Families and imprisonment - considering how English and Scottish policy constructs experiences across family systems in England and Scotland

英格兰和苏格兰是西欧监禁率最高的国家。据估计，英格兰（和威尔士）有超过30万名儿童，苏格兰有16500名儿童的父母一方在监狱里。包括所有家庭成员将大大增加这些数字。曾经被称为“刑罚学的灰姑娘”（肖，1987年），在过去的二十年里，这些家庭的学术研究迅速增长。研究揭示了对家庭监禁的负面经济和物质（Braman，2004; Dickie，2014）情感和关系（Arditti，2012，2018）影响。这些文献强调了监禁对整个家庭的危害的系统性和共生性（Condry和Minson，2020; Hasley和Deegan，2015），以及英格兰和苏格兰政策更好地考虑家庭权利和福祉的必要性（赫顿，即将到来; Jardine，2019）。然而，两个司法管辖区的刑事政策仍然狭隘地关注囚犯康复，主要将家庭视为支持这一点的工具。我的研究将是对英格兰和苏格兰囚犯家庭的首次比较研究。它所依据的思想是，家庭的监禁经历是社会建构的，国家和地方的刑事政策是这种社会建构的一部分。尽管他们的接近，和两个系统的批评相似的性质，英格兰和苏格兰的司法系统根据不同的文化政治历史，不同结构的政策机器和法律的框架（McAra，2008年; 2016年;曼西，2010年）。虽然现有的文献反映了不同的政策方法-我的研究是第一个看经验和详细的不同政策如何塑造经验。我的研究使用历史文献分析的国家和地方政策文件有关囚犯的家庭从过去15年，考虑这些文件的潜台词和他们更广泛的社会文化背景;以及对两个司法管辖区的家庭进行定性研究。我的访谈分析框架借鉴了家庭系统理论，探讨如何监禁，在政策上作为一种个人惩罚，在整个家庭的互惠和共生的影响。这些方法的配对和排序将使我能够考虑国家之间和国家内部的社会建设的特定过程。在关注政策的建设性作用时，我的研究结果将有助于更清楚地向政策制定者阐明他们的决定对家庭的影响。根据我自己作为政策制定者的经验，我制定了与两国政府和其他负责机构进行知识交流的雄心勃勃的计划。我致力于将家庭的声音带到围绕对囚犯家庭采取正确政策方法的规范性辩论的最前沿，寻求共同撰写和联合宣传的机会。

England and Scotland have the highest rates of imprisonment in Western Europe. Estimates suggest over 300, 000 children in England (and Wales); and 16, 500 in Scotland have a parent in prison. Including all family members will increase these numbers greatly. Once called the 'Cinderella of penology' (Shaw, 1987) the last two decades have seen rapid growth in academic research into these families. Research has exposed the negative financial and material (Braman, 2004; Dickie, 2014) emotional and relational (Arditti, 2012, 2018) implications for imprisonment across families. This literature has highlighted the systemic and symbiotic nature of the harms of imprisonment across a family (Condry and Minson, 2020; Hasley and Deegan, 2015) and the need for both English and Scottish policy to better consider families' rights and wellbeing (Hutton, Forthcoming; Jardine, 2019). However, penal policy across both jurisdictions remains focussed narrowly on prisoner rehabilitation, considering families primarily as instruments to support this.My research will be the first comparative study of prisoners' families across England-Scotland. It is premised on the idea that families' experiences of imprisonment are socially constructed, and national and local penal policy are part of the exercise of that social construction. Despite their proximity, and similar nature of the criticism of both systems, the English and Scottish justice systems vary according to distinct cultural-political histories, differently structured policy machines and legal frameworks (McAra, 2008; 2016; Muncie, 2010). While existing literature reflects on different policy approaches - my research is the first to look empirically and in detail at how differing policy shaped experiences.My research uses historical documentary analysis of national and local policy documents concerning prisoners' families from the last fifteen years, considering the subtext of these documents and their wider socio-cultural context; as well as qualitative research with families across the two jurisdictions. My analytical framework for interviews draws on family systems theory to explore how imprisonment, constructed in policy as an individual punishment, has reciprocal and symbiotic impacts across a family. The pairing and sequencing of these methods will allow me to consider the particular processes of social construction between and within nations.In focussing on the constructive role of policy, my findings will help to more clearly articulate to policymakers the power their decisions have over families. Drawing on my own experiences as a policymaker, I have ambitious plans for knowledge exchange with government and other responsible agencies across both nations. I am committed to bringing families' voices to the forefront of the normative debates surrounding the right policy approach to prisoner's families, seeking opportunities for co-authoring and joint advocacy.