Prisoners regulating prisons: Voice, action, participation and riot

Buck, Gillian; Tomczak, Philippa

Abstract

Prisoners are a critical source of prison regulation around the world, but regulation by (rather than of) prisoners remains little analysed. In this article, we utilise the 1990 riots at HMP Strangeways (England), as a case study of prisoners (re)shaping imprisonment. We examine prisoners’ roles in these riots and subsequent cross-sectoral regulatory activities. We innovatively use the four-phase process of translation from actor-network theory to guide document analysis of (1) Lord Woolf’s official inquiry into the riots and (2) the voluntary organisation Prison Reform Trust’s follow-up report. We explore how participatory approaches could inform prison regulation through (former) prisoners partnering with external regulators throughout the processes of identifying problems and solutions to establish broader alliances seeking social change.

Citation

Buck, G., & Tomczak, P. (2024). Prisoners regulating prisons: Voice, action, participation and riot. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 24(1), 144-163. https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221101997

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 25, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Jun 16, 2022
• Publication Date: 2024-02
• Deposit Date: Jul 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 28, 2022
• Journal: Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Print ISSN: 1748-8958
• Electronic ISSN: 1748-8966
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 24
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 144-163
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17488958221101997
• Keywords: Law
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/9408362
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17488958221101997