Issues and Challenges in the Carceral Environment

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel brings together three papers that each explore different issues in the carceral environment. The first explores how participatory research has unfolded in four state Departments of Corrections, led by local researchers in partnership with DOC leadership, line staff, and incarcerated people. The second focuses on solitary confinement in the U.S., reviewing existing research and identifying opportunities for reform. The third uses data from a survey of incarcerated people and correctional staff to understand how attitudes about incarceration differ between those two groups. All of the papers start from the normative foundation that carceral environments should do their best to promote the wellbeing, humanity, and agency of those who live and work in them.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 48. Jails & Prisons

Individual Presentations

• Participatory research in prisons: A process evaluation of community engagement in a multi-site prison research initiative - Alice Galley, Urban Institute

• Ending solitary confinement in the US: Current state and next steps - Andreea Matei, Urban Institute

• Comparison of attitudes about incarceration: Evidence from a survey of incarcerated people and staff - Evelyn McCoy, Urban Institute; Alice Galley, Urban Institute

Chair

• David Pitts, Urban Institute