In the Shadow of Prison : Families, Imprisonment and Criminal Justice PDF
Preview In the Shadow of Prison : Families, Imprisonment and Criminal Justice
In the Shadow of Prison Families, imprisonment and criminal justice WILLAN Helen Codd PUBLISHING In the Shadow of Prison In the Shadow of Prison Families, imprisonment and criminal justice Helen Codd 0 WILLAN PUBLISHING Published by Willan Publishing Culmcott House Mill Street, Uffculme Cullompton, Devon EX15 3AT, UK Tel: +44(0)1884 840337 Fax: +44(0)1884 840251 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.willanpublishing.co.uk Published simultaneously in the USA and Canada by Willan Publishing c/o ISBS, 920 NE 58th Ave, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97213-3786, USA Tel: +001(0)503 287 3093 Fax: +001(0)503 280 8832 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.isbs.com © Helen Codd 2008 The rights of Helen Codd to be identified as the author of this book have been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988. All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting copying in the UK issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N STS. First published 2008 ISBN 978-1-84392-245-2 paperback 978-1-84392-246-9 hardback British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Typeset by GCS, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire Printed and bound by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Contents Acknoivledgements ix 1 The landscape of punishment: family ties and penal policy 1 Introduction: about this book 1 The shadow of prison? 4 Families: a note on terms 5 The penal context 6 The US - mass imprisonment and its collateral consequences 6 Prisoners' families in the UK - 'now you see them, now you don't' 10 The social context and the persistence of family-blaming 16 The research context 18 Conclusion 19 2 Why care? Family ties and other justifications 22 Introduction 22 Family ties during the sentence 23 Family ties after the sentence: re-entry and resettlement 27 Societal and philosophical justifications 30 Feminist justifications and women-wise penology 39 Critical perspectives: prisoners' families and penal policy 40 Conclusion 42 In the Shadow of Prison 3 Who cares? The effects of imprisonment on families 44 Introduction: who are prisoners' families 44 The effects of imprisonment on families 47 The impact on children 61 Imprisonment as a dynamic process 65 Responsibilities and parentification 69 Conclusion 79 4 Prisoners' families and the law 80 Prisoners, family life and the law 81 Mothers, children and babies 91 Prisoners and not-yet-conceived children 100 Themes and conclusion 114 5 Imprisoned women and their families 118 The rise in the female prison population 118 Research into the families of imprisonment 120 Relationships and the 'pains of imprisonment' 123 Imprisoned women and their children 126 Mothers and babies 133 Women, relationships and reoffending 135 Conclusions 138 6 Supporting prisoners and their families 141 Sources of support for families 141 Support and self-help groups 142 Prison-based initiatives 146 The role of schools: what can teachers do? 159 Conclusions 160 7 Conclusions 162 Reiterating a critical perspective 166 A transformative vision? 170 Bibliography 174 Index 194 vi In loving memory of Sheila Beedle, a good friend who died while this book was being written. Acknowledgements Much of this book is about women, and without the friendship, support and encouragement of some of the most fantastic female friends anyone could wish for, this book would probably never have been started, let alone finished. Barbara Hudson has been an inspirational and supportive colleague and mentor and has taught me that it is possible to combine being a brilliant and productive scholar with a love of good food, gin and tonic and luxury department stores. Elaine and Lin Jenkinson-Bennett have been generous and loving friends throughout and deserve many, many thanks. My only hope is that, when I give them a copy of this book, their Labrador Reuben will not eat it. Alice Mills has shown me that co-authoring can be enjoyable and rewarding, and, again, deserves many thanks. Rachel Hartland has been a caring and encouraging presence in my life for a very long time and deserves huge amounts of appreciation for her patience, prayers and wise advice. Eilidh Grant has given me praise, encouragement and late-night text messages, and been there when my confidence in this project has wavered. Julia Turner, too, has been a wonderful companion in motherhood, books and coffee. On a more academic note, Belinda Crothers at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies has been constantly encouraging and interested in my work, and I am grateful to the IALS for granting me an Associate Research Fellowship which allowed me access to unparalleled library facilities and gave me an alternative location in which to write and think.
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