Publications

To investigate the participation initiatives that exist in the prison of Ghent, the surplus value of this, who participates, and the preconditions to realise prisoners’ participation and involvement in prison life, 11 focus groups were conducted with prisoners and professionals. The results demonstrate that not only formally organised projects but also several informal initiatives exist. Classifying the initiatives in the pyramid of citizen ...

Boekbespreking: 'The Prisoner Society. Power, Adaptation and Social Life in an English Prison - B. Crewe'

Prisoners’ participation and involvement in prison life are becoming important topics featuring on European political agendas. To investigate the different types of prisoner participation and involvement in one prison in Belgium, the experiences of prisoners and professionals, and the processes that enhance or limit prisoners’ participation, 11 focus groups have been conducted with prisoners (N=36) and professionals (N=42). A thematic analysis ...

Prisoners in Belgium have the right during their detention to access social-cultural activities (e.g. library, sport activities, education, vocational training, cultural activities, mental health care). Based on survey-data (N 486), this article explores prisoners' participation rates in these different kinds of programmes and services. The findings indicate that 92% participated at least in one activity, among which the library had the highest ...

Digital technologies have increasingly become a key element in the modern experience of imprisonment. These technologies mainly aim to improve the internal organisation of the prison and can be used by both prisoners and staff. Although digitalisation has increasingly gained international academic attention, prison research on the use of digital technologies in other jurisdictions indicates that its access is usually selective and conditional. ...

The nearly 11,000 individuals annually leaving Belgian prisons face various reintegration challenges related to subsistence, support, and intrapersonal conditions (Graffam & Shinkfield, 2012). This study employs a multi-method design, including a prison survey (N=777) and 14 life story interviews to investigate the challenges and how they evolve over time. People experience challenges already pre-detention, but also during incarceration and ...

In "Limits of the Law (Introduction)", the editors identify and outline four functions of the law: the regulatory function; the symbolic representation of the norms and values of a group of people (or, broader, of society); the dispute resolution function (i.e. the law as a way to solve disputes); and the legal protection of citizens2. These functions are in constant interaction with each other, thereby calibrating one another and bringing forth ...