Heavy–light, absent–present: rethinking the ‘weight’ of imprisonment

Abstract

Since King and McDermott (1995), following Downes (1988), defined the psychological oppressiveness of incarceration in terms of 'weight', little has been written about the 'weight of imprisonment'. None the less, it is generally assumed that prisons that are 'light' are preferable to those that are 'heavy' - in part because of an assumption among many penologists that power, and its application, is dangerous and antagonistic. This article does not dispute that 'heavy' prisons are undesirable. Its argument is that there can also be dangers if prisons are excessively light. Many of these dangers are linked to the under-use of power. The tone and quality of prison life depends on the combined effects of institutional weight with the 'absence' or 'presence' of staff power. Drawing on prisoners' descriptions of their experiences in public and private sector prisons, and their assessments of important aspects of their quality of life, the article outlines what these concepts mean in practice. The authors develop a four-quadrant framework for conceptualizeng penal legitimacy and the experience of penal authority.

Inside the Belly of the Penal Beast: Understanding the Experience of Imprisonment

“…And yet research of this kind has a considerable pay-off for practitioners, helping them to see beneath the sheen of performance figures (about which they are often sceptical, having seen first-hand how such data can be manipulated) and producing a conceptual vocabulary which enables them to envision their world. In my experience of teaching and presenting to senior prison managers over a number of years, 7 the best-received work has been the conceptualisation of prison staff culture and the use of authority, represented through the intersection of 'heaviness-lightness' and 'absence-presence' that is described above (see Crewe, Liebling and Hulley 2014). Among its key traits, it is aspirational without seeming unrealistically utopian.…”

“…Indeed, little direct reflection has occurred in relation to 'the weight of imprisonment' since King and McDermott's (1995) reappraisal of its meaning. 6 Yet recent research has revisited the concept of weight and questioned assumptions that prisons that are heavy are always 'worse' than those that are light (Crewe, Liebling and Hulley 2014). For while 'lightness' suggests a less oppressive environment, it also hints at some undesirable characteristics.…”

Choosing when choices are limited: The role of perceived afforded choice and autonomy in prisoners’ well-being.

“…Three different strands of work provide indirect evidence for the potential growth-promoting role of choice in prison. First, a number of scholars note that opportunities for choice are very limited within prison (e.g., Crewe, Liebling, & Hulley, 2014;Goffman, 1961;Sykes, 1958), and that even when several options are available, these options may all be seen as undesirable or personally unimportant (see Goodstein, MacKenzie, & Shotland, 1984). For instance, prisoners often have limited choices about what to eat, which activities to undertake, daily schedules, and with whom to interact.…”

“…Three different strands of work provide indirect evidence for the potential growth-promoting role of choice in prison. First, a number of scholars note that opportunities for choice are very limited within prison (e.g., Crewe, Liebling, & Hulley, 2014;Goffman, 1961;Sykes, 1958), and that even when several options are available, these options may all be seen as undesirable or personally unimportant (see Goodstein, MacKenzie, & Shotland, 1984 Third, previous research on procedural justice or the degree to which decision-making (within prison) is perceived to be fair and transparent is also indirectly relevant. Essential for perceived procedural justice is the experience of being able to express one's own viewpoint (which relates to the notion of choice) and experiencing this viewpoint to be taken into account (which relates to the experience of autonomy need satisfaction; Vandevelde et al, 2017).…”

Sector Well-Being Differences Among UK Police Custody Staff

“…Other research has been more equivocal. For example, Crewe et al (2014) draws attention to staff Bweight^in terms of the use of authority and power and whether they were heavy or light, absent or present.…”