dotlit: 'Power and Control in the Prison'
by Debra Smith

When I first started work as a psychologist at the local prison there
were two consecutive Friday afternoons when I was called to the management
unit, the section of the prison with single cells for containing prisoners
within the prison. The need for this unit varies and includes punishment
for offences in the prison, being under investigation for alleged offences
inside the prison, being in need of protection from other prisoners, or
protection from themselves in the case of suspected suicide or self harm
behaviour. On both occasions a prisoner who had been locked in one of
these cells had plastered his faeces all over the unit.

I was asked to talk to them (through a trapdoor in the door, measuring
approximately 10 centimetres by 40 centimetres, not enough room to put
your whole face to) and 'calm him down', with three officers in full riot
gear behind me in the unlikely event that the prisoners could miraculously
burst through the trapdoor. Talking under these circumstances is not easy
but in both cases, once I was able to talk to the prisoners and tell them
that if they cleaned up the cells I could talk properly and we could
perhaps work out some solutions to their current problems, both prisoners
agreed, cleaned up, and were able to talk with me and resolve a number of
problems.

Other staff kept saying, 'How can they do it? Why do they do it?', but I
thought the answers were obvious. The prisoners were using the only power
they had and with limited resources and means to gain attention they had
succeeded in wielding some power. Desperate measures, but simply attempts
to gain some power over their situation.

Several studies have shown that the more control we have in our lives,
the more likely we are to be healthy and to function effectively. This is
a major issue in prison today. One of the aims of the Victorian (state)
criminal justice system is to reduce recidivism rates (currently at around
sixty-five percent), and while there are many ways to do this, one of the
key areas is working with prisoners during their sentence. A significant
aspect of this work involves teaching prisoners how to take control of
their lives, and responsibility for themselves, increasingly in relation
to drug use. Prison is, in itself, a disempowering process, and daily life
in prison is based on an unequal balance of power between those in charge
and those incarcerated. It is difficult for those without power to
practice taking control of themselves and their lives. Too often we
release these men without helping them learn any useful strategies of
control or power, but with an attitude which is anti-society, and a
failure to understand how they are responsible for their own lives.

A number of control mechanisms exist in the justice system. These include
the sentencing of prisoners, prison placement and security ratings,
control in the prison in relation to daily living and access to services,
parole, the community leave programme, and referral to agencies on
release. Herein, I want to provide examples of the control mechanisms
within the prison and suggests alternatives which may begin to address the
recidivism rate. It is based on recent research in a Victorian prison, and
my own work in the same prison over a five year period.

Being unable to practice decision making in prison creates problems for
prisoners on release. Many prisoners go from a highly structured
environment, where they have no responsibility for food, shelter, real
employment, family or any other person, back to the community where they
are responsible at least for looking after themselves. It is not
surprising that for many of them, who are often unskilled and socially
isolated before they came to prison, returning to prison becomes a viable
option. Prisoners need opportunities to practice decision making and
taking control of as many aspects of their lives as possible.

"Prisoners are just not used to having choices. It's hard. If prisoners
had a choice it would be easier on the outside." (Terry).

"I've never learnt to organize myself. Other people have always told me
what to do. I need to learn know to do things for myself." (Ian, a 42 year
old prisoner)

"Prisoners, as a group, are terribly accepting of what gets dished up. I
think it's a wearing down process. They're just dumped on so many times.
They think 'well here comes today's dose!'" (Matt).

This attitude does not provide much assistance for the prisoner once he
is released, but it is prevailing prison culture. Strip-searching is a
part of prison life where officers can use control inappropriately.
Standard procedures exist for conducting strip searches but some prisoners
believe these are not always followed.

"Strip searching is so wrong. It's a prime example of abuse & they make
you bend over two or three times just because they can. Every time I see
those people it makes me angry. It used to make me break into a sweat.
It's all compounded with all the other stuff that happens to you." (Ric).

The community leave programme provides an example of how it is difficult
for prisoners to maintain or work towards control of their lives. There
are no clearly defined rules or guidelines for eligibility for the leave
programme. The guidelines are vague and unspecified, and open to
interpretation. When they apply, many prisoners believe unfair control is
exercised by prison staff. If the rules were clearer and adhered to,
prisoners could work towards their leave programme (which is an important
part of re-integration into the community for long-term prisoners) and
would be able to practice taking control, working towards a goal, and
carrying it out. Other areas where similar problems occur include
qualifying for family visits, outside work, special leave to attend
funerals, and parole. The major issue is the lack of definition of 'good
behaviour', and the inconsistencies that currently occur. What does a
prisoner have to do to be eligible for these programmes and services?

Access to medication and medical services can be an issue of control. I
have experienced several examples of prisoners requesting medication for
pain relief or sleep and they have been denied this without a consultation
because of a widespread belief that prisoners only want medication to
replace illicit drugs. A prisoner provides an example of this:

"There's a chap in here that had an abscess on his tooth. He was in a
great deal of pain and was up all night. They wouldn't give him any pain
relief for it. They said no. They thought he might use it other than for
pain relief. He was not a drug user or never had been. They used their
power for a control, but it was also a punishment because he was in a
great deal of pain." (Fred)

Despite many positive changes in the prison, attitudes of power and
control persist. They not only relate to relationships between prisoners
and staff, but also between staff. One of the more obvious areas in which
this occurs is that of correctional staff and offender development
(counselling/education) staff.

The most powerful weapon an officer has is access to prisoners, and
access to locks. To gain entry to the prison, and to different areas
within the prison, staff must press buzzers which alert other staff to
open locked doors. These staff are located in the gatehouse, or in the
unit, generally not near the doors/gates to be unlocked. There have been
numerous times when officers do not respond to the buzzers and are aware
that they are stopping other staff. Correctional staff, at times, also
stop or delay staff from seeing prisoners, restricting access to potential
rehabilitation.

How attitudes of control in the prison affect people, especially older,
first time prisoners, is described by Matt, a long term tertiary educated
prisoner who has spent many years in prison.

"When I came to prison I was a control junkie. My upbringing and my
family, my professional training, all my adult life was about control. To
suddenly have control over your daily routine taken from you and being at
the mercy of the system and the whims of individual staff, well that was
the hardest thing for me. An individual who was less capable than I was,
deciding what I would do." (Matt).

Research has shown that the more a correctional officer believes he is
employed to lock people up, the less likely he will be supportive of
prisoners, show respect, or work with education/rehabilitation staff.
Training for correctional staff could be improved to encourage them to
support rehabilitation because this would make not only their working
environment more pleasant, but also improve their community.

Individual prisoners often express the belief that they could take
control and this is important. They say there are rehabilitation
possibilities in the prison but that individuals have to take control and
do it for themselves. Prisoners tend to believe there is little commitment
to rehabilitation on a large scale but that opportunities are available.
They talk about rehabilitation occurring in spite of the prison system. A
prisoner writes about what happens when you are in prison, and when you
leave, and why it might be difficult to stay outside.

"The first few months have been the worst. Life on the outside seems to
fade away, and family and friends become more remote&. Adapting to the
outside world is going to be hard. On the inside you lost your life-skills
quickly and easily & getting them back won't be as simple. It will take
many months& many hard months of feeling your way, learning to be a
decision-maker, learning to take control of your own future, learning to
initiate events and learning to be responsible for the outcomes." (Tom).

In an organisation which practices so much control over people's lives
there is little capacity for the individual prisoner to learn to take
control and manage himself and his life. There are opportunities to
change. The provision of single cells in the newer prisons in Victoria,
and the campus style accommodation for minimum security prisoners, where
prisoners have to manage all their household activities including the
ordering and preparation of food, provides a basic start.

Training correctional officers to encourage and be part of rehabilitation
programmes would also be useful. The provision of clearly understood rules
about how to become eligible for the community leave programme, or how to
qualify for family visits, or outside work, or parole would be an
improvement on the current system which should not be difficult to
implement.

Psychological and educational programmes need to be based on self-esteem
and developing a sense of being a person rather than a prisoner, or worse,
a number, and on teaching prisoners about power and control and giving
them strategies to take self responsibility and control. Helping people to
think differently is a key strategy.

I do not agree entirely with Roger, a prisoner who says, "In here they
have total control over your life", but believe there are many aspects
which could be improved. In one sense prison does have total control
because people are imprisoned and they cannot leave until directed, but
there needs to be genuine attempts to provide opportunities for prisoners
to take control as much as possible, if attempts to reduce the recidivism
rate are to be genuine.

"In here they use power and intimidation. Everything is based on the idea
that 'we have the power'. A lot of people go back out and think 'I'll take
what I can get because you've taken what I've got, even though I put
myself there'. That's what has to change. Patterns in people's thinking.
If you want my thinking to change, then change your thinking" (Geoff).