What is good prison leadership? The development of a psychological framework for senior prison leadership

Prisons are, in many countries, the most powerful expression of the countries power and England and Wales alone oversees the incarceration of over 80,000 prisoners. The management and oversite of prisons requires high quality leadership. This thesis is comprised of two papers that together provide unique insights into prison leadership. The first paper presents a systematic review of research in which prison leadership has been studied in order to understand how prison leadership is defined. More specifically, to examine what is known about the role of a prison leader, the competencies, duties, knowledge and quality requirements of a prison leader and what impact good prison leadership can have. Of the 4,305 papers identified, only eight papers met the inclusion criteria. No clear definition of prison leadership emerged from the review highlighting an urgent need for further research if there is to be a better understanding for the selection, training and development of prison leaders to manage the complex challenges of leading prisons in the 21st century. The second paper presents a qualitative study, exploring the expectations of prison leadership and the formation of a framework of good prison leadership applicable to all senior prison leaders. 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of unique subject matter experts, all former prison governors comprised of current and previous line managers of governors and senior prison leaders in command of the organisation. Thereby ensuring the framework was informed by the lived experiences of the men and women who have accomplished the role of leading a prison and successfully progressed beyond it. Following an inductive thematic analysis five overarching themes were established using an iterative process. The study proposes an empirical and interwoven psychological framework that consists of individual values, individual behaviours, prison organisational and management tasks, prison as a total institution and political astuteness. This framework moves beyond previous research by proposing a more complex and dynamic approach with interacting components. All five dimensions are proposed to be required for good leadership. The framework describes the expectations of prison leaders for the current realities of today, understanding that the leadership will be both influenced and impacted by external factors. As well as this the findings provide a framework to guide the recruitment, assessment, development and training of prison leaders while also offering important insights for long-term leadership strategy and policy decisions

Working lives of prison managers: exploring agency and structure in the late modern prison

This study explores the contemporary working lives of prison managers. It attempts to understand the ways in which globalised changes in management practices have intersected with localised practices and occupational cultures. Through an ethnographic study of the lived experience of the practitioners of prison management, the research explores the ways in which the operation of managerialism in a prison environment creates a series of tensions, pressures and expectations on senior managers, and the ways in which these are experienced, understood and negotiated. This study is therefore concerned with the relationships between global and local, and between agency and structure that are characteristic of late modernity. The constraining and enabling features of contemporary prison management are considered in light of Giddens’s account of ‘the duality of structure’. Relevant work on transformation of working lives by Sennett and others are also considered in order to situate this discussion within the world of work more generally. The original research involved ethnographic field work in two medium security prisons in England over a twelve month period, with data generated from observations, interviews and documentary sources. Four aspects of prison management are used in order to address the central issues. The first is a consideration of performance monitoring mechanisms such as targets, audits and inspections; how these are understood, operated, and influenced by those using them and also how they reshape and direct the approach and thinking of managers. The second is a discussion of aspects of agency such as values, discretion, resistance and the use of power; in what ways these are idiosyncratic and individual and how far they are patterned across the organisation and shaped by wider factors. The third issue is a consideration of how people become prison managers and how they approach and understand key issues that face them in managing individual staff, teams and prisoners. The final area considers the ‘hidden injuries’ of contemporary management practice, including how this is experienced by women, members of minority ethnic groups and others who experience themselves as having been marginalised. The study concludes by describing the confluence of global and local, and agency and structure that shape what is described as ‘prison managerialism’. It also describes some of the effects of this and discusses alternatives

Power, management and complexity in the NHS : a Foucauldian perspective

This thesis is a critical and post-structural exploration of the discourse of managerialism in the NHS secondary care sector in Wales. Its central intent is to destabilise the dominant thinking about NHS management practice and to evoke intellectual debate about alternative discourses of management that ontologically perceive the organisation as a complex adaptive human system. The emergent theoretical framework conjoins the discipline of Complexity with post-structural conjecture, posing a novel conceptualisation of a fractal self where relations of power are seen as essential for harmonising diverse influences and legitimising a local discourse that informs and regulates practice. Using Foucault’s insights on power and knowledge the thesis critiques the strategic nature of NHS discourse, exposing the discursive dominance of managerialism and its inherent relations of power and debates what this predicates for a local negotiation and a flexible, safe and innovative environment. The methodological approach employs a reflexive and micro-level interpretative strategy to emphasise the singularity of agents and to explore the way in which the discursive constitution of the self influences agent practice. My profound experience of the secondary care system requires I situate my self reflexively within the context where I explore and liberate my own voice in conjunction with my participants. The research adopts a biographical narrative method of data collection and uses Foucauldian discourse analysis as a framework for exploring the underlying discourse in agent stories. The findings demonstrate the polyphonic nature of the secondary care context and reveal the demonstrate the polyphonic nature of the secondary care context and reveal the diverse ways in which agents legitimise, negotiate or resist the conflicting truth claims of various discourse in order to strategically sustain an image of health care historically constituted in their self. The results portray a web of discourses that endorse conformity or complicity through oppressive mechanisms of disciplinary control and surveillance, perpetuating authoritative and dualist structures, dissipating relations of trust and removing intellectual thinking from the front-line. The conclusion asserts that this significantly jeopardises the ability of agents to legitimise local ‘discourse’, severely limiting their capacity for adaptive practice and the generation of new order

Containing contradictions: the development of prison drugs policy in England since 1980

This thesis is a study of policy networks in the development of prison drugs policy in England during the late twentieth century. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with key actors in the policy process, including civil servants and representatives from drug agencies, penal reform groups and professional associations, and an analysis of documentary materials, it examines the role and influence of policy networks in policy development. The thesis is multi-disciplinary in its approach, drawing on concepts, theories and research from a variety of disciplines including criminology, social policy, sociology, political science and public administration. The analysis is based upon the construction of a series of four case studies which correspond to the key phases in prison drugs policy development since 1980: 1980-1986; 1986-1993; 1993-1997; and 1997-. It explores policy development around drug treatment and throughcare, HIV / AIDS and drug misuse, supply reduction activities and security and control measures. The development of policy has hinged upon complex patterns of conflict, contradiction and convergence between treatment and punishment. Throughout the phases, particular policy networks have evolved around drug-related issues within the penal system, expanding and becoming more complex in their structure and operation over time. They have attempted to contain, balance and negotiate the contradictions within policies. This 'balancing act' or 'containment' has taken many different forms and has been shaped by several processes or forces: the way in which the drug problem has been framed and defined; the role of research, evidence and knowledge; and the impact of wider social political policy and institutional contexts. The conclusions of the thesis are: first, as prison drugs policy became more explicit and defined, the contradiction between treatment and punishment became more acute; second, the shift towards a more explicit policy was shaped by the activities of the policy networks, which in turn were influenced by changes in the drug problem, the role of research, and changes within the wider social political policy and institutional contexts; third, the role and power of the policy networks has varied over the different phases of policy development; fourth, in the process of engaging in policy development and attempting to contain the contradictions between treatment and punishment, the policy network around drug issues in prisons has changed shape with key players becoming incorporated by the state

Probation into the millenium: the changing features of community justice.

This thesis briefly examines the changing nature of punishment in England and the origins of the probation service. From its religious roots probation became a professional organisation, probation and social work shared the same qualification. The 1960's was the golden age of the treatment ideal, case work techniques were employed to work with offenders on their problems, which were seen as being located in their life experience. The service expanded taking responsibility for prison welfare and offering support to prisoners on discharge. Optimism in the ability to reduce reoffending waned in the 1970's, although probation officers had almost total autonomy. Seniors offered supervision and carried small caseloads themselves. In 1984 the Home Office set priorities for the service and with the threat of `cash limiting' made it clear that management had to co-operate. Reports from the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office continued the drive for stronger management as well questioning the relevance of social work. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 introduced the notion of `just deserts'. My interviews with informants highlight these tensions and pressures. The 1992 and 1995 versions of National Standards for the supervision of offenders changed the nature of probation to one of administering punishment and this is considered in depth. The service has become stratified, with low morale as officers adjust to a risk focused, more punitive and highly regulated organisation. Notions of actuarial justice, case management replacing individual case work, and the use of set unchangeable programmes with offenders are evaluated. Links with social work ended in 1995 and the change of government has not affected moves to turn probation into a correctional agency. Probation remains a political issue and its future is located within contemporary thought on the changing nature of community control, particularly of minority groups where probation historically held a commitment to anti-discriminatory practice. The reflection of the informants is that the old ethos of `advise, assist and befriend' is evolving into one of `control and monitor'

"Out of the darkness into light": A Critical Evaluation Of Scottish Prison Reorganisation For Long Term Imprisonment 1988 To The Present

During the mid 1980s official accounts stated that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was experiencing an unprecedented 'crisis' which primarily concerned: overcrowding, poor conditions, serious disorder and prisoner unrest, low staff morale and consequently loss of public confidence in the ability of the SPS to manage prisons effectively. Added pressure was placed on the SPS by a substantial increase in sentenced short term offenders together with an increase in long termers and a commitment in the courts to longer sentences. Although the 'crisis' in Scottish prisons emerged on a range of levels, producing one of the most bitter penal controversies in Europe, the SPS identified long term adult male imprisonment as fundamental to its problems and central to its programme of reform. Once it became evident that the SPS had 'lost control' of its main male prisons, a period of evaluation and self appraisal was initiated. This research examines the manifestations of the 'crisis' and considers the response of the SPS, outlining and evaluating the subsequent policy changes and new initiatives adopted to alleviate the 'crisis'. The theoretical framework of this study is derived specifically in critical analysis within criminology, which prioritises the significance of the structural relations of production and distribution, reproduction and patriarchy, and neo colonialism, as primary determining contexts, within which the inter-relationships and mutual dependencies of structural forms of oppression can be considered. In examining the relationship between the law, crime, punishment and the state, the politics of marginalisation and the processes of criminalisation are prioritised. Within this context, the means through which imprisonment is conceived and legitimated and the implications of a growing authoritarianism are discussed. This study focuses on the dynamics of long term male imprisonment in Scottish prisons. The views and experiences of long term male prisoners are contrasted with those of senior management, Governors and prison staff in order to understand the 'crisis', and ascertain the impact of policy changes and new initiatives on both the Prison Service and the experiences of men serving long sentences in Scotland's prisons. The research places official discourse, which incorporates the 'view from above', alongside the views of those individuals whose experiences provide essential testimony concerning the daily reality of operational policy on regimes

Changes in diversionary strategies within the youth justice system of England & Wales (1908-2010)

A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy of the University of BedfordshireYouth justice in England and Wales is a highly politicised area of government policy and youth justice provision has always been a highly contested issue. The discourse of diversion stems from debates about the purpose and effectiveness of various types of penal regimes, and particularly their effect on children and young people in trouble with the law. The process of diversion aims to remove children and young people from the formal sanctions of the criminal justice system or minimize their penetration into it, and failing that it aims to avoid incarceration. Over the years diversion has taken many forms and the extent to which children have been diverted has varied. This thesis explores the various types of diversionary practice and how they have changed over time. It explores the political, administrative and professional conditions under which diversion has been a priority and those under which it has been effective. Bernard (1992) has argued that there is a ‘cycle of youth justice’ in which responses to youth crime move from the harsh to the more lenient before swinging back again. The thesis suggests that there is a ‘spiral’ of youth justice in which different paradigms are sometimes entangled together leading to the often contradictory and complex realities of youth justice and diversion without necessarily returning to the place of origin. It concludes that, given the current fiscal climate, there is a distinct likelihood that diversion policies will gain ascendancy. However, any developments will be fragile and susceptible to unintended consequences if the ‘real’ outcomes for children and young people are not part of the motivation for reform

New Public Management and Nursing Relationships in the NHS

Western governments face increasing demands to achieve both cost efficiency and responsiveness in their public services leading to radical and challenging transformations. Following the imposition of New Public Management (NPM) approaches within England, it is argued that similar elements of NPM can be also seen within Scottish healthcare, despite policy divergences following devolution. This thesis considers the influence of NPM on Scottish hospital frontline nursing staff in their work. It explores the ways in which managerial practices (specifically professional management; discipline & parsimony; standard setting & performance measurement; and consumerism) have shaped the working relationships, interactions, and knowledge-exchange between managers, staff and patients and the ability of staff to carry out nursing duties within an acute hospital setting. The study is a qualitative interpretivist study grounded in the methodology of adaptive theory and draws upon the works of Lipsky (1980) in order to explore how the front-line nurses cope with and resist the demands of the workplace. Based on thirty-one qualitative interviews with front-line nursing staff in an inner city hospital in Scotland, this thesis presents the findings resulting from nurses’ views of management, finances, policies, targets, audits and consumerism. The findings show that these nurses believe there has been a proliferation of targets, audits and policies, an increasing emphasis on cost efficiency and effectiveness, a drive for professional management and a greater focus on consumerism in NHS Scotland. These are all closely linked to the ethos of NPM. From the findings it can be seen that many elements influence the working relationships of the frontline hospital nursing staff. The study suggests that the main reason for conflict between managers and nursing staff is due to their differing foci. Managers are seen to concentrate on issues of targets, audits and budgets with little thought given to the impact these decisions will have on patient care or nurses’ working conditions. Furthermore the findings highlight high levels of micro-management, self-surveillance, control and the regulation of the frontline nursing staff which has led to tensions both between nursing staff and managers, but also with patients and the public. Finally, although there has supposedly been policy divergence between Scotland and England, this thesis has identified many similarities between Scottish and English polices and NPM approaches continues to influence the working relationships of front-line nursing staff within this study despite the rhetoric that Scotland has moved away from such practices

Actor-Directors: The Working Lives of Prison Governors

Prison Governors are both actors and directors within the Prison Service. They fulfil key roles at the boundaries of individual prisons and the wider contexts: organisational, social and political, within which prisons function. In this thesis I study aspects of the working lives of nine Governing Governors of public sector prisons in England and Wales from a performative, role-playing perspective. In addition to this I utilise two recently developed models to provide frameworks for examining two key areas of Governors’ roles: those of leadership and of well-being. I use literary collage and imaginative writing to present and interpret interview material together with self interviews and reflection on my experiences as a Ph.D. researcher, enabling me to show how my research developed and how I have developed as a researcher. In concluding my thesis I make a number of recommendations in the areas of leadership learning, well-being, further research and research methodology