Behind prison walls: reported sexual assaults in men’s prisons in England and Wales

Abstract

This thesis provides the first insights into prisoner on prisoner sexual assaults recorded in adult men’s prisons (N=844) in England and Wales. Findings are based on a ten-year reporting period (2004-2014) using the Incident Reporting System (IRS) data from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly known as the National Offender Management Service).
Empirical studies, mostly from the United States, have focused on prevalence measures and the characteristics of individuals and institutions most likely to be involved in reported sexual assaults. Evidence about sexual assaults in prison settings from England and Wales is sparse. This thesis examines trends in reporting and the characteristics of victims and perpetrators involved in these reports. Analysis of the IRS data was influenced by using an adaptation of Carlen’s (2008) concept of ‘imaginary penalties’ as a theoretical framework. Explanations for the continuation of staff and prison service responses to sexual assaults that produce limited formal outcomes are considered in the context of new managerialism. The methodological approach was pragmatic given the data quality and scale of the IRS and its origins as an administrative dataset rather than a research tool. The mixed methods design produced three datasets; the first formed from the predominantly quantitative IRS data, the second from coding of the sole qualitative data field consisting of incident descriptions, and the third from small-scale interviews with prison staff. This thesis finds that insights into prison sexual assaults and their impact on the pains of imprisonment have been restricted by the opacity of headline figures routinely published in Ministry of Justice Safety in Custody Bulletins. Official statistics neglect to disclose the paucity of data quality used to compile them, and lack context and detail, failing to grasp the brutality of prison sexual assaults and the absence of consistent criminal justice outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Evidence of continued staff activity in response to sexual assaults suggests a preference for short-term measures with low prospect of formal outcomes. Finally, the rationale for collating data about sexual assaults lacks purpose and clarity. Future changes to the administration of recording sexual assaults are required to deliver justice, reduce risk, and improve future practice.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Jenny Fleming: orcid.org/0000-0002-7913-3345

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