“They Didn’t Even Let Me Say Goodbye”: A Study of Imprisoned Primary Carer Fathers’ Care Planning for Children at the Point of Arrest in Victoria, Australia

ABSTRACT

In Victoria, data indicates that in 2013–2014 there were 74,992 adult male arrests, yet little formal attention has been paid to the parenting status of these men, despite knowledge of the impact of parental arrest and incarceration on children being well established. This article addresses a gap in the literature by providing new insights into the experiences of arrest of 34 primary carer fathers incarcerated in Victoria. It examines how incarcerated primary carer fathers experience planning processes for their children at the time of arrest and what factors facilitate or hinder the planning process. To do so, the article draws on data gathered for an Australian Research Council funded study conducted in Victoria and New South Wales between 2011 and 2015. Key issues include: the primary location of paternal arrest; the presence, or absence, of children at the location at which the arrest is made; police awareness of children; and subsequent discussions between police and fathers about suitable care. Findings indicate that half of all arrests took place in the family home. Children were present in 10 of these arrests and half were characterised by force, a large number of police, or weapons. Findings also indicate that in around one-half of all arrests, children were not physically present, despite fathers continuing to have responsibilities for these children. Despite 27 of the arrested men reporting that the police were aware (or made aware) of their children, almost all of these men (n = 26) were not asked about suitable care even when their children were physically present. Overall qualitative findings depict an absence of any discussion about children between police and fathers during the arrest process. The study highlights the demand for guidelines regarding child sensitive practice when a primary carer father is arrested.

KEYWORDS:

• Parenting
• policy
• risk
• criminal justice
• fathering
• arrest
• children of prisoners

Acknowledgements

This study was conducted with the support of key partner organisations: Department of Justice and Regulation (DOJR), Victoria, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Victoria, Commission for Children and Young People (CCYP), Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (VACRO), Prison Fellowship (PF) and SHINE for Kids (SHINE). Feedback on earlier drafts of this paper was gratefully received from Victoria Police.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Tess Bartlett is a PhD candidate in the Department of Social Work at Monash University researching the experiences of incarcerated primary carer fathers in Victoria and masculinity. She has worked for around 10 years as a teaching associate in criminology and on a number of projects researching families in the criminal justice system.

Dr Catherine Flynn is a senior lecturer in the Department of Social Work at Monash University. Her core research is at the intersection of criminal justice and social work, having a particular interest in the unintended consequences of criminal justice policy, and the impact of incarceration on children and families.

Professor Chris Trotter works in the Social Work Department Monash University in Australia and is Director of the Monash Criminal Justice Research Consortium. Prior to his appointment to Monash University he worked for many years as a community corrections officer and regional manager in the Victorian Department of Justice. He has undertaken more than 30 research projects and published 7 books and more than 100 papers predominantly on the subject of effective supervision of offenders. His book Working with Involuntary Clients, is now in its third edition and is published by seven different publishers in five different languages.

ORCID

Tess S. Bartlett http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7211-757X

Catherine A. Flynn http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7645-3469

Christopher J. Trotter http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1812-9550

Notes

1. For the purposes of this article, arrest is defined according to the Crimes Act (Victoria) 1958.

2. A prison entrant was defined as a person 18 years or over entering full-time custody on remand or on a sentence (AIHW, 2015).

3. Previously the Department of Human Services (DHS).

4. These consisted of Monash University HREC, Victorian Department of Justice and its NSW counterpart Corrective Services, Department of Human Services Victoria and Family and Community Services in NSW, police in both states, and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in Victoria, as well as the Department of Education and Communities in NSW.

5. All names and places have been changed to respect the confidentiality of participants.

6. As this study was drawn from a larger ARC linkage project (Trotter et al., 2015) that focused on the impact of incarceration on children’s care questions asked of participants were focused on care planning for children at the point of arrest, sentencing and imprisonment and time since arrest was not included.

7. Trotter et al. (2015) found that across Victoria and New South Wales there was indeed a gendered response across all arrest data for mothers and fathers, where women were significantly more likely to be asked about suitable care by an arresting officer or station sergeant than men.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [Australian Research Council] under Grant [number LP110100084].