68 research outputs found
Non-suicidal self-harm amongst incarcerated men: a qualitative study
Purpose: To further understanding of the needs and motivations of incarcerated men who self-harm with no apparent suicidal intent. These have received little attention in research and policy, despite men accounting for a high and increasing proportion of self-harm in prisons.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 adult male prisoners with a recent history or thoughts of non-suicidal self-harm. The interviews were analysed drawing on principles of thematic analysis and discourse analysis.
Findings: Against a backdrop of early traumatic experiences and more recent adverse events (including prison-related ones), self-harm was described by many as a desperate - but meaningful â coping strategy; both a means of releasing tension, sadness and frustration, and of being heard in an unresponsive system.
Value: These findings echo those of research conducted with women (including women prisoners) who self-harm, but challenge some of the more negative ways in which non-suicidal male prisoner self-harm has been portrayed in the (scant) previous literature. As well as pointing to the need for greater awareness of the complex needs of men in prisons, they underscore the importance of (also) exploring - and perhaps addressing - the issue of self-harm separately from suicide, and of striving to make prisons, as well as prisoners, âhealthierâ and better able to cope with pressure
Between crime and colony: Interrogating (im)mobilities aboard the convict ship
Recent literature in carceral geography has attended to the importance of mobilities in interrogating the experience and control of spaces of imprisonment, detention and confinement. Scholars have explored the paradoxical nature of incarcerated experience as individuals oscillate between moments of fixity and motion as they are transported to/from carceral environments. This paper draws upon the convict ship â an example yet to gain attention within these emerging discussions â which is both an exemplar of this paradox and a lens through which to complicate understandings of carceral (im)mobilities. The ship is a space of macro-movement from point A to B, whilst simultaneously a site of apparent confinement for those aboard who are unable to move beyond its physical parameters. Yet, we contend that all manner of mobilities permeate the internal space of the ship. Accordingly, we challenge the binary thinking that separates moments of fixity from motion and explore the constituent parts that shape movement. In paying attention to movements in motion on the ship, we argue that studies of carceral mobility must attend to both methods of moving in the space between points A and B; as micro, embodied and intimate (im)mobilities are also played out within large-scale regimes of movement
Transfers from prison to hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act between 2011 and 2014
In England and Wales, prisoners with mental disorder of such severity as to warrant inpatient treatment may be transferred to hospital under the Mental Health Act. UK Government guidance recommends that this process should be completed within 14 days; however, evidence suggests that in many cases it can take much longer. This retrospective service evaluation of 64 male prisoners, who were transferred under Section 47 or Section 48, aimed to evaluate transfer durations. The mean time from referral to admission was 76 days. Prisoners with a psychotic disorder were admitted more quickly. Remand prisoners were admitted more quickly than sentenced prisoners. Findings suggest that, in the UK the transfer time of prisoners under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act continues to far exceed the 14-day target which raises concern about equivalence of care for prisoners. Our findings support arguments for fundamental amendments to the admissions process
A critical examination of the health promoting prison two decades on
Two decades since the WHO Regional Office for Europe outlined and published a report on health promotion in prison, which stimulated further debate on the concept of the âhealth promoting prisonâ, this paper discusses the extent to which the concept has translated into practice and the extent to which success has been achieved. This paper primarily focuses on why there has been a gap between the strategic philosophy of health promotion in prison and practical implementation, suggesting that factors such as âlifestyle driftâ and public and political opinion have played a part. A further argument is made in relation to the overall commitment of European countries and more broadly WHO in their support of settings-based health promotion in this context. It is proposed that there has been a weakening of commitment over time with a worrying ânegative trajectoryâ of support for health promoting prisons. The paper argues that despite these challenges, the opportunities and potential to address the needs of those who are often most vulnerable and excluded is colossal and acting to tackle this should be a greater priority
Playwork in prison as a mechanism to support family health and well-being
Objective: The health of the prison population has become an increasing concern, given the disproportionate rates of ill health in this population. Moreover, the challenges faced by prisonersâ families and their children are also becoming more apparent, with prisonersâ children being more likely than other children to experience mental and emotional health problems and more likely to go to prison themselves. Prison visits are an integral part of institutional structures and are a key way by which families stay in contact and mitigate against the negative effects of family separation. This paper focuses particularly on the impact of prison play visits as an alternative to âstandardâ visiting procedures. Design: Cross-sectional qualitative study. Setting: A male prison in Northern England. Method: Telephone interviews with six prison visitors who had regularly participated in a play visit, plus a focus group with five prisoners. Results: The paper identifies play visits as a useful way to maintain family well-being as they âmimicâ, albeit temporarily, domestic life. This is reported to be beneficial for future family outcomes and in enabling children to adjust to parental incarceration. Play visits improve levels of intimacy, which is beneficial for the mental and emotional health both of prisoners and their children. Conclusion: The paper argues for a more holistic notion of prisoner health that sees family connections as a key part of supporting health and well-being
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Critical time Intervention for Severely mentally ill Prisoners (CrISP): a randomised controlled trial
Background
The transition from prison to community is difficult for prisoners with mental illness. Critical time intervention (CTI) is designed to provide intensive support to meet health, social care and resettlement needs through close working between client and key worker pre, and up to 6 weeks post, release.
Objectives
To establish whether or not CTI is effective in (1) improving engagement of discharged male prisoners who have mental illness with community mental health teams (CMHTs) and (2) providing practical support with housing, finance and re-establishing social networks.
Trial design
A multicentre, parallel-group randomised controlled trial, with follow-up at 6 weeks and at 6 and 12 months. A subset of prisoners and case managers participated in a complementary qualitative study.
Setting
Eight English prisons.
Participants
One hundred and fifty adult male prisoners, convicted or remanded, cared for by mental health in-reach teams and diagnosed with severe mental illness, with a discharge date within 6 months of the point of recruitment.
Intervention
Participants were randomised to either the intervention or the control (treatment as usual). The intervention group was assigned a case manager who assessed mental and physical health before and following release, made appropriate links to health, housing and financial services and supported the re-establishment of family/peer contact.
Outcome
The primary outcome measure was engagement with a CMHT 6 weeks post discharge. Secondary outcomes included contact with mental health services at 6 and 12 months. A health economic evaluation was undertaken using service contact at the follow-up time points. We were unable to assess the interventionâs effect on reoffending and longer-term health-care use because of study delays.
Results
One hundred and fifty prisoners were recruited: 72 were randomised to the intervention and 78 were randomised to the control. Engagement with teams at 6 weeks was 53% for the intervention group compared with 27% for the control group [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.13% to 0.78%; pâ=â0.012]. At 6 monthsâ follow-up, intervention participants showed continued increase in engagement with teams compared with control participants (95% CI 0.12% to 0.89%; pâ=â0.029); there were no significant differences at 12 months. Increased engagement resulted in higher levels of service use and costs for the intervention than for the control. Qualitative data showed the intervention group reporting better continuity of care and improved access to services.
Conclusion
The intervention significantly improved contact with services at 6 weeks, although at a higher cost than the control. This is important as, in the days and weeks following release, recently released individuals are at a particularly high risk of suicide and drug overdose. Further research is required to establish how teams can better maintain contact with clients when the intervention ends.
Future work
Further studies are indicated for groups with different needs, for example women, young prisoners and those in police custody, and at other transition points, for example following arrest and short-term custody, and at points of transition between different mental health services.
Trial registration
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN98067793.
Funding
This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Services and Delivery Research programme and will be published in full in Health Services and Delivery Research; Vol. 5, No. 8. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information
A qualitative investigation into the impact of domestic abuse on womenâs desistance
While criminological literature, criminal justice practice, and to a lesser extent, state policy have acknowledged a link between womenâs criminalisation and gendered violence (MoJ, 2018; Ăsterman, 2018; Prison Reform Trust, 2017; Roberts, 2015), there has been much less acknowledgement of the role of historical and contemporaneous experiences of violence in the desistance scripts of criminalised women. Combining findings from two research projects exploring gender and desistance, this article argues that (i) criminalised womenâs experiences of gendered violence are such that any exploration of gender and desistance which does not acknowledge this is incomplete, (ii) coercion and control can inform womenâs entry into the criminal justice system, (iii) expressions of agency and resistance in abusive interpersonal relationships can also inform womenâs offending, yet (iv) womenâs experiences of desistance from crime can mask the harm they face in coercive, controlling, and violent relationships. Thus, the article argues for a reframing of desistance from crime as desistance from harm both theoretically and in practice, and considers what this might entail
The âGreat Decarcerationâ: Historical Trends and Future Possibilities
During the 19th Century, hundreds of thousands of people were caught up in what Foucault famously referred to as the âgreat confinementâ, or âgreat incarcerationâ, spanning reformatories, prisons, asylums, and more. Levels of institutional incarceration increased dramatically across many parts of Europe and the wider world through the expansion of provision for those defined as socially marginal, deviant, or destitute. While this trend has been the focus of many historical studies, much less attention has been paid to the dynamics of âthe great decarcerationâ that followed for much of the earlyâ to midâ20th Century. This article opens with an overview of these early decarceration trends in the English adult and youth justice systems and suggests why these came to an end from the 1940s onwards. It then explores parallels with marked decarceration trends today, notably in youth justice, and suggests how these might be expedited, extended, and protected
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