Blog Archive for September 2020

  • Prisoners on the roof at Strangeways Prison in 1990. Photo Credit: Rex https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11489148/Prison-conditions-as-bad-as-Strangeways-25-years-ago-Lord-Woolf-says.html

    Remembering and forgetting the Woolf Report

    In this blog, Dr David Scott offers a critical appraisal of the legacy of the Woolf Report. The blog argues that whilst Woolf was heralded at the time of publication, it is a dated and limited approach to the penal crisis and the activists and practitioners looking for radical change should engage with the voices of prisoners, ex-prisoners and the families of prisoners in the present struggle. 

    28th September 2020
  • A photograph of the word 'visual' inscried into a small metal tag, nailed into a wooden surface

    Critical reflections on participatory visual methods and voice

    In this article, Dan McCulloch critically explores claims of a relationship between participatory visual research methods and 'voice'. Dan McCulloch is a Lecturer in Criminology and Social Policy at The Open University.

    28th September 2020
  • A photo shows a prison door, with bars vertically across the screen, and a lock towards the right-hand side of the door

    What would a world without prisons be like?

    We take prisons for granted - but how effective are they? Are there better alternatives? In a new BBC ideas video, David Scott and Deborah H. Drake ask what a world without prisons would be like.

    28th September 2020
  • A photo of the author, Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski, stood outside of a prison

    Why educate prisoners?

    Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski considers the arguments for educating prisoners. Stephen Akpabio-Klementowski is a PhD candidate in Criminology, Associate Lecturer, and Regional Manager in the Students in Secure Environments team, at The Open University.

    28th September 2020