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Sociological studies of prisons require expanded methodologies and interdisciplinary concepts to address challenges posed by changing prisoner demographics and transformed geopolitics. We aim to revitalize sociological inquiry on prisons and prisoner leadership by focussing on the question of whether prisons cause radicalization. Our findings suppo...
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Context 1
... had a more 'Thou' than 'It' culture (Buber 2010): staff at Frankland showed awareness of prisoners' complex narratives and 'whole person' identities. Despite some 'heaviness' , Frankland had an overall 'lighter' and more individualized climate than Full Sutton, and significantly higher scores on relational (including care) dimensions in the MQPL survey (see Table 1). Frankland also had significantly higher Professionalism scores, including on the typically very low scoring dimension, Bureaucratic Legitimacy. ...Context 2
... narrowed identities. It also damaged well-being (see Table 1). The appeal of politicized ideologies was greater. ...Citations
... Finally, in a mixed method study carried out within the high security estate, two prisons differed significantly in their MQPL scores. These differences were linked to substantial divergences in faith practices as well as violent outcomes, with the higher scoring prison exhibiting fewer power struggles between prisoner groups and less violence (Williams & Liebling, 2022). The underlying difference between the lower and higher scoring establishments was the existence of an I-Thou (tragic and exploratory) rather than I-It (cynical and narrowly security-oriented) culture among staff (Liebling, in progress). ...
... They make up the first part of the study and are both retrospective and exploratory. The results from these studies have been published elsewhere; Liebling assisted by Arnold (2004); Williams and Liebling (2022). The lower and safer thresholds in these particular cases are similar to those reported in the large-scale analysis. ...
... Liebling has referred to these differences using Buber's terms I-It and I-Thou relations (where prisoners are treated as 'experienced objects' or 'experiencing subjects' respectively; Buber, 1970). Staff in I-Thou prisons tend to have much higher levels of experience, training and professional support (see Williams & Liebling, 2022). The scores reflect real and tangible differences in the moral environment. ...
Performance thresholds and minimum standards in prison have preoccupied policy makers and practitioners alike for some time. These standards are based on widely accepted statements of principle, but benchmarks are rarely set or explored empirically. Nor has there been any attempt to describe or define higher-end thresholds; the point at which outcomes become positive, or stated principles are achieved. In this study, we provide an empirical demonstration of how quality of life thresholds may be determined using data from 518 Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) surveys conducted in prisons in England and Wales (2009–2020) and examine their relationship to five violence outcomes: serious prisoner on prisoner assaults, serious assaults on staff, self-harm incidents requiring hospital treatment, self-inflicted deaths, and homicides. The results suggested that thresholds exist for most of the MQPL dimensions. A set of lower ‘unsafe’ and higher ‘minimally safe’ thresholds were produced. We found that the scores of prisons below the lower threshold had a very strong relationship with each of our five serious forms of violence in prison. Similarly, prisons that did not manage to cross the ‘minimally safe’ threshold also had strong relationships with incidents of violence in their prison but were at slightly lower risk of those incidents occurring. Striking differences in mean incidents rates were found when comparing prisons below the lower threshold to prisons above the ‘minimally safe’ threshold. Our findings suggest that to operate a safe enough (and therefore legitimate) prison, a combination of harmony, security and professionalism dimensions above a certain threshold should be achieved.
... Violence and protest must be listened to against a wider background of social inequality, as the protests against Salman Rushdie's novel in British industrial towns illustrated genuine inequality under English blasphemy laws that protected Anglican Christianity but not ethnic minority religions (Werbner 2002). It is also a relevant, if thorny, issue in prisons, where counterterrorism practices seem to over-police Muslim bodies (Liebling and Williams 2017) and where a victim script has both an experiential and ideological component (Williams and Liebling 2022). Therefore, there is space here to consider the location of affect within the wider fields of radicalization and exclusion of European Muslims and to consider how secularism, through its structures such as the law and in institutions like prison, might contribute to these exclusions and compound the experience of moral injury (Williams 2021). ...
... In the US context, for example, Mark Hamm's work on prison radicalization made the central point that understanding the differences between prisons tell us much more about radicalization than pointing to ideological or pathological drivers. In the UK context, Williams and Liebling offered detailed comparative work into high security prisons that highlighted different levels of "political charge" (anger and alienation, see Liebling 2015), and these different social, political, and management climates of different prisons had profound effects on how prisoners were able to engage with religious identity, how they were able to challenge extremist ideologies, and the instances of violence (Williams and Liebling 2022). ...
The offence and violence surrounding episodes like the Salman Rushdie Affair and the Danish cartoon controversies have furnished Western critique of Islam. While important work has challenged this criticism of Islam by interrogating the secular foundations of critique, the relationship between violence and critique remains troubling. Through reflecting on an excerpt from an attempted murder trial following an attack in purported retaliation for offending Islam in an English prison, this article considers an expanded notion of violence that recognizes the structural conditions behind violence and the political stakes that prioritize the psychological and ideological drivers that service criticism of Islam. This article builds on scholarship that explored the State and the violent actions of non-State actors and the critical studies of hate crimes, Islamist extremism, and radicalization to reflect on the role of critique in the aftermath of violence and to ask: “Is violence critique?” It argues for an approach to violence-as-critique by recognizing how emotion and violence are not merely resident inside the fanatical body that protrudes outwards but are instead part of the wider, circulating, and unstable affective economies of structural violence where violences can be mutually reinforcing.
... This work suggests officer decisions are perceived through lenses of legitimacy, and how 'right' a given decision is in the eyes of incarcerated people, prison managers and officers themselves. Such perceptions determine the efficacy of decisions, shaping compliance, non-compliance and 'fair' prison operations (Bottoms and Tankebe 2013;Williams and Liebling 2022). ...
... Legitimacy represents a bedrock principle of institutional management, one so central it is often taken for granted (Sparks et al. 1996;Bottoms and Tankebe 2013). While legitimacy takes a long time to establish, perceived and actual injustice quickly destroys relationships and broader themes of legitimacy (Hamm 2013;Williams and Liebling 2022). Inconsistencies within COVID response messages, including quick, unpredictable and poorly communicated shifts in best practices, caused officers and other institutional actors to lose significant amounts of legitimacy in their own eyes and in the eyes of incarcerated people (Hacin et al. 2019). ...
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect prisons internationally. Existing research focuses on infection data, meaning we do not fully understand how COVID-19 shapes frontline prison dynamics. We draw on qualitative interviews with 21 Canadian federal correctional officers, exploring how the pandemic impacted prison management. Officers suggested inconsistent messaging around COVID-19 protocols reduced institutional and officers’ self-legitimacy, fracturing trust relationships with incarcerated people. Furthermore, officers suggest that personal protective equipment such as gowns and face shields took on multiple meanings. We use Lévi-Strauss’ floating signifier concept to analyse how individual definitions of ‘safety’ informed day-to-day prison routines. We conclude by arguing that legitimacy deficits and contested definitions of ‘safety’ will continue to create uncertainty, impacting prison operations going forward.
... The extent to which radicalisation occurs in prison and prisoners participate in terrorist activities, is hotly contested in the literature (Cilluffo et al., 2007;Schultz et al., 2021;Wilner, 2010;Williams & Liebling, 2022;. There are stark differences of opinion regarding how prevalent such activities are, how much attention they should be given, and which policies and practices should be implemented to prevent and manage these. ...
... In addition, this approach also situates risk and threat within prisoners. This can detract from examining more significant external factors that may contribute or protect against this issue, including prison policies, environment, leadership, and culture (author, in press;Williams & Liebling, 2022). ...
... This supports previous research that emphasises the role of social networks in prisons as contributing to radicalisation or terrorism risk (Hamm, , 2013Sageman, 2004;). However, this finding may also reflect general staff concern about any prisoner relationships perceived to facilitate inappropriate use of power, non-compliance, or the threat of losing control (Schultz et al., 2021;Williams & Liebling, 2022) regardless of whether these signal a terrorism risk or not. It may also evidence the possible conflation of gang behaviour with behaviour associated with terrorism, given that relationship behaviours are a significant element of gangs in prisons (Decker and Pyrooz, 2020) or alternatively, that behaviours associated with gangs and terrorism may overlap (Hamm, , 2013. ...
Detecting and monitoring prisoners who present a risk of committing terrorism is an important objective of prison authorities. A key practice in many prison services is for prison staff to observe prisoner behaviours that may indicate such risk. However, there is a dearth of research that systematically examines which behaviours signify, or prison staff consider to signify, terrorism risk. This study addresses this issue by systematically examining the nature and prevalence of different behaviours indicated across a large and unique international data set of both open and closed sources, which primarily focusses on Islamist groups and ideologies. Reflexive thematic analysis identifies 29 distinct behaviours (subthemes), brigaded under 6 domains of functioning (main themes). Tentative findings suggest that many behaviours are consistently identified across open and closed data sources, indicating these are similar in different jurisdictions – although how they manifest locally may not be – and in both the fields of research and practice. Whilst some behaviours may (also) signify general non-compliance in prisons, others appear more distinct in potentially signifying terrorism risk. Finally, this practice appears over-focussed on prisoner behaviours that signify risk, rather than protection or resilience. Findings are discussed in relation to theoretical, methodological, and operational issues.
Good prison officer work is invisible because at the end of a successful working day it looks like nothing has happened. This is a basic misunderstanding of the complexity and challenges of order creation in prison. Order is much more than the absence of trouble. Understanding the peacekeeping role of prison officers, and the distinction between ‘good’ and ‘right’ relationships, helps us to explore the concept of legitimate authority as it is practised. It is skilled work. Decent prisons depend on high levels of staff professionalism, but this is understudied. The fundamental existential problems posed by prison work (in particular, the possession of authority and the use of coercive power) can lead either to professional excellence, and character growth, or moral breakdown. ‘Role model’ prison officers identified by prisoners have clear boundaries, moral strength, verbal skills, an awareness of their power, a ‘professional orientation’, an optimistic but realistic outlook, keep calm under pressure, and are reliable in the eyes of prisoners and colleagues. They use their discretion well and with professional confidence. More emphasis should be placed on understanding and supporting this orientation.
This chapter examines changing forms and consequences of power in contemporary prisons in England and Wales. It begins by discussing the ways in which power has been treated within the penological literature, critiquing the tendency among some scholars to focus on its most coercive forms. It goes on to consider the connections between prisoner experiences and the use of authority by prison staff, detailing the different textures that result according to the specific ways that staff exercise their power. The chapter then considers the implications of these differences with regard to matters such as ‘respect’ in prison, the centrality of staff professionalism to prison life, the self-legitimacy of prison officers, and ‘good’ uses of penal power. After detailing recent transitions in the prison system in England and Wales, the chapter explores the consequences of these changes in relation to prisoner behavior, power-sharing between staff and prisoners, and other staff practices. It concludes by identifying the connections between different modes of penal authority, order and legitimacy.
The thesis tries to present the impact of terrorism on the legislation and penitentiary policies of the countries affected by terrorism. This is how we try to present why prisoners related to terrorism constitute an anomaly for the prison systems affected. The second chapter tries to present the way in which Northern Ireland, Italy, Turkey and Germany responded to a phenomenon that had a profound impact on their prison systems. The third chapter analyzes the Spanish political and legislative response to the phenomenon of political violence. during the 19th and 20th centuries. It also analyzes the impact that the phenomenon of terrorism had on the main Spanish prison law, the LOGP. The fourth and fifth chapters are dedicated to the case studies of ETA, GRAPO and COPEL. The COPEL is studied as a phenomenon of politicization of the common prison population at a time of interaction with prisoners linked to the peaceful and violent political opposition during the Franco regime. The sixth chapter analyzes the problem of jihadism in prisons. The organizational characteristics of the phenomenon and the penitentiary policy applied are analyzed. The seventh chapter is dedicated to the conclusions.
Many observers describe prison subcultures as inherently and irredeemably antisocial. Research directly ties prison subcultures to violence, gang membership, and poor reintegration. In extreme cases, research has also suggested that prison subcultures contribute to incarcerated people joining radical groups or embracing violent extremist beliefs. These claims, however, ignore key differences in the larger cultural and social context of prisons. We examine the relationship between prison subcultures and prison radicalization based on semistructured qualitative interviews with 148 incarcerated men and 131 correctional officers from four western Canadian prisons. We outline several imported features of the prison subculture that make incarcerated people resilient to radicalized and extremist messaging. These features include 1) national cultural imaginaries; 2) the racial profile of a prison, including racial sorting or a lack thereof; and 3) how radicalization allowed incarcerated men and correctional officers to act outside the otherwise agreed‐to subcultural rules. Our research findings stress the importance of contemplating broader sociocultural influences when trying to understand the relationship between radicalization and prison dynamics and politics.
Researchers can learn much from engaging with the complexities of evil. This article details how I felt enmeshed in a process where I was both seeing, and in some ways contributing to, aspects of evil while researching in prison. The context for this study was a high-security prison establishment recently scarred by three high-profile incidents that merged terror with violence. By introducing examples from my fieldwork, I explore various ways in which ‘researcher entanglements’ emerged. I argue that the real danger of evil is that it leads to moral righteousness and toxic cycles that are hard to break.
