Prisoners Views of Boards of Visitors a Question of Credibility
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8402153 |
|---|---|
| Authors | CAROL MARTIN, David Godfrey (0000-0003-3122-240X) |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 358-365 |
| Publication date | 1994-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Criminology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0955 • E-ISSN: 1464-3529 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjc.a048428 |
| OpenAlex | W2337749714 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
Until 1992 Boards of Visitors of penal institutions acted as quasi-judicial bodies dealing with serious offences against prison discipline, as well as being public ‘watchdogs’ to guard against abuses by the prison authorities, and independent channels for inmates' requests and complaints. The withdrawal of their disciplinary powers was intended to enhance Boards' credibility in their other roles by stressing their independence from the prison authorities, and was expected to reduce the long-standing scepticism of inmates about the value of Boards. This research explored awareness of Boards of Visitors—their roles and duties, composition, independence, and effectiveness—among a sample of 140 adult male prisoners. It shows that despite the withdrawal of Boards' disciplinary powers they were still regarded by most inmates as largely invisible, irrelevant, aligned with the prison management, and ineffective. Inmates had little confidence in Boards of Visitors
Credibility · Library science · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Law · Policing Practices and Perceptions · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses
| Citations per year | 0.16 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2007 - 2023 (17) |
| Highly cited | No |