Challenges in Prison Management - Literature review Example

Prison Management And Understanding of the Role of Self Introduction James Gilligan (2003) has observed that during his three and a half decades of research related to prisons and prison mental hospitals, the most common reason admitted by prisoners for assaulting someone was that they – the prisoners, were disrespected (p1). While this underlines the importance of understanding that prisoners are also human beings and needed to be recognized thus, there are other related issues that challenge the maintenance of order and discipline in a closed atmosphere like prisons. This essay shall briefly examine the challenges to be met in taking a human rights approach in the maintenance of order and safety in prisons. In doing so, it is envisaged to gain an understanding of the role of the self in the human rights approach, with particular reference to Andrew Coyle’s A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management (2002) the Stanford Prison Experiment Research (1971). Security, Safety and Orderliness in Prisons Andre Coyle in his work A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management – Handbook for Prison Staff (2002) has given a detailed account of the ways and means to approach humaneness in handling prisoners, the points that have to be especially noted when selecting staff for working in prisons, international instruments on each aspect of prison management, and some practical ways of implementing various recommendations. Of prime importance in Coyle’s (2002) work is the section in which he delineates the ways and means of “Operating secure, safe and orderly prisons” (pp.59-74). Citing Lord Justice Woolf the author has stated that there were three key points to be attended to in the effective maintenance of prisons, namely “the correct balance between security, control and justice” (p. 59). Contrary to common belief, humanity and fairness in approach can lead to better orderliness rather than reduction in security or control. It is very important to take a human rights approach in the operational management of prisons because, the world over, wherever there has been excessive oppression in the security and control measures implemented by prison management staff at the cost of justice and better alternatives (p. 60). Challenges are plentiful in taking a humane view of maintaining security and safety in prisons. As Coyle (2002) has rightly assessed, “prisons are closed communities in which abuse of authority can easily occur” (p.60). The relevance of this statement can be best understood under the light shed by the Stanford Prison Experiment research conducted by social psychologists Philip Zimbardo, Craig Haney, Curtis Banks, and David Jaffe (1971). In especially created prison environment at the Stanford University, researchers simulated the atmosphere of a prison with volunteers who played the role of prisoners and prison guards. The goal of the experiment was to study the “psychological effects … of becoming a prisoner or prison guard” (http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-4.htm). Pertinently, as pointed by Coyle (2002), at least some of the volunteers who played the role of guards in this experiment too, tended to ‘abuse’ the authority that they wielded and in some occasions tended to disregard health or preservation of basic human dignity of the prisoner-volunteers. Like for example, it can be noted that even nature’s call to urinate came under the control of the guards - “Every aspect of the prisoners' behaviour fell under the total and arbitrary control of the guards; Even going to the toilet became a privilege which a guard could grant or deny at his whim” (http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-22.htm). Abuse of Authority in Abu Gharib Prison Real-life happenings have only too well elucidated the possible evils that can happen when unlimited authority combines with racial, ethnic and religious prejudices. The recent reports or torture of Iraqi prisoners, mostly civilian men, teenagers, and women, “many of whom had been picked up in random military sweeps and at highway checkpoints” (Hersh, 2004, p.2) at the hands of American and British military personnel is a case in the point. Many prisoners were not only stripped of their clothing and dignity, they were photographed naked while they were made to do demeaning acts like masturbating or posing as if having oral sex and the like, while degradingly the woman guard witnesses these acts. The atrocities meted out to the prisoners are especially abhorring when one comes to know that the prisoners were made to these disgraceful acts, because it was against their cultural beliefs; “dehumanization is unacceptable in any culture, but it is especially so in the Arab world; Homosexual acts are against Islamic law and it is humiliating for men to be naked in front of other men” (Bernard Haykel cited by Hersh, 2004, p.3). The Abu Gharib is an example of unspeakable abuse that should have happened in and prison in any place in the world. Humane Ways or Meeting the Challenge of Authority Abuse In order to meet such challenging situations, Coyle (2002) has suggested prisons should have a clear set of procedures that accurately define the levels of security to be maintained in the prison and for specific type of individual prisoners (p. 61). This will help in arriving at a fine balance between the security needs of the prison and the social re-integration programmes planned for the prisoners. Referring to various laws to illustrate that “varying degrees of security according to the needs of different groups” (Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, Rule 63(2), cited by Coyle 2002) the author has emphasized that particular situations did demand more security and that safety of other prisoners or staff should not be compromised (p. 61). Not stopping at that, Coyle (2002) has given practical reasons like cost-effectiveness, lesser the security, lower the chances of abuse and more the humaneness, and so on to stress that security needs should be assessed and classified into 1) Maximum security conditions, 2) Minimum security conditions and 3) Medium security conditions (pp. Thus, resource management, cameras, studying the history and terms of prisoners, risk management and planning can be effectively used to evaluate the threat of situations and individuals and decide the level of security accordingly, so as to avoid the misuse and abuse of authority, while at the same time provide a progressive atmosphere for the prisoners too (pp.61-3). Erving Goffman and the Role of Self As mentioned earlier, prisons are confining environments, and thus the very thought of being within the premises of a prison can be oppressive. Therefore it is extremely important to bear in mind what Coyle (2002) has stated on the condition of prisoners: “Depriving a human being of liberty is a very severe punishment; Of itself imprisonment is a severe deprivation of rights and thus it is only to be imposed by a judicial authority in clearly defined circumstances and when there is no other reasonable alternative” (p 83). Thus, it is important that their already deprived states are not worsened by acts of degradation or ill-treatment. Here, it is relevant to consider what Erving Goffman a social anthropologist has theorized regarding the way human beings behave in everyday life. It is pertinent to note that Goffman’s theory has a lot of significance to prison studies since he has researched the importance of social structures in manufacturing conforming behavioural patterns in prisons, mental asylums and military establishments (Blackwood, 1977, p.1); and his work Asylums: Essays in the Social Situations of Mental Patients and Other Inmates (1961) is based on the above. Goffman (1961) has recorded the plight of the prisoner thus: “The recruit comes into the establishment with a conception of himself made possible by certain stable social arrangements in his home world. Upon entrance he is immediately striped of the support provided by these arrangements. In the accurate language of some of our oldest total institutions, he begins a series of abasements, degradations, humiliations, and profanations of self. His self is systematically, if often unintentionally mortified. He begins some radical shifts in his moral career, a career composed of the progressive changes that occur in the beliefs that he has concerning himself and significant others.” (Goffman E. 1961A/1, p.24) Constructive Activities and Social Reintegration of Prisoners Coyle (2002) has shown the way of out of such a defeating and challenging situation by stipulating that prison management should organize full programmes of constructive activities that will help alleviate the prisoners from their situations. For this, it is important to recognize prisoners as individuals (p.84) he has observed; for example, some prisoners may be unrefined and illiterate, while others may have been respectable bankers or teachers prior to their conviction. Their individual interests and faculty must be taken note of before deciding on a constructive path of activity of them, in such a way that it may be useful to them when they leave the prison premises and integrate themselves into the society at large, in future (Coyle, 2002, pp.84-7). The author also gives the example of how some governments have successfully implemented various skill-orientation programmes and training to prisoners, and are paid nominally for their jobs. This has enabled prisoners to find jobs or employ themselves fruitfully when they left the prison and earn their livings (p.89). In this way the challenge of low-self esteem can be met with a humanitarian approach and understanding of the part played by their self-image may prove vital for successful rehabilitation. Contact with the Outside World This is another important aspect of prison management that also poses many challenges. Coyle’s work has delineated them at length (2002, pp. 95-102). Stanford Prison Experiment has shown that visitors had a regulating impact on the guards as they tried to live up to the image of being good (http://www.prisonexp.org/slide-24.htm), while at the same time offering the prisoner volunteers a chance to appeal to an outside element other than the prison staff. In real life situation the impact and importance of the situation is manifold. As rightly put, prisoners are human beings and thus have the basic right to various relationships –as for example, father, mother, son, daughter and so on; and the prison administrations too have the responsibility of ensuring that such relationships are maintained and developed to the extent possible (Coyle, 2002, p. 95). The challenges posed in this aspect are many; for example, the prison management should ensure that the prisoners do not plan to escape or plot an escape route with a visitor’s help; or communicate with people outside the prison in a threatening or intimidating manner, or get into the prison potentially harmful tools like guns, knives and so on. This can be approached in a human rights manner, by first understanding that communication with their kith and kin or friends is vital to their self-image as worthy, and useful members of the family and society. Thus, the prisoners can be allowed to see/communicate/talk over the telephone/ or face-to –face with their relationship-members. Some countries like Sweden even allow for conjugal relationships to take place by providing a small room with bed and wash, as Coyle has illustrated (2002, p. 98) and facilitated the development of relationships. Challenges to this human right aspect of prison management can be met effectively by assessing the category of the prisoner, as his/her vulnerability, aggressiveness, past history of violence or mal-practice, abuse of rights, whether in solitary confinement condition and so on. Conclusion Prisons, being closed environments, have always posed challenges for humanitarian considerations to be practiced in maintaining order, safety and security within its precincts. Coyle’s (2002) handbook to prison staff has however, helped understand how a humane approach can be practiced in meeting the challenges. A study of the related Stanford Prison Experiment research and also, studying Goffman’s (1961) work has helped understand the important role of self-image and the role it plays in human behaviour. Abu Gharib prison torture has helped in establishing undoubtedly the essentiality of a human rights approach to prison management, by portraying the resultant dangers of not adopting such an approach. The entire study has proved enlightening and rewarding since it has imparted invaluable education on the importance of human values in dealing with prisoners. References Blackwood, Diane (1997). “Erving Goffman” in Article "made for hire" for Magill's Guide to 20th Century Authors (1997) Salem Press, Pasadena, CA. accessed on 03 March, 2009 at http://www.blackwood.org/Erving.htm Coyle, Andrew (2003). A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management available online accessed on 24 February, 2009. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/law/research/icps/downloads/human_rights_prison_management.pdf Gilligan, James (2009). "Shame, guilt, and violence". Social Research. FindArticles.com. 07 Mar, 2009. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2267/is_4_70/ai_112943739 Goffman E. 1961A/1 On the Characteristics of Total Institutions Extracts accessed on 03 March, 2009 at http://studymore.org.uk/xgof.htm webpage available at http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/xGof.htm#Encounters Hersh, Seymour (2004). “Annals of National Security - Torture at Abu Ghraib American soldiers brutalized Iraqis. How far up does the responsibility go?” in The NewYorker dated May 10, 2004. Accessed on 03 March, 2009. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/10/040510fa_fact Stanford Prison Experiment(1971). Website accessed on 03 March, 2009. http://www.prisonexp.org/ Read More