Sport, Masculinities and Power relations in Prison

Contrary to the majority of studies dealing with prison in Israel that examine the relationships within the prison system, the current article attempts to present a general picture of the changing trends in the rates of imprisonment over the years. Three findings emerge from this analysis. First, after a steady rise, which reached its peak in the late 1980s, came a slow but consistent drop in the total incarceration rate. This drop is due to a significant reduction in the number of Palestinian prisoners from the Occupied Territories held in Israel in the wake of the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993. Second, with reference to Israeli citizens only, without including the Palestinians, there is a clear and steady rise in incarceration rates. Finally, the Arab/Jewish breakdown for Israeli citizens in prison shows that a disproportionate number of prisoners are Arabs, throughout the entire period. The article examines the question of over-representation of Israel's Arab minority in prison, and discusses the...

Rates of incarceration and main trends in Israeli prisons

When goals diverge: Staff consensus and the organizational climate

Correctional scholars have suggested that research describing the world of imprisonment can help illuminate some of the consequences of incarceration, specifically how individuals experience incarceration and the ways in which these experiences effect their reentry and reintegration into society. The present study examines the perceptions, daily interactions, and relationships between prison inmates and correctional officers from the perspectives of those who have been incarcerated. Qualitative, in-depth interviews of men released from Texas prisons focus on former inmates’ personal experiences and perceptions toward correctional officers while serving time.

“‘That’s a damn good officer any day of the week’: inmates’ perceptions of correctional officers”

Prior studies of staff-inmate interactions suggest that they are primarily adversarial in nature. However, less is known about the key factors that influence inmate-staff relationships. Using a sam...

Agents of Change or Control? Correlates of Positive and Negative Staff-inmate Relationships among a Sample of Formerly Incarcerated Inmates

A previous article described five relationship prototypes, ranging from punitive to integrative, that exist between prison staff and inmates. The present study describes the relationship between these prototypes and anxiety that results from personal, professional, and job insecurity. The greater this anxiety and insecurity, the more likely a staff member is to be punitively oriented. In recent years, there has been a revival of the rehabilitation orientation in the criminal justice system The results suggest that unless measures are taken to reduce anxiety and insecurity among prison staff they will be unable to tolerate the close staff-inmate relations necessary in a rehabilitation-oriented institution.

David Cohen

Papers

Fearful Custodial or Fearless Personal Relations: Prison Guards' Fear as a Factor Shaping Staff-Inmate Relation Prototype: