Prison Journal

Lurigio, Arthur J.

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240131pmid: N/A

The year 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of mass incarceration in the United States. For six decades, the U.S. incarceration rate has been near the top among all countries worldwide. In five major sections, this article offers a brief retrospective on mass incarceration. The first defines the nature of prison sentences. The second describes the current prison population's characteristics. The third examines the growth of the prison population, highlighting politically motivated policies and laws. The fourth provides a reckoning of the collateral damage caused by mass incarceration. The fifth and final section considers strategies to reduce imprisonment and its attendant harms.

Rosenbaum, Jill Leslie

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240135pmid: N/A

This article draws on the author's 2023 Western Society of Criminology Paul Tappan Award address on her seminal work with adolescent girls in Flint Michigan. Echoing the major theme from that address, the article focuses on the need for practitioners and academics to collaborate and more actively engage in targeting programs relevant to the needs of young women. The Flint study identified great discrepancies between providers and girls regarding program relevancy and effectiveness, underscoring the importance of including adolescent girls’ voice in program development and evaluation, which is finally being addressed in contemporary programming.

Weger, Jennifer; Weinrath, Michael; Kohm, Steven

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240138pmid: N/A

This study examines news media representations of Canadian prisons pre and post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Of interest was how media framed coverage of punishment and prisons with respect to discrete, event-driven traditional myths (prisons are dangerous, inmates are violent, correctional officers are cruel) versus more systemic, reform-oriented stories (more rehabilitation needed, racialized peoples over-represented, prison conditions harsh). In a pre-post COVID-19 content analysis of 182 stories, prison articles actually declined. Some traditional prison myths were still present and reinforced, but other myths were challenged and some were rarely seen. Discussions of prison reform were also frequently observed and grew during the pandemic.

De Shalit, Ann; van der Meulen, Emily; Chu, Sandra Ka Hon; Thomas, Rhiannon

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240142pmid: N/A

After years of advocacy by a range of civil society groups, supported by scholarly and empirical research, Canada's federal prison service implemented a needle exchange program at select carceral institutions in 2018. Since the program rollout, however, uptake has remained minimal. To understand why, we conducted the first independent and national study of the program, interviewing 30 people who were incarcerated at one of the prisons with a needle exchange. Our findings show that drug use stigma and anticipated or actual reprisal from correctional officers, particularly related to breaches of confidentiality for program participants, markedly impede access and utilization.

Peterson, Bryce E.; Kim, Ki Deuk; Shukla, Rochisha

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240143pmid: N/A

Contraband negatively affects the safety and security of correctional institutions. Extant research has relied on descriptive analyses or limited measures of contraband. Drawing upon established theories of institutional misbehavior—the deprivation model, importation model, and management perspective–the study examines facility-level and correctional population characteristic correlates of contraband in 301 prisons across six U.S. states. Findings confirm the relevance of individually examining risk factors by type of contraband, including drugs, cellphones, weapons, and total contraband. Lower security prisons, prisons providing substance use treatment, and those employing more women staff had fewer contraband drugs, weapons, and cellphones. Providing outside work opportunities and work-release programs also reduced contraband weapons.

Muntingh, Lukas

doi: 10.1177/00328855241240147pmid: N/A

South Africa has two fully privatised prisons, each housing some 3,000 prisoners. Their history has been mired in controversy from the start, and this has not improved over a period of nearly 25 years. Recent events affecting the security and integrity of the two facilities provide a useful opportunity to reflect on these private prisons as well as wider issues regarding private sector involvement in the prison system. The intersection of politics, organised labour, private sector interests, and corruption have in all likelihood rung the death knell for private prisons in South Africa.