‘A pre-requisite of progress’? Prison modernisation and new prison building in England and Wales

Jones, Robert, Hart, Emily and Scott, David 2024. ‘A pre-requisite of progress’? Prison modernisation and new prison building in England and Wales. Punishment and Society: The International Journal of Penology 26 (5) , pp. 860-879. 10.1177/14624745241229149

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Abstract

Drawing upon archival research and documentary analysis, this article offers the first in-depth critical account of the prison modernisation narrative in England and Wales. By closely examining the claims behind the UK Government's current prison building policy, the article reveals that prison modernisation is severely undermined by a lack of supporting evidence as well as arguments which indisputably serve to contradict the government's claims. In concluding that modernisation is a seductive and elusive concept which has been deployed to legitimate and support investment in the prison estate, the article offers new and important insights that contribute to critical research agendas around the endurance, survival, and growth of the prison, despite irrefutable and overwhelming evidence of its failure. The analysis presented here should encourage and embolden academics, policy makers, practitioners and politicians in England and Wales, as well as those in jurisdictions where modernisation is also used to legitimate prison expansion, to engage more critically with the claims behind prison modernisation.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Cardiff Law & Politics Wales Governance Centre (WGCES)
Subjects:	K Law > KD England and Wales
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1462-4745
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 December 2023
Date of Acceptance:	5 December 2023
Last Modified:	18 Dec 2024 14:05
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/165042

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