prison personnel who are very likely to include ex-military personnel (Moran & Turner, 2021aMoran et al, 2019;Turner & Moran, 2021), are indicative of 'the deeprooted, long-standing, widespread, and diverse connections between prisons and the military' conceived of as the 'prison-military complex' (Moran et al, 2019, p. 221). In this critical intervention, Moran et al (2019) addressed Foucault's often-cited observation that 'prisons resemble factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, which all resemble prisons ' (1991, p. 228) drawing renewed attention to the assumed similarities between such institutions.…”