‘We don’t see ourselves as prison officers here’: Exploring the professional transitions and role of prison officers in women’s open prisons in England and Wales

• In Event: Illness, incarceration and professional identity: healthy prisons, unhealthy practices and staff-prisoner relations

Abstract

Much of our knowledge about imprisonment is based on accounts of those living and working in closed prisons. However, burgeoning studies of open prisons shows 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.

Author

• Daria Przybylska, University of Cambridge