Exacerbating risks and diminishing rights for ‘at-risk’ prisoners
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12900227 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alexis Harris (Victoria University of Wellington), Erin Stanley (0000-0002-8944-8092, Victoria University of Wellington, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 515-532 |
| Publication date | 2017-11-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Criminology & Criminal Justice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-8958 • E-ISSN: 1748-8966 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1748895817739666 |
| OpenAlex | W2775292318 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 25 |
At-Risk Units (ARUs) are dedicated facilities established in New Zealand prisons to assist those considered to be ‘at risk’ of self-harm or suicide. Their remit is ostensibly care-based and rights-conscious, with authorities noting that ARUs preserve the ‘right to life’. Drawing upon research within two correctional sites, alongside analysis of recent documents from oversight bodies and courts, this article considers ARU operations. It is argued that, all too often, ARUs have undermined humane practices towards suicidal or ‘at-risk’ prisoners. Four problems are apparent: (1) ARUs are misused and overused in such a way that secure punishment, rather than care, is prioritized; (2) within a context of ‘lesser eligibility’, ARUs operationalize degrading conditions and treatments towards prisoners; (3) humane treatments are further diminished by a correctional approach to prioritize legal or bureaucratic compliance; and (4) authorities avoid institutional sanction for prisoner harms or deaths, particularly through an emphasis on personal responsibilization or blame. The end-result is that ARUs are regularly operationalized in ways that exacerbate risks and diminish rights for prisoners. A question remains about their fundamental use as an appropriate response to those who suffer mental health distress within penal environments
Blame · Bureaucracy · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Harm · Operationalization · Political science · Politics · Prison · Punishment (psychology · Sociology · Child Abuse and Trauma · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Law · Psychology · Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending · Social Psychology
Understanding the Risk Society
The Routledge International Handbook of Criminology and Human Rights
Prisons, Punishment and the Pursuit of Security
The Incarceration of Women
Victims’ Versus ‘Offenders’ in B ritish Political Discourse
The Politics of Prisoner Legal Rights
Prisoners' Rights in the Context of the European Convention on Human Rights
Depth, weight, tightness
Human rights as risk
A new risk management for prisoners in France
Moral Agent or Actuarial Subject
Solitary Confinement and Risk of Self-Harm Among Jail Inmates
Globalization and Borders
Assembling Risk and the Restructuring of Penal Control
| Highly cited | No |
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