Mapping the field of community sanctions: how inspection shapes the field of probation in England and Wales

• In Event: WG CSM Panel 3: Organising Community Sanctions

Abstract

In this paper I use Bourdieu's field theory to explore how actors interact and accrue capital within the field of community sanctions. Bourdieu’s work suggests that social space is divided into fields, each with its own set of rules, values, and resources that shape the behaviour of individuals and groups. The paper uses interview and observational data that were collected with probation practitioners, managers, leaders, inspectors and external partners as part of a study that explored the impact of inspection on probation. I will present analysis of these data with a focus on what different actors get out of the inspection process. I then deploy Bourdieu’s framework – with a focus on the tools he developed in his work on processes of cultural and social reproduction – to consider how this helps us understand the different forms of capital that exist in the field of community sanctions. In turn, this analysis will result in a ‘mapping’ of the field of probation in England and Wales by considering the ways in which inspection imbues actors with different forms of capital and how actors accrue capital through the inspection process. Ultimately, I will show that probation practitioners are situated at the autonomous pole of the field whilst leaders and managers are situated at the heteronomous pole. As Bourdieu’s theory sheds light on the way power relations, social hierarchies, and cultural capital influence social action the paper will illustrate the ways in which resources and opportunities within the field of community sanctions are distributed, explaining how and why certain groups are able to wield more power than others in this context.

Author

• Jake Phillips, Sheffield Hallam University