This paper explores the use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in the study of penology. In this paper I demonstrate the benefits of this style of analysis in producing arguments and critical explanations about imprisonment and the challenges that are apparent within prisons in England and Wales. In this context I explore how penology can benefit from the use of CDA as “discourse study with an attitude” (van Dijk, 2015: 466).

Drawing specifically on the topics of violence, self-harm and suicide in prisons, the paper explains how His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and politicians “enact, confirm, legitimise, reproduce and challenge” discourses (van Dijk, 2015: 467). By discussing how discourses are offered by these groups provides an opportunity to highlight how their relational and organisational practices hold consequences to actions on violence, self-harm, and suicide. I explain how topics of datafication, accountability, and causality, can be characterised from my analysis, recognising that such practices hold great consequence to how prisoners are seen, how responsibility is located, and how organisations acknowledge the cause of the three problems. I conclude the paper by focusing on a specific challenge of why organisations do not always promote or provide action on these topics. I do this through explaining the metaphor of the veil of discourse, and how this obscures and alters the view and rhetoric on violence, self-harm, and suicide in prisons, ultimately leading to inaction and a continuation of the three problems.

Occupational stress is commonplace in the criminal justice system. It is commonly made up of operational and organisational stressors and both these can have a long lasting impact on a persons mental health. Many of those who are employed in the criminal justice system face these stressors on a daily basis through a variety of means, including exposure to violence and trauma, as well as bullying, managerial conflict, and a lack of support in the workplace.

Occupational stress can be viewed as a gradual process in which individual cognitive assessments of occupational stressors generate adverse health with severe behavioural consequences. Operational stressors are generally associated with witnessing, or being subjected to traumatic events, witnessing, or experiencing acts of violence, crime involving children, responding to events with mass casualties and dealing with sexual offences. Work-related stress is a major concern for employees and employers, regardless of profession and can contribute to organisational inefficiency, high staff turnover, absenteeism and reduced job satisfaction

This presentation will explore the multifaceted challenges impacting the mental health of police, probation and prison officers throughout the UK and Ireland. Thematic analysis of an online questionnaire completed by over 300 serving police, probation and prison officers will be presented and will demonstrate commons themes related to operational and organisational stressors.

Prison staff wrongdoing is a problem which has been recognised for many years and yet there is very little academic research examining the reasons why prison staff (uniformed and non-uniformed) engage in wrongdoing, risk losing their job, face public disgrace and possible imprisonment.

This research is the first independent study in England and Wales focussed on increasing the knowledge of how prison staff wrongdoing is understood by the staff themselves, what the staff think makes someone vulnerable and what are the barriers to reporting wrongdoing.

The mixed methods study involved the distribution of surveys to all staff at two male Category B local prisons and semi-structured interviews with staff from a broad range of departments.

This paper will cover some of the challenges in obtaining permission to conduct the research and the key findings.

Much of our knowledge about imprisonment is based on accounts of those living and working in closed prisons. However, burgeoning studies of open prisons show important distinctions between experiences of imprisoned individuals in open and closed prisons (Marder et al., 2021; Mjäland et al., 2021). One notable theme within this scholarship is the significance of transitioning from a closed to an open prison, and the challenges associated with adapting to open conditions (Micklethwaite & Earle, 2021; Waite, 2023). Others have also noted that ambiguity often characterises prisoners’ experience of open conditions (Shammas, 2014; Statham et al., 2021). What is missing from most accounts of open imprisonment, however, is the perspective of prison officers who work in this unique environment. Drawing on semi-ethnographic fieldwork in women’s open prisons in England & Wales, I offer novel insights into prison officers’ perceptions of working in this environment. First, I reflect on the professional transition from working in a closed to an open prison, described as entering a ‘whole different world’ and posing challenges of adapting to a more ‘relaxed’ regime, mirroring the experience of this transition by prisoners (see Waite, 2023). Next, I discuss the ambiguity officers felt about their role, identifying as ‘administrators’, ‘counsellors’, ‘therapists’ or ‘buddies’ rather than ‘real officers’. I suggest explanations, including greater emphasis on prisoner independence in open conditions which limits and alters officers’ duties, and professional expectations rooted in experience of working in a ‘traditional’ (closed) prison. Finally, I reflect on the parallels in prison officers' and prisoners’ accounts of transitioning into and adapting to an open prison environment, and what this tells us about the texture of open imprisonment.