‘It’s all meant to be about resettlement’

Drawing on data from a semi-ethnographic study of women’s open prisons in England & Wales, this article explores the impact of population pressures on the social dynamics and resettlement function of these establishments. The article describes the social tensions between long and short-stay prisoners that result from uneven processes of transition from closed to open custody for these groups, how this shapes their orientations to open imprisonment, and their perceptions of its purpose in this light. In particular, it shows how women experiencing short stays in open custody are unable to access its key resettlement tool: ROTL. Meanwhile, women on longer sentences and with longer stays in open custody – who recognise the benefits they are able to gain as a result, chiefly ROTL – question the legitimacy of these short stays, as do many of the prison staff and managers, in terms of its benefits and the disruption it causes to the regime and culture. Ultimately, the article argues that population pressures, in the form of overcrowding in the closed estate and the need for women’s open prisons to fill their spaces, have led to a dilution of open prisons’ resettlement function, as increasing numbers of women pass through the open estate without accessing its key resettlement opportunities. This has adverse operational and ideological implications, which undermine the distinctive ethos and function of open prisons as long as these institutions are used as a contingency to alleviate systemic pressures.