Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

surveillance, control and management of offenders. Probation work
has simultaneously changed, from a basis of welfare and rehabilitative
values, to meet this new ethos;
The 2009 Corrections „value for money‟ review has emphasised
prisoner rehabilitation alongside staffing efficiences. The review
recommended the removal of correctional officers from rehabilitation
processes and redirection of these tasks to other specialist staff. A
Rehabilitation and Reintegration Services group was subsequently
established as the focal point for Corrections‟ rehabilitation and
reintegration work;
The re-introduction of private prisons that will most likely contribute to a
reduction in conditions and staff pay;
Opportunities afforded to prisoners – such as in relation to family visits
or working outside the prison walls – have been eroded in the name of
security;
The reworking of Corrections policy to emphasise aspects of security,
risk management and centralised administration processes. In 2010,
Corrections introduced the Prison Service Operations Manual (PSOM).
The PSOM focuses upon management processes related to induction,
risk assessments for double-bunking, the secure movement of
prisoners, the correct processing of property, some prisoner activities,
prisoner communications and visits, prisoner misconduct rules,
complaints, and prisoner releases 5 .
The tightening of Parole Board decision-making on the basis of riskmanagement.
Each of these measures may be developed and sustained in an ongoing
climate of economic uncertainty and penal populism (indeed, the criminal
justice system has been subject to constant legislative reform by different
government administrations over many years). However, these factors
contribute to an institutional structure of imprisonment, and punishment, in
which human rights are more likely to be „squeezed out‟. In their focus on
economic efficiences, standardised reporting and prisoner recording, technical
alignment, risk management and securitisation, these measures may direct
thought, imagination and practice away from a rights framework. After all,
these approaches tend to concentrate on „processes and outputs rather than
outcomes‟ (Coyle, 2007:513).
A related concern about this approach is that human rights are implicitly
presented as being antithetical to prison security. In reality, this is not the
case. Imprisonment concerns go way „beyond effectiveness and efficiency‟
(Coyle, 2007) and large international studies (Liebling, 2004) indicate that
human rights are deeply connected to the maintenance of security. Prison
officer and institutional values of decency, fairness, support, well-being,
respect, humanity, trust and personal development are highly significant in
reducing conflict, developing well-being, creating harmony and enhancing
security within prisons (ibid; Coyle, 2008). As Zinger (2006:127) argues,
5 Issues such as family support, mental and physical health, education and work all feature in
the new Prison Service Offender Management Manual. However, this focuses on classifying
prisoners‟ needs and making prisoners responsible for their progress.
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