Isolation In Scottish Prisons Through A Letter-Writing Project

Isolation In Scottish Prisons Through A Letter-Writing Project Presented by: Mrs. Russo Date: 5 December 2022 Research Plan - Study of segregation in Scottish prisons and comparator countries (specifically England and Ireland) - Starting point: the findings of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in their report on Scottish prisons (2019) - With a focus on ... • Accountability of decision-making • Differences in practices amongst establishments • Alternatives to segregation practices Pre COVID-19 Methods - Ethnographic fieldwork in segregation units in Scotland, coupled with - Semi-structured interviews with a sample of prisoners and officers from both male and female establishments, in order to - Allow the research to have a multi-dimensional outlook... - HOWEVER, Covid-19 hit the world as well as my research... 'Methodological creativity' (Reiter, 2014) - Due to Covid-19, I was forced to reconsider my methods: • Interviews with retired Scottish Prison Service (SPS) officials, coupled with • Interviews with released prisoners (Reiter herself in her studies of Supermax confinement in the US included interviews with inmates released from these establishments) • All to take place virtually The COVID-19 Effect - Soon came to the realization that my research had been profoundly impacted by Covid-19 and not just solely from an access point - Prisoners' experiences of isolation had been severely impacted by the pandemic - This resulted in the need to look at alternative methods, but also in a shift in the focus of my research from segregation- only, to practices involving segregation and isolation, including how these two concepts interrelate in carceral settings Letters In Prison - Prisoners' contact with the outside world often revolves around the receipt of letters - When pin credit is low or physical visits are few and far between, correspondence can be a life-line for so many - Letters feature in almost every aspect of prisoners' lives - Countless books have been published featuring prisoners' letters (Gramsci, 1965; Wilde, 1969; Jackson, 1971; Abbott, 1981; Mandela, 2018 - to name a few) - As Vannier (2020:251) observes: • 'the argument that prisoners' letters can uncover hidden experiences of extreme penal severity further builds on a literature that regularly draws on inmates' written accounts' Letter-Writing As Research Method - 'Relatively new form of data collection, well suited to the context of the Covid-19 pandemic' (Maycock and Dickson, 2021) - 'The power of the pen' and prisoners (Vannier, 2020) - Letters as part of a toolbox of methods (Reiter, 2018) Letters: A More Flexible Approach? - Different formats • Semi-structured interviews • Letter exchanges • - Correspondence projects over a set time period Less rigid approach • Prisoners allowed time to articulate their answers • Allowing the conversation to flow through letter writing • Whilst at the same time pausing to reflect between letters • 'facility of reflection' (Harris, 2002) Advantages Of Letter Writing - 'therapeutic power of autobiographical writings' (Vivienne, 2008) - 'rich, meaningful narratives' in the prison context as prisoners have time to articulate their answers (Burtt, 2020) - Letters provoke strong emotions and emotions form an integral part of the research (Jewkes, 2012; Liebling, 2014) - A more targeted approach for grasping the essence of an experience? - 'particularly well-suited for exploring sensitive issues and the experiences of stigmatized individuals and social groups' (Maycock and Dickson, 2021) [emphasis added] Disadvantages... - - Key disadvantage • 'letters bar illiterate prisoners from sharing their experiences' (Vannier, 2020) • Prisoners' literacy levels well below those in general population • Inevitable form of 'self-selection' (Burtt, 2020) • Undesirable but inescapable - can fellow literate prisoners assist? Other problems? • 'writing fixes words - and hence, constructions of selves and others on paper' (Vivienne, 2008) Some points about the disadvantages ... - Assessment of (il) literacy levels is based on a comparison against the wider population, potentially leading to 'a limiting and limited understanding of education' (Armstrong, 2016) - My participants' difficulties in writing did not bar them from communicating with me for a sustained period, far from it - 2018 FOI(S)A indicated 70% of prisoners were at or below Level 4 of the Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework (SCQF) but this is not the same as saying they were all illiterate - Counterintuitively, could less fixation on punctuation and sentence structure have added a degree of spontaneity that may have otherwise been lacking? - Notion that 'writing fixes words' (Vivienne, 2008:7) - Words on paper maintain a degree of permanence compared to the spoken word - However, in my study, because of its length over the course of one year, I was able seek clarifications from my participants on issues that perhaps a single letter would have left ambiguity on - The potential inflexibility of written words therefore did not apply to my study to the same extent Risky Business? - How many responses would I receive to my ad? - Would I reach out to as many prisoners possible? - Would I reach out to different groups? - How many participants would take part? - How many of them would engage for the length of the project? - Would I be able to extrapolate the same level of data as I would have done through interviews? The Story… - Recruitment of participants through two separate ads on Inside Time, the national prison newspaper - Total of 26 participants to engage in a correspondence project over a period of 12 months Risky Business In Action - The Unpredictability Of The Scottish Prison Service... - Introduction of SSI 2021/446 - The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2021 (SSI 2021/446) laid before the Parliament on 30 November (w/t scrutiny) and came into force on 13 December 2021 - Effect on the research? Research On Sensitive Topics - Prison research is sensitive per se • The study of deviance (Becker, 1963; 2018) has generally been regarded as a sensitive topic • The nature of the topic (isolation) • The vulnerability of the subjects (prisoners) • Sensitive aspects may arise at different stages of prison research and come in varying forms, be they 'methodological, technical, ethical, political or legal' (Lee, 1993:1) • Surprising permeability of the letter to suit sensitive topics The Letter As A Bridge - Providing distance from the institution itself thus allowing analysis of prison from a wider perspective - 'prison colonizes more than bodies and more than minds confined within its walls; it appropriates the outsider's very ability to imagine and critique it' (Armstrong and Jefferson, 2017:238) - Letter writing arguably gives researchers more space to imagine and critique - And in so doing, the letter transcends carceral space - The epistolary experience is to Shabazz, a 'special act' which allows prisoners 'to make connections with others, and to reimagine their relationship to the carceral world that holds them'(592) Letter v Interview - HMIPS placement - Limits of interviews - • Time constraints in prison • Trust • Positioning hierarchy between participant / researcher • Unequal footing / power dynamics Correspondence project • Depth of relationship • Safe space to share • Letter as catharsis Writing As Catharsis... - 'I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.' (Frank, 1997:196) - through writing, participants were given the opportunity of re- telling stories of trauma in a safe space - in so doing a process of catharsis happened (Kearney 2007; 2008) - Quotes from Rachel, Jimmy & Barry Ethical (And Emotional) Considerations - 'As empirical researchers, criminologists face two distinct difficulties. First, we must develop ways of working that can be regarded as ethical. Second, we have to meet the demands of regulators of research ethics. These are not always the same thing.' (Israel and Hay, 2012:501) - The emotional difficulties posed by the letter - The example of Rachel