No Cover Image

Book chapter 54 views

The case against prisons

Jordan Anderson Orcid Logo, Andrea Black, Emmet Maclaurin, Tania Sawicki Mead

The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition

Swansea University Author: Jordan Anderson Orcid Logo

Abstract

Amongst the public, there are several prominent arguments that drive the belief in prisons as institutions that promote and maintain public safety. These include assumptions that prisons are necessary to deter offending, to rehabilitate, and to grant restitution to victims and survivors. All of thes...

Full description

Published in: The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition
ISBN: 9780429425035
Published: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. Routledge 2021
Online Access: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429425035-7/case-prisons-jordan-anderson-andrea-black-emmet-maclaurin-tania-sawicki-mead?context=ubx&refId=f188c8a1-9522-4fa2-adf7-e410a6e892f2
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71585
first_indexed 2026-03-09T16:01:47Z
last_indexed 2026-05-01T04:24:03Z
id cronfa71585
recordtype SURis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2026-04-29T11:15:41.9771684</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>71585</id><entry>2026-03-09</entry><title>The case against prisons</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>f4b26ffc754c90e16f701e7e55972582</sid><ORCID>0000-0003-1040-1951</ORCID><firstname>Jordan</firstname><surname>Anderson</surname><name>Jordan Anderson</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2026-03-09</date><deptcode>SOSS</deptcode><abstract>Amongst the public, there are several prominent arguments that drive the belief in prisons as institutions that promote and maintain public safety. These include assumptions that prisons are necessary to deter offending, to rehabilitate, and to grant restitution to victims and survivors. All of these assumptions are contradicted by research and by the experiences of people who have been directly affected by this system. This chapter briefly examines these arguments from a theoretical perspective and looks to contribute to the conversation by critiquing the evidence behind the use of prison as a criminal justice tool. While this chapter does not focus on current prison practices in Aotearoa, JustSpeak acknowledges the historical and cultural context that has resulted in the hyperincarceration of M?ori within the New Zealand prison system. Although criminal justice policies of the past may lead some to believe that prisons promote public safety, they in fact promote significant and self-perpetuating harm. JustSpeak hopes that this chapter helps to debunk the idea that prisons facilitate safety for the public and that it will make a contribution to broader work which focuses on investing in genuinely effective efforts to reduce harm in our communities.</abstract><type>Book chapter</type><journal>The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition</journal><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher>Routledge</publisher><placeOfPublication>Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021.</placeOfPublication><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic>9780429425035</isbnElectronic><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords/><publishedDay>30</publishedDay><publishedMonth>3</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2021</publishedYear><publishedDate>2021-03-30</publishedDate><doi/><url>https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429425035-7/case-prisons-jordan-anderson-andrea-black-emmet-maclaurin-tania-sawicki-mead?context=ubx&amp;amp;refId=f188c8a1-9522-4fa2-adf7-e410a6e892f2</url><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Social Sciences School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>SOSS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2026-04-29T11:15:41.9771684</lastEdited><Created>2026-03-09T09:22:21.8643153</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Social Sciences - Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Jordan</firstname><surname>Anderson</surname><orcid>0000-0003-1040-1951</orcid><order>1</order></author><author><firstname>Andrea</firstname><surname>Black</surname><order>2</order></author><author><firstname>Emmet</firstname><surname>Maclaurin</surname><order>3</order></author><author><firstname>Tania Sawicki</firstname><surname>Mead</surname><order>4</order></author></authors><documents/><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2026-04-29T11:15:41.9771684 v2 71585 2026-03-09 The case against prisons f4b26ffc754c90e16f701e7e55972582 0000-0003-1040-1951 Jordan Anderson Jordan Anderson true false 2026-03-09 SOSS Amongst the public, there are several prominent arguments that drive the belief in prisons as institutions that promote and maintain public safety. These include assumptions that prisons are necessary to deter offending, to rehabilitate, and to grant restitution to victims and survivors. All of these assumptions are contradicted by research and by the experiences of people who have been directly affected by this system. This chapter briefly examines these arguments from a theoretical perspective and looks to contribute to the conversation by critiquing the evidence behind the use of prison as a criminal justice tool. While this chapter does not focus on current prison practices in Aotearoa, JustSpeak acknowledges the historical and cultural context that has resulted in the hyperincarceration of M?ori within the New Zealand prison system. Although criminal justice policies of the past may lead some to believe that prisons promote public safety, they in fact promote significant and self-perpetuating harm. JustSpeak hopes that this chapter helps to debunk the idea that prisons facilitate safety for the public and that it will make a contribution to broader work which focuses on investing in genuinely effective efforts to reduce harm in our communities. Book chapter The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition Routledge Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2021. 9780429425035 30 3 2021 2021-03-30 https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429425035-7/case-prisons-jordan-anderson-andrea-black-emmet-maclaurin-tania-sawicki-mead?context=ubx&amp;refId=f188c8a1-9522-4fa2-adf7-e410a6e892f2 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University 2026-04-29T11:15:41.9771684 2026-03-09T09:22:21.8643153 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy Jordan Anderson 0000-0003-1040-1951 1 Andrea Black 2 Emmet Maclaurin 3 Tania Sawicki Mead 4
title The case against prisons
spellingShingle The case against prisons
Jordan Anderson
title_short The case against prisons
title_full The case against prisons
title_fullStr The case against prisons
title_full_unstemmed The case against prisons
title_sort The case against prisons
author_id_str_mv f4b26ffc754c90e16f701e7e55972582
author_id_fullname_str_mv f4b26ffc754c90e16f701e7e55972582_***_Jordan Anderson
author Jordan Anderson
author2 Jordan Anderson
Andrea Black
Emmet Maclaurin
Tania Sawicki Mead
format Book chapter
container_title The Routledge International Handbook of Penal Abolition
publishDate 2021
institution Swansea University
isbn 9780429425035
publisher Routledge
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Social Sciences - Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Social Sciences - Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy
url https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429425035-7/case-prisons-jordan-anderson-andrea-black-emmet-maclaurin-tania-sawicki-mead?context=ubx&amp;refId=f188c8a1-9522-4fa2-adf7-e410a6e892f2
document_store_str 0
active_str 0
description Amongst the public, there are several prominent arguments that drive the belief in prisons as institutions that promote and maintain public safety. These include assumptions that prisons are necessary to deter offending, to rehabilitate, and to grant restitution to victims and survivors. All of these assumptions are contradicted by research and by the experiences of people who have been directly affected by this system. This chapter briefly examines these arguments from a theoretical perspective and looks to contribute to the conversation by critiquing the evidence behind the use of prison as a criminal justice tool. While this chapter does not focus on current prison practices in Aotearoa, JustSpeak acknowledges the historical and cultural context that has resulted in the hyperincarceration of M?ori within the New Zealand prison system. Although criminal justice policies of the past may lead some to believe that prisons promote public safety, they in fact promote significant and self-perpetuating harm. JustSpeak hopes that this chapter helps to debunk the idea that prisons facilitate safety for the public and that it will make a contribution to broader work which focuses on investing in genuinely effective efforts to reduce harm in our communities.
published_date 2021-03-30T07:37:21Z
_version_ 1865054150747750400
score 11.105081

Similar Items