In September 2021, four researchers from the Maynooth University Department of Law – Dr. Ian Marder (Assistant Professor in Criminology), Magali Lapouge (Research Assistant), Dr. Joe Garrihy (Assistant Professor in Criminology) and Dr Avril Brandon (Assistant Professor in Criminology) published a new article in the (open access) Prison Service Journal.
The article is called ‘Empirical research on the impact and experience of open prisons: state of the field and future directions’. It explains that, while commentators laud open prisons as a way to support reintegration and to make the experience of incarceration less repressive, there is limited empirical research exploring the impact or experience of residing under open conditions. It presents a thematic analysis of empirical studies on these aspects of open prisons, focusing on research indicating the benefits and challenges of the independence afforded by open regimes, the outcomes for those who reside in an open prison, and the cultures and relationships in open prisons. It notes that further study is needed to progress a generalisable understanding of the dynamics of prison ‘openness’, and to identify any differences between the experiences of open and closed institutions. The article concludes by discussing methodologies and themes for future research, and the need for collaboration among penal policy stakeholders.
Volume 256 of the Prison Service Journal, which includes this article, can be accessed freely here.