International Research in Corrections Conference (IRCC)

 

Dostoyevsky experienced a profound transformation in Omsk prison camp in Siberia where he spent four years. Life there was ‘morally unbearable’, he wrote. His faith was destroyed by fear, abuse and humiliation, but then restored as a result of kindnesses he received or witnessed. Savagery and humanity co-existed in this ‘house of the living dead’. Extreme contrast - the absence, and then occasional or fleeting presence, of goods that human beings need (e.g., humanity, relationships, respect, safety) – bring about powerful emotional responses, turning prisoners into sharp analysts of the human condition. In my new book, Aristotle’s Prison: A Search for Humanity in Tragic Places, I draw on data from some least and most survivable prisons, and a few exceptional outliers, to explain why prisoners are so adamant in their descriptions of the best prisons. They say things like: ‘I’ve been out in the desert. I was starving and now I am fed!’ They describe a ‘vibe’ – what I now call ‘a between’ – that supports their well-being, growth and development. Prisons at the highest end of a moral quality range (with significantly better than typical MQPL dimension scores) are not just a ‘bit different’ from prisons with lower scores on a linear scale, they are qualitatively distinctive. The life force is supported rather than extinguished. Outcomes are better. Staff in these prisons have different dispositions, practices and intentions from staff in lower threshold prisons, demonstrating a fundamentally ‘emergent-person centred’ approach to their work. They operate with clear attention to security, order, and the use of authority, but hold these values in tension with positive underlying assumptions about prisoners, punishment and rehabilitation. Aristotle called this kind of value-balancing ‘practical wisdom’. He was preoccupied by human potential, and by the relationship between the organisation of city states and the state of the human soul. In a striking parallel with his thinking, research shows us that only once prisons become ‘morally intelligible’ – fair, decent and humane enough – can they hope to become ‘morally enabling’. Most are not.

 

 

 

 

Drawing on innovative Bayesian approaches and longitudinal correctional data, the analysis finds that variation in outcomes cannot be explained by individual factors alone. The environments in which people live and work, defined by safety, fairness and relational climate, exert a strong influence on post release success. These environments are produced through systemic processes such as population movement, resource allocation and policy settings, which generate patterns of stability and instability that define daily life in prison and influence the potential for rehabilitation. Viewing prisons as complex, adaptive institutions formed through policy, culture and human relationships, this research places institutional accountability at the centre of rehabilitation. It highlights that the capacity to sustain stability and connection is not peripheral to rehabilitation but fundamental to it, creating the conditions in which both people and institutions can grow.

 

 

The Ara Poutama Aotearoa – Department of Corrections of New Zealand has arranged three facility visits that participants can choose from. For those staying on after the conference, you can indicate which facility you would like to visit when registering online for this event. Please note that this is not a booking - you can only sign up at the venue. Please note that spaces are limited.