Success within a UK open prison and surviving the ‘pains of freedom’

ABSTRACT

Category D open prisons mark a critical juncture of a prisoner’s sentence as they near the end of imprisonment and reach the cusp of release. Such establishments aim to support prisoner re-entry by offering greater freedom and autonomy. A greater understanding of the reality of life within an open establishment and exactly how these conditions support prisoner re-entry is needed. This study is made up of interviews with 11 prisoners residing in a UK open prison. Interviews were analysed qualitatively using interpretative phenomenological analysis which revealed two superordinate themes: ‘redemption through active citizenship’ and ‘coping with invisible boundaries’. These themes are unpacked and their relevance to prisoner re-entry are discussed. The study found that greater freedom and autonomy encouraged reciprocal support amongst residents. Participants discuss strategies they utilise to help them to cope with the ‘pains of freedom’. Implications for supporting individuals in their transformation from prisoner to citizen within an open establishment are highlighted and suggestions for future research offered.

KEYWORDS:

• Category D open prisons
• prisoner re-entry
• active citizenship
• interpretative phenomenological analysis
• staff-prisoner relationships

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all prisoners who kindly gave up their time to be interviewed and offer their valuable contributions. A further thank you to all of the members of staff who were so helpful in co-ordinating interviews and supporting the research, without whom this research would not have been possible.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data not available due to ethical restrictions. Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.