When we think about aging in prison, our thoughts are likely to go to the aging prison population and the ever increasing need to ensure that custodial institutions are fit to meet the needs of this particular group of people. Rather than focusing on this, however, we look at what it is like to age in prison as a member of prison staff.
Based on interviews with 34 members of the Prison Governor’s Association (PGA), the main trade union for prison governors and operational managers in England and Wales, this paper discusses the equality, diversity, and inclusion experiences of PGA members but with a specific focus on age. We will discuss at what age our participants considered themselves to be ‘bed blockers’ and ‘dinosaurs’ and how many felt that investment from their employer stopped when they had reached the age of 50. Many no longer felt heard or valued, believing that they had been discriminated against because of their age. Due to close connections with disability, we also discuss age related physical and mental health conditions, and detail these experiences, including how for some working to a retirement age of 68 was increasingly difficult in such a physical environment. We conclude by considering what needs to be done to better support those who are aging in prison, including an open discussion with the audience to better understand best practice from around the world.
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Professor Karen Harrison
Professor of Law and Penal Justice, University of Lincoln, England, United Kingdom
Karen Harrison is a Professor of Law and Penal Justice at the University of Lincoln. She graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Wales - Aberystwyth in 2004 and over the last 20 years has established a national and international profile in sentencing and penal policy. She has written extensively on the legal and ethical implications of risk reduction and management strategies with high-risk sex offenders, often writing with criminologists and psychologists. Karen has completed several funded empirical projects including looking at why British South Asian women fail to report sexual abuse and examining the implementation of Body-Worn Cameras in Humberside Police. She is the author of Dangerousness, Risk and the Governance of Serious Sexual and Violent Offenders (2011), the editor of Managing High Risk Sex Offenders in The Community (2010) and co-edited with Dr Bernadette Rainey, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Legal and Ethical Aspects of Sex Offender Treatment and Management (2013). Her most recent book is Penology: Theory, Policy and Practice (2020).
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Lauren Smith
Associate Professor in Forensic Psychology, University of Lincoln, United Kingdom
Dr. Lauren Smith - Prior to joining the University of Lincoln as a Lecturer in Psychology in 2020, Lauren worked in voluntary sector services supporting people in the Criminal Justice System for 14 years. Her roles included performance and development of services, delivery of resettlement support services in prisons, development, and delivery of support services for people transitioning from the community into prison, delivery of services to families of people in prison, and work within a supported accommodation provider for families and young people. She is now a Senior Lecturer, and her research interests are centred around the rehabilitation and reintegration of people with convictions, including the complex relationships between homelessness, employment, health, addictions, offending and reoffending. Lauren utilises a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods to undertake her work.
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Rachael Mason
Senior Lecturer in Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln
Rachael Mason is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health and Care Sciences at the University of Lincoln. Her undergraduate degree is in Psychology and Criminology and her master’s degree is in Forensic Psychology. She is due to submit her PhD thesis on humanising the health and wellbeing experiences of people working and people detained in prison, with this being a primary area of focus for her research. Rachael has worked for His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service delivering accredited Offending Behaviour Programmes for substance use. Following this, Rachael worked in a residential housing project as a Duty Officer and Training Co-ordinator, supporting young people aged 16-25 years old to develop life skills and help them prepare to live independently. Rachael’s main research interests include the health and wellbeing of people in the criminal justice system and issues related to substance use.
