Prisons - new material (37)
01 September 1999
Punishment & Society. SAGE Publications, Volume 1 no 1, pp128, (ISSN 1462-4745). This is a new journal that aims "to publish research...in the field of punishment and penal control...". The first issue has pieces on "Sentencing trends in Britain", "Penal communities", staff-prisoner relationships and "Imprisonment and prisoners' work". Available from SAGE Publications, 6 Bonhill Street, London EC2A 4PU.
Prisoners' Rights Bulletin. Prisoners' Legal Rights Group, No 7 (June) 1999. pp8. Contains a feature on "Mental health and medication" and pieces on compassionate release, close supervision centres and the framework document for the prison service. Available from the Prisoners' Advice Centre, Unit 305 Hatton Square, 16/16a Baldwins Gardens, London EC1N 7RJ. Tel 0171 405 8090; Fax 0171 405 8045.
HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs: report of an unannounced inspection 8-12 March 1999. HM Inspectorate of Prisons (Home Office) June 1999, pp181. The inspectorate found "evil" and "rottenness" at the heart of the Scrubs, where 25 prison officers are facing criminal charges accused of assaulting prisoners. HMCIP offer five options for the future of the prison: i. immediate closure, ii. a change of managers, iii. privatisation, iv. partial closure and v. a change of roles.
Prisons Drug Use, Prison and the Social Construction of Femininity, Margaret S Malloch. Women's Studies International Forum Vol 22 no 3, pp349-358. Based on primary research in Britain's women's prisons this article examines the impact and effects of social constructions of femininity experienced by women drug-users. The women discuss their perceptions of "appropriate images" of womanhood, considering the focus on physicality and the body as the primary site of drug injecting. It considers the broader context of penality aimed and directed towards women within wider structures of control, particularly the maintenance of gender identity.
Prisoners' Information Book: visiting and keeping in touch. Prison Reform Trust & HM Prison Service 1999, ISBN 0 946209 40 5, pp85. This book provides basic information on how prisoners can keep in touch with the outside world. The first section contains information on the rules on visits, letters and telephone calls and how visitors can get help with travelling costs. There is a Prisons Directory with addresses and telephone numbers for every prison. A final section lists useful organisations, set up to aid prisoners and prisoners' friends and families independent of the Prison Service. Available from: Prison Reform Trust, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR, Tel 0171 251 5070, Fax 0171 251 5076.
Parliamentary debates
Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre Lords 23.6.99 cols. 991-1006 Wormwood Scrubs Commons 28.6.99. cols. 21-33
Wormwood Scrubs Lords 28.6.99. cols. 32-45
Prisons Lords 13.7.99. cols. 244-260