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The Voluntary Sector in Prisons

Encouraging Personal and Institutional Change

Palgrave Macmillan

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology (PSIPP)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xix
  2. Background

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Introduction: The Significance of Voluntary Sector Provision in Correctional Settings

      • Laura S. Abrams, Emma Hughes, Rosie Meek, Michelle Inderbitzin
      Pages 3-20
  3. Prisoners as Volunteers

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 53-53
    2. Learning and Practicing Citizenship and Democracy Behind Bars

      • Michelle Inderbitzin, Joshua Cain, Trevor Walraven
      Pages 55-83
    3. Leading by Example: Ways That Prisoners Give Back to Their Communities

      • Michelle Inderbitzin, Trevor Walraven, James Anderson
      Pages 85-114
    4. Movements Towards Desistance via Peer-Support Roles in Prison

      • Christian Perrin, Nicholas Blagden
      Pages 115-142
  4. The Non-profit Sector and Prison Culture: Interactions, Boundaries, and Opportunities

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 171-171
    2. Carceral Devolution and the Transformation of Urban America

      • Reuben Jonathan Miller, Gwendolyn Purifoye
      Pages 195-213
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 363-374

About this book

This volume examines how volunteers and non-profit programs encourage institutional change in prisons and offer individual support and services to people who are housed behind bars. Through a diverse set of chapters, including two that are co-written by current prisoners, the volume spans the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and juvenile and adult facilities. The book showcases the exciting, groundbreaking, and yet often unrecognized work that the voluntary sector provides in correctional settings. Collectively, the chapters highlight beneficial practices while raising critical questions about the role of the voluntary sector in prison and reentry settings. The chapters also offer useful information about how to implement innovative prison programs that promote health, education, and peer support. 




Reviews

“Acting on one’s own volition is the essence of being human, so it is striking to read about the remarkable volunteerism of prisoners and other citizens taking place in that most involuntary of institutions, the prison. Read together, the insightful contributions to this first-of-its-kind volume represent a real testament to some of the best of humanity working in some of our least humane institutions.”  (Shadd Maruna, Professor of Education and Dean of Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, USA)

“Criminologists and sociologists who study punishment and rehabilitation have always tended to assume the centrality of the state and its penal institutions in their analysis. Despite Durkheim’s enduring influence, the role of civil society in both punishment and reintegration has often been neglected. This excellent collection of essays begins to remedy this neglect by examining the role of volunteers, volunteering and non-profit organizations in these processes. Spanning multiple perspectives and reflecting on both research and lived experience, this book provides a rich resource both for deepening academic analyses and for practical projects of penal reform.” (Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work, University of Glasgow, UK)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California Los Angeles, Culver City, USA

    Laura S. Abrams

  • Criminology, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, USA

    Emma Hughes

  • Sociology, School of Public Policy, Oregon State University , Corvallis,, USA

    Michelle Inderbitzin

  • School of Law, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, United Kingdom

    Rosie Meek

About the editors

Laura S. Abrams is Professor of Social Welfare at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA, California, USA. She is the author of Compassionate Confinement: A Year in the Life of Unit C (2013) and Life After Juvie: Young Men and Women on Desistance, Survival, and Becoming an Adult (forthcoming). 

Emma Hughes is Associate Professor of Criminology at California State University, Fresno, USA. She is the author of the book Education in Prison: Studying through Distance Learning (2012). She has contributed book chapters on offender rehabilitation to edited volumes and previously lectured at Birmingham City University, UK. 

Michelle Inderbitzin is Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University, USA. She is the lead author of the books Deviance and Social Control: A Sociological Perspective (2013) and Perspectives on Deviance and Social Control (2015).



Rosie Meek is Professor, Chartered Psychologist, and Head of the Law School at Royal Holloway University of London, UK. She is the author of Sport in Prison (2014) and is a Fulbright distinguished scholar, University of California, San Diego, USA. 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Voluntary Sector in Prisons

  • Book Subtitle: Encouraging Personal and Institutional Change

  • Editors: Laura S. Abrams, Emma Hughes, Michelle Inderbitzin, Rosie Meek

  • Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54215-1

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan New York

  • eBook Packages: Law and Criminology, Law and Criminology (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-137-54214-4Published: 26 May 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-137-54215-1Published: 25 May 2016

  • Series ISSN: 2753-0604

  • Series E-ISSN: 2753-0612

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIX, 374

  • Number of Illustrations: 3 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Criminology and Criminal Justice, general

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access