PRISM: A Promising Paradigm for Assessing and Managing Institutional Violence: Findings from a Multiple Case Study Analysis of Five Scottish Prisons

Abstract

PRISM: Promoting Risk Intervention by Situational Management (Johnstone & Cooke, 2008) provides a systematic process for evaluating a range of situational risk factors known to influence institutional violence in prisons and secure hospital settings. This paper reports on findings from the first multiple case-study evaluation using this protocol. We applied PRISM in the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). The SPS is a modern prison system. It respects prisoners’ human rights, maintains order and control via humane and dignified means, and works towards the rehabilitation of prisoners and reducing reoffending rates overall. The SPS comprises a national headquarters where relevant policies and protocols are derived but governors and senior management teams are based within the local prisons to ensure the effective running of the organisation. While the SPS can boast decreasing rates of serious violence, there are significant variations across sites. We used PRISM to explore the relevance of situational risk factors to understanding these variations. Results suggested that the protocol was a promising paradigm for assessing risk factors unique to each site as well as showing utility for exposing problems related to the national policies and practices. The risk assessment led to a range of risk management interventions being proposed. The implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• violence
• risk assessment
• risk management
• prisons
• secure settings
• PRISM
• case study

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank several people and agencies who have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. We are grateful to Brian Rae, now retired Research and Development Manager; NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Dr. James Carnie and Ed Wozniak, Scottish Prison Service; members of the SPS Advisory Group; all the multidisciplinary staff teams at the five sites who took part; and finally, Dr Lisa Gadon, who contributed to the projects underpinning the development of PRISM.

For more information about PRISM, please see http://www.gcal.ac.uk/prism/index.html

Authors’ Note. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Scottish Prison Service.