We hope that they promote discussion, debate, and reflection.
We begin with an article by Dr Sarah Waite which examines the concept and operation of trust in prison by drawing upon theory, policy, and practice. The article analyses the operationalisation of trust in prisons, critically assesses conceptualisations of trust, and uses theories of trust and reflections from research to outline a typology which proposes a loose framework through which to consider trust and its associations with power, performance, and personcentred practice in prison.
In our second article Paul New, Dr Miznah AlAbbadey, and Dr Lianne Wood present the findings from an exploratory study highlighting key issues that persistent pain presents in prisons, trends in dispensed pain medication, patients’ general needs, and the facilitators of, and barriers to, de-prescribing intervention.
Next Dr Carol Robinson, Vanessa Lang Burns, and Pete Thompson describe their collaboration for a University of York undergraduate degree module, Working in the Criminal Justice System, to ‘take the prison to the classroom’ in order to aid communication between prison staff and students about working in the Prison Service. After describing the rationale for, and practicalities of, delivering the initiative, the authors reflect on their experience and learning from this, including the apparent benefits for both students and prison staff.
In our fourth article Elieze Termote, Lennert De Boe, An-Sofie Vanhouche, Kristel Beyens, Annelies Jans, and Eva Meeus report on their study, which utilised Participatory Action Research, to undertsanding the barriers to people living in prison accessing activities in two newly built Belgian prisons: Haren and Dendermonde. Following their identification of several obstacles, they conclude with implications which feel relevant for prison services in other countries as well as Belgium.
In the penultimate article Raeanne Valois presents the findings of her qualitative research examining the experiences of people who have completed Kaizen (an HMPPS cognitive-behavioural accredited programme), focussing on how those who completed Kaizen experienced the programme environment, what learning they took and in what ways they felt their participation supported their desistance.
In our final article Dr Laura Janes and Dr Susie Hulley outline recent changes in legislation which have increased the minimum terms in custody that judges must consider when imposing life sentences on children, discuss the tension between the law and policy in this area, and highlight the important implications for practitioners working with ‘child lifers’.
This edition concludes with three book reviews. The first is particularly unique in that it is the PSJ’s first ‘special feature extended book review’ and focusses on The Stains of Imprisonment — Moral communication and men convicted of sex offences, written by criminologist Alice Ievins. This was reviewed by people living and staff working at HMP Rye Hill in collaboration with the Building Futures Network (Prison Reform Trust). The review explores the prisoners' and staffs’ views on a chapterby-chapter basis. Overall, the majority of the group felt that this book is a valuable tool for both officers and those writing policy. To them it sheds light on the reality of the stains of imprisonment prisoners convicted of a sexual offence face, and the harms that this imposes on their rehabilitation and progression within the prison system.
The second book, The Politics of Prison Overcrowding: A Critical Analysis of the Italian Prison System, written by Simone Santorso, is reviewed by Dr Sacha Darke and Irene Sangaletti. They conclude that this comprehensive exploration, based on real-life accounts and solid research, positions the book as an indispensable tool for understanding the complexities of contemporary prison policies and the administration of justice. The final book, Prison Suicide: What happens afterwards? by Philippa Tomczak, is reviewed by Bradley Read. This book asks us to consider in more detail a vitally different angle to suicide prevention and suggests that more focus on the afterwards will potentially impact on the before.
