We hope that they promote discussion, debate, and reflection.
In the first article, we hear from James Gacek and Amin Asfari on a subject which has received little attention within the criminal justice field, the challenges Muslim women experience when in prison and upon their release. The article reflects on the disadvantages Muslim women experience when in prison, in terms of gender, race, and faith discrimination, along with the negative impact of shame and stigma upon their release. The article shines a spotlight on the need to ensure that Muslim women’s unique experiences of the criminal justice system are considered.
We then hear from Dr Ian Marder, Angelena Murphy, Paraic Rooney, Dr Fionnuala Brennan, and Clare Hogan about their work training prison officers in restorative practices within the Irish Prison Service. Their experiences illustrate the potential that collaborations between universities and prison training providers can offer, along with the value of integrating restorative approaches into training for new staff to better support sustainability of the approach.
Next, Dr Steven Foster outlines the legal rules around prisoner safety and explores the potential legal implications when prisoners are subjected to physical, emotional, or mental-ill treatment by fellow prisoners. Through the use of illustrative case law examples, the article highlights the legal ramifications of not complying with the rule of law and protecting prisoners fundamental rights and decency.
In our final article in this edition, Ailie Rennie describes the experiences of people serving life sentences by exploring their first 5 months of release from prison. The article describes how people’s expectations of release are often different from the reality, and how people serve to navigate their relational experiences in different ways.
We are pleased to present three interviews within this edition. In the first, Andrea Albutt is interviewed by Rachel Bell. Andrea joined the Prison Service in 1990 and was the President of the Prison Governor’s Association (PGA) from 2015 until her retirement from HMPPS in March 2024. Andrea reflects on her career as a women in the Prison Service, the challenges that the service has, and continues to, experience, along with her role as a the PGA president. Our second interview is with Robin Seaton, who was interviewed by Munazzah Choudhary. Robin is a Deputy Director within the Prison Supply Directorate in HMPPS, and reflects on the Prison Estate Transformation Programme and how learning and evidence are being used to shape the delivery of new prison places. In our last interview, Ed Cornmell talks to Dr Rachel Gibson about his role as Deputy Director of the Youth Custody Service (YCS). Ed reflects on some of the challenges facing YCS, some of his reasons for wanting to take on the role, and work being undertaken to develop and strengthen services for children and young people in prison.
This edition concludes with two book reviews which will be of interest to readers. The first is a review of The Good Prison Officer: Inside Perspectives edited by Andi Brierly and reviewed by Dr Matt Maycock. The book is edited, and written, by those with lived experience and provides insight into the authors experiences of the ‘good, bad and sometimes ugly aspects of the work that prison officers do’. The second book, The English Prison Health System After a Decade of Austerity 2010-2020. The Failed Political Experiment by Nasrul Ismail is reviewed by Dr Lynn Saunders. It is a described as a ‘wide-ranging exploration of the political and practical impact of reduced funding for prisons’. However, the absence of the voice and experiences of prisoners accessing health care services is of note, and further research and investigations to examine health outcomes during this period is needed.
