NCJ Number
57347
Date Published
1977
Length
378 pages
Annotation
THE BREAKDOWN OF SOCIAL ORDER DURING THE EARLY 1970'S AT ONE OF ENGLAND'S NEWEST PRISONS--ALBANY ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT--IS EXAMINED, ALONG WITH THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE EXPERIENCE.
Abstract
OPENED IN 1967 AS A MEDIUM SECURITY INSTITUTION, ALBANY ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS A SHOWPLACE DEDICATED TO THE REHABILITATION OF PRISONERS THROUGH SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL TRAINING. LESS THAN SIX YEARS LATER IT HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO THE MOST NOTORIOUS PRISON IN THE COUNTRY. THREE CONCLUSIONS EMERGE FROM THE STUDY WHICH HAVE AN IMPORTANT BEARING ON THE SOCIOLOGY OF PRISONS. FIRST, THERE IS NO SIMPLE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING WHAT MAKES A PRISON SUCCEED OR FAIL. THE WORKINGS OF THE SYSTEM IN ALBANY COULD NOT BE GRASPED FROM AN ANALYSIS OF THE POLICY DECISIONS OF PRISON OFFICIALS, OF THE OBJECTIVES OF SUCCESSIVE GOVERNORS, OF WHAT STAFF AND PRISONERS THOUGHT AND DID IN THE COURSE OF EVERYDAY ROUTINE ACTIVITIES THAT MADE UP LIFE IN THE INSTITUTION, NOR BY INVESTIGATING HOW THEIR ACTIONS WERE INFLUENCED BY BACKGROUND VARIABLES. A STUDY OF THE AIMS AND STRATEGIES OF PRISONER AND PERSONNEL ORGANIZATIONS WAS ALSO INCONCLUSIVE. SECOND, AN ANALYSIS OF THE WAY IN WHICH ALBANY PRISONERS EVALUATED THE SYSTEM AND THE STRATEGIES THEY ADOPTED TO COPE WITH THE PROBLEMS OF DOING TIME THERE SUGGESTS THAT PRISONERS ADAPT NOT JUST TO THE FACT OF IMPRISONMENT BUT ALSO, IN VARYING DEGREES, TO THE PARTICULAR PRISON THEY ARE IN. IN THE CASE OF ALBANY, THREE-FIFTHS OF THE PRISONERS ADAPTED IN WAYS LESS PREFERRED AS FAR AS OFFICIAL MANAGEMENT THINKING WAS CONCERNED. THIRD, IT IS NOT ONLY PRISONERS WHO ADAPT TO DOING TIME IN PRISONS: THE STAFF ALSO HAVE PROBLEMS IN SPENDING THEIR TIME THERE. AS MODES OF ADAPTION BECAME LESS ATTRACTIVE TO THE STAFF AT ALBANY, THE STAFF WAS MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND IN WAYS THAT DID NOT MEET WITH OFFICIAL APPROVAL. GRAPHICS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, AND AN INDEX ACCOMPANY THE TEXT. (WJR)