Punishment and prisons : power and the carceral state

201 Pages·2009·3.147 MB·English

by  Joe Sim

‘a scholarly, powerful and inspirational critique.’ P Punishment
Pat Carlen u
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‘a major statement by a distinguished and well–respected scholar… Punishment
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and Prisons shows that critical criminology is alive, that it has a voice and that it
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needs to be read.’
h
Peter Young, Professor of Criminology, University of Hull
m and Prisons
‘Punishment and Prisons has a breadth and depth of scholarship, arguing e
powerfully for a more critical criminology and an abolitionist stance towards n
imprisonment. I urge all those interested in penal policy – whether as students, t
teachers, researchers, reformers, politicians or penal professionals – to read
a
this important and disturbing book.’
n
Professor Barbara Hudson, Centre for Criminology and Criminal Justice
d
Studies, University of Central Lancashire Power and the Carceral State

P
Joe Sim traces the development of penal strategy since 1974, through a critical r
analysis of the relationship between penal policy and state power. Exploring the i
contested histories of punishment that are prominent in criminology, and their s
development in penal policy, the book analyses four key dimensions in modern o
penal trends: n
s
• Continuity and discontinuity in penal policy and practice
• Prisons, state power and punishment
• Contesting and resisting penal power
• Abolitionism, utopianism and the deconstruction of the prison
Articulate, provocative and theoretically informed, Punishment and Prisons offers a
critical overview of contemporary penal politics that will prove a compelling addition J
to the criminological literature concerning penal institutions. o
e
The book is written not only for students and academics but also for those involved
in the debates on penal policy – including prison reform groups, politicians and the S
media. It offers a series of suggestions for alleviating the current crisis, setting i
out a policy agenda for transforming the role and place of the prison in the criminal m

justice system.
Joe Sim
is Professor of Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University.
Joe Sim
Cover design by Jen Crisp | Cover image © Brian Harris
ISBN: 978-0-7619-6004-1
9 780761 960041
sim_carceral_aw.indd 1 26/3/09 09:01:56
Punishment and Prisons
Power and the
Carceral State
Stealalittleandtheythrowyouinjail;
Stealalotandtheymakeyouking.
—BobDylan
Ithinkwehavetorescuethepast.It’stheoldmuch-quotedsaying,‘Thestruggle
ofpeopleagainstpoweristhestruggleofmemoryagainstforgetting’.Wehave
torescuethepast,andwehavetoknowthe‘why’ofthings,becauseotherwise
youcan’tcombatit.
—KenLoach
Showmeaprison,
Showmeajail,
Showmeaprisonman,
Whosefaceisgrowingpale,
AndI’llshowyouayoungman,
Withmanyreasonswhy,

Andtherebutforfortune,
MaygoyouorI,
—PhilOchs
Punishment and Prisons
Power and the
Carceral State
Joe Sim
©JoeSim2009
Firstpublished2009
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Preface xi
1 ContinuityandContestationinPenalPolitics 1
Continuityanddiscontinuity 2
Reformandrehabilitation:rhetoricandreality 4
Contestingthepowertopunish 6
Developinganabolitionistposition 7
Notes 12
2 Law,OrderandthePenalSystem1974–83 15
Britain:adecadentnewUtopia 16
Thatcher’smoment 20
Thatcher’slawandWhitelaw’sorder 23
Theprisons 24
Thestrongstate 26
Prisonsofthestate 28
RemovingThatcher’sWillie 31
Notes 33
3 HardReign:ThatcherismandtheConsolidationofPenal
Authoritarianism1983–90 35
Convictsandconvictionpoliticians 35
Stateauthoritaria nism 38
Theexpandingprisoncomplex 40
The‘anti-statist’Tories 42
Hurd’smoment:liberalisingToryauthoritarianism? 44
Notes 51
4 FromBigHousetoBleakHouse:Prisonsinthe‘IronTimes’1990–97 53
Strangeways 56
ThemomentofHoward 59
Bleakpenaltimes 60
Happytogether:HowardandStraw 66
Notes 69
(cid:129)(cid:129)(cid:129) Contents (cid:129)(cid:129)(cid:129)
5 ‘PietyandIron’:NewLabourandSocialAuthoritarianism 71
NewLabour’sdiscursiveuniverse 72
Apocalypsenow 76
NewLabour’sinterventioniststate 79
FromStrawtoBlunkett:handingovertheauthoritarianbaton 82
NewLabour’santi-statiststrategy 85
Theantisocialpowerful 87
Maintaininganti-statism 89
Conclusion 93
Notes 97
6 ‘ThosewithnoCapitalgetthePunishment’:NewLabour
andtheWorkingPrison 103
Judgingnormalitythroughpenalpartnerships 105
Lifeontheinside:retainingtheoldpunitiveness 107
Prisons,riskandpublicprotection 111
Reid’s‘rebalancing’act 113
Conceptualizingthemodern(ized)prisonunderNewLabour 116
Conclusion 122
Notes 123
7 ForAbolitionistPraxis:TranscendingthePrisonMentality 127
Thestateandabolitionism 129
Mystifyingpunishment 130
Incorporatingreformandextendingnormalizingjudgements 133
Underminingandignoringsuccessfulpolicies 134
Criminality,criminologyand‘crimescience’ 137
Demythologizingtheprison:towardsabolitionism 140
Stoppingprisonbuildingandclosingexistingprisons 140
Redirectingtheprisonandcriminaljusticebudget 142
Dismantlingprisonofficerculture 145
Abolitionism,criminaljusticeandsocialinequalities 148

Notes 149
8 AbolitionisminanAnti-UtopianAge 153
Contradictions,contingenciesandcontestations 156
Facingthefuture:a(re)emergingradicalism? 160
Notes 163
Bibliography 165
Index 179
(cid:129)viii(cid:129)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In time-honoured fashion, I remain responsible for any errors in this book. At
thesametime,thefollowingpeoplecontributedtothebookmorethantheywill
everknowor,indeed,mightwanttoknow:
Eric Allison, Ove Andersen, Alana Barton, the late Ernie Buck, Tony Bunyan,
PatCarlen,DeborahColes,GerryCondon,MaryCorcoran,KarenCorteen,Mike
Fitzgerald, Richard Fontenroy, Pete Giu, Paul Gilroy, Barry Goldson, Danielle
Griffiths, Stuart Hall, Jeremy Hawthorne, Trevor Hemmings, Barbara Hudson,
Jeff Hughes, the staff at INQUEST, Janet Jamieson, Niki Lacey, Barbara and
Pieter Lawman, Dave Llewellyn (for the trips on the ‘magic, swirling ship’),
BethanLoftus,DaveMacDonald,GillMcIvor,JohnMoore,DaveMorran,Martyn
Nightingale, Teresa, Daniel, Paul and Paul O’Brien, Susan, Grace and James
O’Malley,TinaPatel,SimonPemberton,HansPedersen,DavidScott,HelenShaw,
GerryandKarenSim,TillieandJoeSim,DavidTyrer,ReeceWalters,TonyWard,
Anne-Marie,Ricky,JamieandRichieWebster,JoeYates.
SpecialthankstoKristiBallingerforhertechnicalskillsandforremindingme
oftheFlintstones;andtoTiaBallingerforherradicallydifferentinterpretation
ofthemeaningofthe‘archaeologyofknowledge’.
IamparticularlyindebtedtoRoyColeman,PaddyHillyard,MickRyan,Steve
Tombs and Dave Whyte for their personal and intellectual support over the
years.
During the time it took to write this book, Chris Cain made me (semi)
respectable; staff at The Elms and The Priory in Liverpool made me healthy;
S.L.JakubovicmademeappreciateColgateTotal;andIanDavishelpedmequite

literallytoseebetter.
Julie Callaghan, Rhona McSporran, Sara Newton, Maria Ng, Kate Simmons
and Mandy Vere from News from Nowhere bookshop in Liverpool provided
an independent and critical space for buying and ordering books. It embodies
everythingabookshopshouldbeinchallengingthedesperateinfluenceof,and
shadowcastby,multinationalbookstorechains.
Michael Simmonds in Conservative Central Office was extremely helpful in
facilitatingmyaccesstotheConservativeParty’slibraryinSmithSquare.
CatherineFellatthePrisonServiceCollegeLibraryprovidedexcellentservice
andexpeditedanyrequestsIhadforbooksandarticles.Thestaffinthelibraries
at Liverpool University and Liverpool John Moores University, especially Joan
Shaw,alsoprovidedafirstclassandhelpfulservice.