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Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Programs in Prisons and Jails: Perspectives from England and the USA

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The Voluntary Sector in Prisons

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology ((PSIPP))

Abstract

In this chapter, the author draws on qualitative interview research to examine the role that community volunteers and non-profit organizations can play in providing rehabilitative programming in prisons and jails. The chapter spans voluntary sector provision in England and California and includes the perspectives of community volunteers and incarcerated individuals who have participated in a variety of educational and faith-based programs. The chapter also examines the effect of this provision on experiences of incarceration, preparation for reentry, and on encouraging a desire to give back. The implications for self-identity, desistance, and prison culture are discussed, including particular benefits that can emerge through building bridges between prisons and outside communities. Last, the chapter considers why some facilities may be more amenable to volunteers than others.

Partial funding covering various aspects of this study was provided by Birmingham City University (UK), the Prisoners’ Education Trust (UK), and a grant from the College of Social Sciences’ Research & Creative Activities Awards, California State University, Fresno (USA). I would also like to acknowledge Hannah Riccardi for her assistance with this project.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The prison system of England and Wales is combined under one governing body, but remains separate from that of Scotland, the third country constituting Great Britain.

  2. 2.

    CDCR was compelled to make this reduction following the Supreme Court’s finding that overcrowding was interfering with the state’s ability to provide prisoners with acceptable levels of health care and thus was violating constitutional protections from “cruel and unusual” punishment.

  3. 3.

    Research participants’ names have been changed in order to protect anonymity.

  4. 4.

    In England and Wales, a “lifer” has a life sentence with a tariff that indicates the minimum time they are expected to serve before the Parole Board considers them for release. If they are released they remain on “life license,” subject to recall to prison as long as they live. Most lifers, like Joe, and Bruce who will feature later, do not have a “whole-life tariff” that makes them ineligible for release.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California State University, Fresno, CA, USA

    Emma Hughes

Authors
  1. Emma Hughes
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California Los Angeles, Culver City, California, USA

    Laura S. Abrams

  2. Criminology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, California, USA

    Emma Hughes

  3. Sociology, School of Public Policy, Oregon State University , Corvallis,, Oregon, USA

    Michelle Inderbitzin

  4. School of Law, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Berkshire, United Kingdom

    Rosie Meek

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Hughes, E. (2016). Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Programs in Prisons and Jails: Perspectives from England and the USA. In: Abrams, L., Hughes, E., Inderbitzin, M., Meek, R. (eds) The Voluntary Sector in Prisons. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54215-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54215-1_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54214-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54215-1

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