RT Article
T1 Evaluating voluntary sector involvement in mass incarceration: The case of Samaritan prisoner volunteers
JF Punishment & society
VO 22
IS 5
SP 637
OP 657
A1 Tomczak, Philippa
A1 Bennett, Christopher
A2 Bennett, Christopher
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1761877011
AB Mass incarceration and supervision operate through a mixed economy. Using the case study of Samaritans’ emotional support for prisoners in distress in England and Wales, we present an original framework of five normative criteria to facilitate nuanced assessment of voluntary sector criminal justice participation. This is an urgent, significant task for theory and practice: we need to find forms of public input that can deconstruct bloated penal systems. Whilst citizen involvement can be a positive form of ‘people power’, our assessment of Samaritans’ ostensibly welcome humanitarian intervention reveals how it deflects attention from severe shortcomings of the penal system. In the context of mass incarceration, we conclude that voluntary sector and citizen involvement in individualised service delivery alone risks obscuring deep problems and delaying much-needed change. This topic is particularly timely, given increasing non-state involvement in criminal justice and the global problem of prison suicide.
K1 Non-profit
K1 Peer
K1 Penal voluntary sector
K1 Prison
K1 Volunteer
DO 10.1177/1462474520915823