Prison Expansion

Witnesses: V. James Adduci, II, American Apparel Manufacturing Assoc.; Michael N. Harrell, General Manager of New Business Development, Pride Enterprises; Donald G. Heeringa, Pres., BIFMA International; Ann F. Hoffman, Legislative Director, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textiles Employees; Kenneth L. Mellem, Pres. and CEO, Geonex Corp.; Morgan O. Reynolds, Dir., Criminal Justice Center, National Center for Policy Analysis; Stephen M. Ryan, Quarters Furniture Manufacturing Assoc.; Robert Sanders, Div. of Prison Industries, South Carolina Dept. of Corrections; and Steve Schwalb, Chief Operating Officer, Federal Prison Industries.

The prison population in the Untied States has quadrupled since 1970, while Canada's federal prisons are 30 percent over capacity -- because the current trend in Western society is to arrest more criminals, sentence them to longer terms, and build more prisons to house them. In The Expanding Prison, David Cayley argues that such a strategy essentially undercuts democracy with totalitarianism. He offers proven alternatives to imprisonment that emphasize settlement-oriented techniques over punishment and move us toward a vision of justice as peacemaking rather than vengeance. The result is a learned and impassioned call for change in a system and a society that have become dangerously politicized.

Women’s incarceration is on the rise globally and this has significant intergenerational, economic and humanitarian costs for communities across the world. While there have been efforts to implement reform, particularly in countries such as Canada, UK, US and Australia, the growing evidence suggests women’s prisons and the support structures surrounding them are in crisis. This collection of critical essays presents groundbreaking research on women’s post-imprisonment policy, practice and experiences. It is the first collection to offer international perspectives on gender, criminalisation, the effects of imprisonment and women-centred approaches to the short and long-term support of women exiting prison. It offers cutting-edge insights into contemporary policy developments and women’s experiences across the US, the UK, Australia, Canada and Northern Ireland. The collection makes two important contributions. First, it marks a departure from an instrumental and individual focus on ‘what works’ to reduce women’s offending and re-offending behaviour - a prevailing approach within competing collections focused on post-release issues. Second, it presents critical, original research with robust empirical foundations to revive feminist criminological engagement around gender, imprisonment, and most critically, post-release management, support and survival. The collection will appeal to academics and community-based advocates, activists, lawyers and practitioners engaged in advocacy and service provision for imprisoned women. It is also an important and unique analysis for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying criminological and social science courses particularly those related to gender and crime, imprisonment and correctional policy and qualitative research methods.