Punishment and Madness: Governing Prisoners with Mental Health Problems
The focus of this book is on the government of prisoners with mental health problems in England and Wales over the last twenty-five years. The wider context and backdrop to the book is the shift to 'late modernity', which, since the 1970s has seen massive structural change in most Western societies, affecting the social, economic and cultural spheres, as well as the field of crime and punishment. This book investigates whether these profound transformations have also led to a reconfiguring of...
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The focus of this book is on the government of prisoners with mental health problems in England and Wales over the last twenty-five years. The wider context and backdrop to the book is the shift to 'late modernity', which, since the 1970s has seen massive structural change in most Western societies, affecting the social, economic and cultural spheres, as well as the field of crime and punishment. This book investigates whether these profound transformations have also led to a reconfiguring of responses to mentally vulnerable offenders who end up in prison. Specifically, it explores how this group of prisoners has come to be viewed increasingly as sources of 'risk', requiring 'management' or containment, rather than as people suitable for therapeutic responses. The book draws on primary research carried out by the author, including interviews with key informants involved in the field during this period, such as former cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, campaigners and academics. In conducting this investigation, the author has developed a method of research which combines and synthesizes different forms of analysis to create a novel approach to socio-historical research.
List of Tables ixAcknowledgements xiIntroduction: Punishment, prisons and madness 1Background and context 1Research guestions and key themes 9Overview of the book 16A brief history of imprisoning the 'mad' 19The 'Great Confinement': 'Madness' in the houses of correction 20'Madness' in the early modern prison 22'Madness' and the Victorian penal system 24'Madness' and the emergence of penal-welfarism 28The rise of prison psychology and psychiatry 31'Madness' in the era of rehabilitation 33Conclusion 39The New Right and managerialism, 1980-1990 41Context: Britain in the 1980s 41Prisons and mental health under the Thatcher administrations 47Conclusions 64The Woolf report and prison reform, 1990-1993 69Context: Political and penal 'crises' 69Woolf, Reed and prisoners with mental health problems 72Conclusions 94Penal populism and austere institutions, 1993-1997 97Context: 'Back to basics' 97Howard's way: Penal populism? 99Conclusions 117New Labour and risk management, 1997-2005 123Context: The rise of New Labour 123Refiguring health care and managing 'dangerous' offenders 125Conclusions 145Conclusions 149The impact of late modernity on the government of prisoners with mental health problems 150Critical issues and themes 156Future policy and research 162Punishment and madness 169Appendix 171References 173Index 193
