An appreciative assessment of prison quality for Australian First Peoples of the Kimberley region in Western Australia

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Accepted Manuscript (AM)
Author(s)
Molnar, Timea
Rynne, John
Webster, Julianne
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2018
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In an attempt to understand the meaning of prison quality for Australian First Peoples, the authors examine the aspects of prison considered to be positive and negative for First Peoples serving sentences of imprisonment in the Kimberley Region in Western Australia. The meaning of prison quality as experienced by First Peoples is compared with the meaning of prison quality as defined by an existing measure of the quality of prison life. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 25 prisoners and staff members from West Kimberley Regional Prison and Broome Regional Prison, seven key aspects of prison as experienced by ...
View more >In an attempt to understand the meaning of prison quality for Australian First Peoples, the authors examine the aspects of prison considered to be positive and negative for First Peoples serving sentences of imprisonment in the Kimberley Region in Western Australia. The meaning of prison quality as experienced by First Peoples is compared with the meaning of prison quality as defined by an existing measure of the quality of prison life. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 25 prisoners and staff members from West Kimberley Regional Prison and Broome Regional Prison, seven key aspects of prison as experienced by First Peoples are identified. Six of these key aspects, respect and courtesy, staff-prisoner relationships, bureaucratic legitimacy, fairness, family contact, and personal development, are consistent with dimensions previously identified as pertaining to the quality of prison life. An additional culture-traditions dimension was also identified. The findings show that the differences between prison quality as experienced by First Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples are influenced by aspects relevant to the culture and traditions of First Peoples. The authors highlight the importance of considering culture and traditions in understanding the meaning of prison quality for First Peoples.
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View more >In an attempt to understand the meaning of prison quality for Australian First Peoples, the authors examine the aspects of prison considered to be positive and negative for First Peoples serving sentences of imprisonment in the Kimberley Region in Western Australia. The meaning of prison quality as experienced by First Peoples is compared with the meaning of prison quality as defined by an existing measure of the quality of prison life. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 25 prisoners and staff members from West Kimberley Regional Prison and Broome Regional Prison, seven key aspects of prison as experienced by First Peoples are identified. Six of these key aspects, respect and courtesy, staff-prisoner relationships, bureaucratic legitimacy, fairness, family contact, and personal development, are consistent with dimensions previously identified as pertaining to the quality of prison life. An additional culture-traditions dimension was also identified. The findings show that the differences between prison quality as experienced by First Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples are influenced by aspects relevant to the culture and traditions of First Peoples. The authors highlight the importance of considering culture and traditions in understanding the meaning of prison quality for First Peoples.
View less >
Journal Title
Victims & Offenders
Copyright Statement
© 2017 Taylor & Francis (Routledge). This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Victims and Offenders on 20 Sep 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15564886.2017.1362613
Note
This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version.
Subject
Criminology
Criminology not elsewhere classified