Abstract
In this chapter we will describe and discuss some practical ways of creating rehabilitative cultures in prisons housing people convicted of sexual offences. Our interest in prison culture began in 2002 when we conducted a study of why some men in prison deny their sexual offending (Mann, Webster, Wakeling, & Keylock, 2013). Before we began that study, we expected to find individual psychological explanations for denial, such as shame, or family factors, such as family support for denial. These explanations certainly existed, but more notably we found that men talked about feeling unsafe, feeling stigmatised, and feeling humiliated by other people in prison and also by staff. The overall finding was that when men convicted of sexual offences felt psychologically and physically unsafe in prison, their personal resources were consumed by finding ways to feel safe, and denial of their offences was one useful way to reduce their anxiety.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Strain theory would suggest that poor prison conditions would lead to emotional pain and misconduct as a way of alleviating the pain.
- 2.
Rational choice theorists argue that poor prison conditions result in disorder as a consequence of a cost-benefit analysis, with residents feeling they have little to lose and much to gain from disruptive behaviour.
References
Adair, D. (2005). Peer support programs within prisons. Hobart, TAS: University of Tasmania School of Sociology and Social Work.
Aresti, A., Eatough, V., & Brooks-Gordon, B. (2010). Doing time after time: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of reformed ex-prisoners’ experiences of self-change, identity and career opportunities. Psychology, Crime & Law, 16, 169–190.
Avakian, S. (2000). Dynamic security. Journal of Correctional Education, 51, 183–188.
Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J. E., Eichelsheim, V. I., & Van der Lann, P. H. (2015). Procedural justice, anger, and prisoners’ misconduct. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42, 196–218.
Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J. E., Eichelsheim, V. I., Van der Lann, P. H., & Nieuwbeerta, P. (2014). Procedural justice and prisoners’ mental health problems: A longitudinal study. Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 24, 100–112.
Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J. E., & Nieuwbeerta, P. (2016). Reoffending after release: Does procedural justice during imprisonment matter? Criminal Behavior and Mental Health, 43, 63–82.
Beijersbergen, K. A., Dirkzwager, A. J. E., van der Laan, P. H., & Nieuwbeerta, P. (2016). A social building? Prison architecture and staff-prisoner relationships. Crime & Delinquency, 62, 843–874.
Beto, D. R. (2007). Correctional leadership: A return to the basics. In Executive exchange (pp. 8–14). Bryan, TX: National Association of Probation Executives.
Beyens, K., Gilbert, E., & Devresse, M. (2012). Architectural needs of prison residents and users. Fatik, 133, 5–16.
Bierie, D. M. (2012a). Is tougher better? The impact of physical prison conditions on inmate violence. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 56, 338–355.
Bierie, D. M. (2012b). The impact of prison conditions on staff well-being. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 56, 81–95.
Bierie, D. M. (2013). Procedural justice and prison violence: Examining complaints among federal inmates (2000–2007). Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 19, 15–29.
Bierie, D. M., & Mann, R. E. (2017). The history and future of prison psychology. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 23, 478–489.
Blagden, N., Winder, B., Gregson, M., & Thorne, K. (2011). Working with denial in convicted sexual offenders: A qualitative analysis of treatment professionals’ views and experiences and their implications for practice. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 57, 1–25.
Blagden, N., Winder, B., & Hames, C. (2016). ‘They treat us like human beings’ – Experiencing a therapeutic sex offenders’ prison: Impact on prisons and staff and implications for treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 60, 371–396.
Bonta, J., Bourgon, G., Rugge, T., Gress, C., & Gutierrez, L. (2013). Taking the leap: From pilot project to wide-scale implementation of the strategic training initiative in community supervision (STICS). Justice Research and Policy, 15, 1–19.
Butler, M., & Maruna, S. (2009). The impact of disrespect on prisoners’ aggression: Outcomes of experimentally inducing violence-supportive cognitions. Psychology, Crime & Law, 15, 235–250.
Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, B. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. New York: Norton.
Casper, J. D., Tyler, T. R., & Fisher, B. (1988). Procedural justice in felony cases. Law & Society Review, 22, 483–507.
Chen, K., & Shapiro, J. M. (2007). Do harsher prison conditions reduce recidivism? A discontinuity-based approach. American Law and Economics Review, 9, 1–29.
Cieslak, R., Korczynska, J., Strelau, J., & Kaczmarek, M. (2008). Burnout predictors among prison officers: The moderating effect of temperamental endurance. Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 666–672.
Cox, V. C., Paulus, P. B., & McCain, G. (1984). Prison crowding: The relevance for prison housing standards and a general approach regarding crowding phenomena. American Psychologist, 39, 1148–1160.
Coyle, A. (2002). Managing prisons in a time of change. London: International Centre for Prison Studies.
Crewe, B., & Liebling, A. (2015). Governing governors. Prison Service Journal, 222, 3–10.
Crewe, B., Liebling, A., & Hulley, S. (2011). Staff culture, use of authority and prisoner quality of life in public and private sector prisons. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 44, 94–115.
Cullen, F. T., Jonson, C. L., & Eck, J. E. (2012). The accountable prison. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28, 77–95.
Cullen, F. T., Jonson, C. L., & Nagin, D. S. (2011). Prisons do not reduce recidivism: The high cost of ignoring science. The Prison Journal, 91, 48S–65S.
Day, A., Hardcastle, L., & Birgden, A. (2012). Case management in community corrections: Current status and future directions. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 51, 484–495.
Day, J. C., Brauer, J. R., & Butler, H. D. (2015). Coercion and social support behind bars. Testing an integrated theory of misconduct and resistance in US prisons. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42, 133–155.
Drake, E. K. (2011). ‘What works in community supervision’: Interim report. Olympia: Washington State Institute for Public Policy.
Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2014). Prosocial spending and happiness: Using money to benefit others pays off. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 41–47.
Dye, M. H. (2010). Deprivation, importation, and prison suicide: Combined effects of institutional conditions and inmate composition. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 796–806.
Elger, B. S., & Sekera, E. (2009). Prospective evaluation of insomnia in prison using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: Which are the factors predicting insomnia? International Journal of Psychiatry Clinical Practice, 13, 206–217.
Fletcher, D. R., & Batty, E. (2012). Offender Peer Interventions: What do we know? Sheffield: Centre for Regional and Economic Social Research.
Gover, A. R., MacKenzie, D. L., & Armstrong, G. S. (2000). Importation and deprivation explanations of juveniles’ adjustment to correctional facilities. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 44, 450–466.
Harper, D. S. (2016). Correctional executives’ leadership self-efficacy and their perceptions of emotional intelligence. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 41, 765–779.
Hulley, S., Liebling, A., & Crewe, B. (2012). Respect in prisons: Prisoners’ experiences of respect in public and private sector prisons. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 12, 3–23.
Humber, N., Webb, R., Piper, M., Appleby, L., & Shaw, J. (2013). A national case-control study of risk factors among prisoners in England and Wales. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48, 1177–1185.
Hunter, G., & Kirby, A. (2011). Evaluation of working one to one with young offenders. London: Prince’s Trust.
Ireland, J. L., & Culpin, V. (2006). The relationship between sleeping problems and aggression, anger and impulsivity in a population of juvenile and young offenders. Journal of Adolescent Health, 38, 649–655.
Jan, L. (1980). Overcrowding and inmate behavior. Some preliminary findings. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 7, 293–301.
Johnsen, B., Granheim, P. K., & Helgesen, J. (2011). Exceptional prison conditions and the quality of prison life: Prison size and prison culture in Norwegian close prisons. European Journal of Criminology, 8, 515–529.
Lambert, E. G., Barton-Bellessa, S. M., & Hogan, N. L. (2014). The association between correctional orientation and organizational citizenship behaviors among correctional staff. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 58, 953–974.
LeBel, T. P., Richie, M., & Maruna, S. (2015). Helping others as a way to reconcile a criminal past: The role of the wounded healer in prisoner re-entry programs. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42, 108–120.
Liebling, A., & Arnold, H. (2005). Prisons and their moral performance: A study of values, quality and prison life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Liebling, A., Durie, L., Stiles, A., & Tait, S. (2005). Revisiting prison suicide: The role of fairness and distress. In A. Liebling & S. Maruna (Eds.), The effects of imprisonment. Cullompton, Devon: Willan Publishing.
Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. R. (1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. New York: Plenum Press.
Lindemuth, A. L. (2007). Designing therapeutic environments for inmates and prison staff in the United States: Precedents and contemporary applications. Journal of Mediterranean Ecology, 8, 87–97.
Losel, F. (2007a). Counterblast: The prison overcrowding crisis and some constructive perspectives for crime policy. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 46(5), 512–519.
Losel, F. (2007b). Doing evaluation research in criminology: Balancing scientific and practical demands. In R. D. King & E. Wincup (Eds.), Doing research on crime and justice (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Losel, F. (2012). Offender treatment and rehabilitation: What works? In R. Morgan, M. Maguire, & R. Reiner (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of criminology (pp. 986–1016). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mann, R. E. (2009). Getting the context right for sex offender treatment. In D. Prescott (Ed.), Building motivation for change in sexual offenders. Brandon, VT: Safer Society Press.
Mann, R. E., Hanson, R. K., & Thornton, D. (2010). Assessing risk for sexual recidivism: Some proposals on the nature of psychologically meaningful risk factors. Sexual Abuse, 22, 191–217.
Mann, R. E., Webster, S. D., Wakeling, H. C., & Keylock, H. (2013). Why do sex offenders refuse treatment? Journal of Sexual Aggression., 19(2), 191–206.
Maruna, S. (2001). Making good: How Ex-convicts reform and rebuild their lives. Washington, DC: APA Books.
Mazerolle, L., Bennett, S., Davis, J., Sargeant, E., & Manning, M. (2013). Procedural justice and police legitimacy: A systematic review of the research evidence. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 9, 245–274.
McAdams, D. P. (2006). The redemptive self: Generativity and the stories Americans live by. Research in Human Development, 3, 81–100.
McDowall, A., Quinton, P., Brown, D., Carr, I., Glorney, E., Russell, S., et al. (2015). Promoting ethical behaviour and preventing wrongdoing in organisations: A rapid evidence assessment. College of Policing. Retrieved from http://whatworks.college.police.uk/Research/Documents/150317_Integrity_REA_FINAL_REPORT.pdf
Megargee, E. I. (1976). Population density and disruptive behavior in a prison setting. In A. Cohen & G. Cole (Eds.), Prison violence. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
Molleman, T., & Van der Broek, T. C. (2014). Understanding the links between perceived prison conditions and prison staff. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 42, 33–53.
Moore, E. O. (1981). A prison environment’s effect on health care service demands. Environmental Systems, 11, 17–34.
Moran, D., & Turner, J. (2018). Turning over a new leaf: The health-enabling capacities of nature contact in prison. Social Science and Medicine. (In press). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.05.032
Morris, R. G., & Worrall, J. L. (2014). Prison architecture and inmate misconduct: A multilevel assessment. Crime & Delinquency, 60, 1083–1109.
Musick, M. A., & Wilson, J. (2003). Volunteering and depression: The role of psychological and social resources in different age groups. Social Science & Medicine, 56, 259–269.
Nadkarni, N. M., Hasbach, P. H., Thys, T., Crockett, E. G., & Schnacker, L. (2017). Impacts of nature imagery on people in severely nature-deprived environments. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 15, 395–403.
National Offender Management Service. (2014). NOMS’ commissioning intentions from 2014. Retrieved from www.gov.uk
Nussbaum, A. F. (1971). The rehabilitation myth. The American Scholar, 674–676.
Paternoster, R., Brame, R., Bachman, R., & Sherman, L. W. (1997). Do fair procedures matter? The effect of procedural justice on spouse assault. Law & Society Review, 31(1), 163–204.
Penal Reform International. (2013). Working towards fair and effective criminal justice: The PRI way. Retrieved from https://s16889.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PRI_Annual_Report_2013_web.pdf
Perrin, C., & Blagden, N. (2014). Accumulating meaning, purpose and opportunities to change ‘drip by drip’: The impact of being a listener in prison. Psychology, Crime & Law, 20, 902–920.
Perrin, C., Blagden, N., Winder, B., & Dilon, G. (2017). ‘It’s sort of reaffirmed to me that I’m not a monster, I’m not a terrible person’: Sex offenders’ movements towards desistance via peer support roles in prison. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 30, 759–780.
Phelps, M. S. (2011). Rehabilitation in the punitive era: The gap between rhetoric and reality in US prison programs. Law & Society Review, 45, 33–68.
Piliavin, J. A., & Siegl, E. (2007). Health benefits of volunteering in the Wisconsin longitudinal study. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 48, 450–464.
Reisig, M. D. (1998). Rates of disorder in higher-custody state prisons: A comparative analysis of managerial practices. Crime & Delinquency, 44, 229–244.
Reisig, M. D., & Mesko, G. (2009). Procedural justice, legitimacy, and prisoner misconduct. Psychology, Crime & Law, 15, 41–59.
Robinson, C. R., Lowenkamp, C. T., Holsinger, A. M., VanBenschoten, S., Alexander, M., & Oleson, J. C. (2012). A random study of Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Re-arrest (STARR): Using core correctional practices in probation interactions. Journal of Crime and Justice, 35, 167–188.
Schaeffer, M. A., Baum, A., Paulus, T. B., & Gaes, G. G. (1988). Architecturally mediated effects of social density in prison. Environment & Behavior, 20, 3–19.
Simon, J. (2008). Introduction. In M. Frampton et al. (Eds.), After the war on crime: Race, democracy, and a new reconstruction. New York: New York University Press.
Slotboom, A., Kruttschnitt, C., Bijleveld, C. C. J. H., & Menting, B. (2011). Psychological wellbeing of Dutch incarcerated women: Importation or deprivation? Punishment and Society, 13, 176–197.
Smith, P., & Schweitzer, M. (2012). The therapeutic prison. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28, 7–22.
Stasch, J., Yoon, D., Sauter, J., Hausam, J., & Dahle, K.-P. (2018). Prison climate and its role in reducing dynamic risk factors during offender treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62, 4609–4621.
Steiner, B., & Wooldredge, J. (2017). Individual and environmental influences on prison officer safety. Justice Quarterly, 34, 324–349.
Stephenson, M. (2007). Young people and offending: Education, youth justice and social inclusion. Cullompton: Willan.
Stevens, A. (2012). ‘I am the person now that I was always meant to be’: Identity reconstruction and narrative reframing in therapeutic community prisons. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 12, 1–21.
Sunshine, J., & Tyler, T. R. (2003). The role of procedural justice and legitimacy in shaping public support for policing. Law & Society Review, 37, 513–547.
Tate, H., Blagden, N., & Mann, R. E. (2017). Prisoners’ perceptions of care and rehabilitation from prison officers trained as Five Minute Interventionists. Ministry of Justice Analytical Summary. Retrieved from www.gov.uk
Tewksbury, R., & Mustaine, E. E. (2008). Correctional orientations of prison staff. The Prison Journal, 88, 207–233.
Trotter, C. (1996). The impact of different supervision practices in community corrections. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 29, 29–46.
Trotter, C. (2004). Helping abused children and their families. Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Trotter, C. (2009). Pro social modelling. European Journal of Probation, 1, 142–152.
Trotter, C. J. (1990). Probation can work: A research study using volunteers. Australian Journal of Social Work, 43, 13–18.
Tyler, T. R. (1990). Why people obey the law. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Tyler, T. R. (2001). Public trust and confidence in legal authorities: What do majority and minority group members want from the law and legal institutions? Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 19, 215–235.
Tyler, T. R. (2008). Procedural justice and the courts. Court Review, 44, 26–31.
Tyler, T. R., & Fagan, J. (2008). Legitimacy and cooperation: Why do people help the police fight crime in their communities? Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, 6, 231–275.
Tyler, T. R., & Huo, Y. J. (2002). Trust in the law: Encouraging public cooperation with the police and courts. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Tyler, T. R., Sherman, L., Strang, H., Barnes, G. C., & Woods, D. (2007). Reintegrative shaming, procedural justice, and recidivism: The engagement of offenders’ psychological mechanisms in the Canberra RISE drinking-and-driving experiment. Law & Society Review, 41, 553–586.
Van Ginneken, E. F. J. C., Sutherland, A., & Molleman, T. (2017). An ecological analysis of prison overcrowding and suicide rates in England and Wales, 2000–2014. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 50, 76–82.
Van Willigan, M. (2000). Differential benefits of volunteering across the life course. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 55B, 308–318.
Wacquant, L. (2001). Deadly symbiosis: When ghetto and prison meet and mesh. Punishment & Society, 3, 95–133.
Walker, M., Illingworth, C., Canning, A., Garner, E., Woolley, J., Taylor, P., et al. (2013). Changes in mental state associated with prison environments: A systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 129, 427–436.
Webster, S. D., & Kenny, T. (2015). Experiences of prison officers delivering Five Minute Interventions at HMP/YOI Portland. National Offender Management Service Analytical Summary. Retrieved from www.gov.uk
Weinrath, M., Budzinski, C., & Melnyk, T. (2016). Visualizing prison life: Does prison architecture influence correctional officer behaviour? An exploratory study. The Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research, 5, 291–311.
Wener, R. E. (2012). The environmental psychology of prisons and jails: Creating humane spaces in secure settings. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zimbardo, P. (2016). Revisiting the Stanford prison experiment: A lesson in the power of situation. Perspectives on Contemporary Issues, 309–317.
Zimbardo, P. G. (2008). The Lucifer effect. New York, NY: Random House.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mann, R. et al. (2019). Rehabilitative Culture in Prisons for People Convicted of Sexual Offending. In: Blagden, N., Winder, B., Hocken, K., Lievesley, R., Banyard, P., Elliott, H. (eds) Sexual Crime and the Experience of Imprisonment. Sexual Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04930-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04930-0_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-04929-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-04930-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)