NCJ Number
136750
Journal
Children and Society Volume: 4 Issue: 3 Dated: (Autumn 1990) Pages: 315-325
Date Published
1990
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Very little attention has been paid to the needs of prisoners' children, despite the large numbers involved.
Abstract
While this is due to some extent to the hidden nature of the problem, it is also influenced significantly by the fact that the justice system cannot afford to accept publicly that many children are punished more by the sentence than their imprisoned parent. Often, the prisoner's child may also suffer more than the victim of the parent's crime. The effect of law and order and crime prevention campaigns may produce in the public mind a feeling that dealing with crime and criminals must be highest in priority, with any unwanted side effects seen as inconsequential. Victims of the justice system, including children, are thus rendered invisible. Media attention to the subject tends to focus on the sensational rather than on the routine and distorts the picture even further. Any recognition of the plight of prisoners' children must focus on the foundation of the justice system. It is not possible to punish the guilty and acquit the innocent when many prisoners' children not only suffer more than the imprisoned parent, but also more than even the original crime victim. The role of England's Probation Service and Prison Department in the management of inmates' children is examined. 60 references