Radical Alternatives to Punitive Detention

Darke, Sacha

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-98602-5_11

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…We refer to this as normalisation by default, as opposed to normalisation by design. Similar practices have been found in prison systems across South America, for example in Brazil and Uruguay (Boersma, 2016; Darke, 2022; Darke and Karam, 2016) and in prisons in African countries such as Ethiopia (O’Donnell, 2023). Birkbeck's (2011) comparative analysis of penal institutions in North and South America offers some further insight into the origins of the normalisation of prison conditions in the Global South.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Normalisation by default and normalisation by design: A systematic review of empirical studies on the normalisation of prison life

van de Rijt,

van Ginneken,

Boone

2023

Incarceration

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Normalisation is an important principle when shaping life in prison. The conceptualisation and operationalisation of normalisation are not straightforward, which merits a systematic review of the literature. This article reports the results from such a review, drawing on 16 empirical studies from a range of countries. Four relevant domains of normalisation in prison were identified: design, facilities and services, atmosphere, and identity. Additionally, the origins and dominant norms underpinning normalisation were found to differ depending on the local context: ‘normalisation by default’ resulted from resource scarcity and the importation of pre-existent roles, hierarchies and goods, while ‘normalisation by design’ was an intentional effort to shape prison conditions in line with conventional norms. These different manifestations were associated with different limitations and possible benefits. The article also discusses how normalisation is related to resocialisation and responsibilisation, and offers underexplored areas that deserve attention in future research.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Normalisation by default and normalisation by design: A systematic review of empirical studies on the normalisation of prison life

van de Rijt,

van Ginneken,

Boone

2023

Incarceration

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Narratives of Rehabilitation in a South African Prison

Symkovych

2023

Social Problems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

How individuals incarcerated in the Global South engage with the official rehabilitative model remains largely under-documented. Through analysis of the narratives of men and women living in a large, medium-security correctional complex in Gauteng, South Africa, I argue that the grandiloquent official discourse of rehabilitation constitutes an important resource for those incarcerated. Highlighting the importance of local context in debates about carceral rehabilitation, I demonstrate that not only prisoners’ personal circumstances, but also the wider socio-economic context of enduring colonial legacies of structural inequalities shape their interactions with the penal regime. By foregrounding what those subjected to penal power make of their incarceration, I argue that the official rehabilitative discourse helps many to make sense of their predicament, actualise their lives, and sustain hope. I highlight how individual narrative strategies are channeled by and mapped on the official discourse of rehabilitation, free will, and personal responsibility, attesting to the success of the disciplinary project of the post-apartheid prison. I demonstrate how prisoners incorporate engagement with the rehabilitative model into a moral order of carceral cohabitation. I suggest that narrative work in the prison constitutes a nexus of individual needs and private aspirations and structural regimes of inequality, poverty, deprivation, and neglect.

show abstract

Radical Alternatives to Punitive Detention

Cited by 2 publications

References 39 publications

Normalisation by default and normalisation by design: A systematic review of empirical studies on the normalisation of prison life

Normalisation by default and normalisation by design: A systematic review of empirical studies on the normalisation of prison life

Narratives of Rehabilitation in a South African Prison

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About