Convict Criminology, Reaction Paper Example

Abstract

The New School of Convict Criminology came into existence in the year 2001 when Ian and Richards published their book ‘Convict Criminology’ (Robinson, 2005, p.90). A few criminologists who had a criminal history met and the result was the new “school of thought.” The “New School of Convict Criminology” offers a new perspective, different from the way traditional representation and discussions by politicians, policymakers, and researchers handle correctional problems and crimes (Jeffrey & Kevin, 2011 p.239). Ian and Richards (2003, p.130), show that correctional systems in the world are flawed especially in United States of America.

Factors that led to the New School of Convict Criminology

A reflection on this chapter “What is the New School of Convict Criminology?” gives the development of “The New School of Convict Criminology.” Convict Criminology is a result of six interrelated movements namely: the failure of prisons, the prisoner’s rights movement, theoretical developments in criminology, the authenticity of insider perspectives, the centrality of ethnography, and writings in victim logy and constitutive criminology.

The chapter by the authors shows a series of movements that constituted the theoretical developments in criminology. Socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral explanations replaced biological based arguments of criminal causation. Many perspectives portrayed here include cultural criminology, feminism, postmodernism, left realism, and peacemaking. Although we see a diversity of perspectives, the discourses fail to take into consideration the victims of the criminal justice.

The prison system has failed in correcting the behavior of criminals. According to the authors, prison system may result to criminals becoming rehabilitated or “hardened”. Criminals released back to the society are worse than when they entered the correctional institutions as described by Ian and Richards (2003, p.3). The manner in which prison house were constructed shows that they were not meant to rehabilitate but to punish. The Prisoner’s Rights movement came from organizations such as American Civil Liberties, and International Conference on Penal Abolition amongst others that include the efforts of individuals. The prisoner’s rights movement resulted to adoption of bureaucratic measures to control inmates instead of coercive mechanisms. According to Ian and Richards (2003, p.4), this movement has promoted a high level of legal and political consciousness among prisoners.

Ethnography is an anthropological branch that deals with the scientific study of individual culture. This has become central in criminologists’ work although it is not new in the field of corrections or penology as asserted by Ian and Richards (2003, p.5). Irwin, an ex-convict academic carried out ethnographic study. He interviewed prisoners and analyzed the subtle process in prison and jail admissions basing on his convict experience. Literature on inside perspective exists in six groups. These groups include journalists’ accounts of life in prison, edited anthologies by the prison reform activists, prison journalism, sole-authored books of criminal offenders, edited collections of authentic convict writing and monographs written by convicts about life in prison. The New School of Convict Criminology

This is a new perspective of criminal justice, corrections and criminology, which has come from empirical research, and essays by learned ex- convicts, or convicts who criticize existing policies, literature, and practices. These convicts or ex-convicts have had a firsthand experience of the prison life. Thus, they are able to link their past to the present providing an approach that is proactive in studying corrections, criminal justice, and criminology. The new school of convict criminology entails a collaborative participation through convict criminologists. Therefore, they embrace various aspects such as socializing, meeting, and participating in roundtable meetings. This is where they get to know each other, discuss future initiatives, get to know their published work, and current projects.

The school also claims that their work includes not only the budding scholars, but also the established ones as explained by Ball et al (2003, p.227). The chapter mentions that the criteria for inclusion were not only based to a terminal degree, but also convict experience. Convict authors play a very significant role in this new school. They fall into three cohorts, which include contribution to the field, the senior members, and professors. John Irwin is outstanding of all the ex-convicts, having served in prison for five years in 1950s. Irwin a sociologist by profession, earned his Ph.D. from Berkeley, University of California as described by Matthew (2005, p.88). Convict criminologists have the following explicit claims:

• Prisoners, when released, re-enter a society that loathes and fears them
• Despite being human beings, prisoners are marginalized and demonized
• Crimes are not reduced by prisons
• As correctional agencies, prisons are flawed in America
• The expansion of prisons affects the people of color disproportionately
• Most criminals are like other people, not harmful people who did make bad decisions of committing bothersome but harmless crimes

Prisoners are treated badly and this is permitted because most people such as academic criminologists have no understanding of prison life and the unique culture of prisoners amongst other claims. This chapter also makes a claim that those who study criminology also commit crimes. The difference lies in the fact that criminals have been noted while criminologists have not and so all stand criminals. Convict criminology is a challenge to criminal justice, corrections, and managerial criminology. The goals of convict criminology include insisting on policy reforms to humanize criminal justice system and transforming research procedure of prisons.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the new school of convict criminology has a solution to criminal justice system. This possible because it uses an issue-based approach and not following the divisions of traditional disciplinary assumed by criminal justice, criminology, and corrections. The issue-based approach describes stages of criminal justice system, correctional control, and etiology of crime separately.

References

Ball, A., Cullen, T., & Lilly, R. (2003). Criminological Theory: Context and Consequences. 5^th Edition. Washington DC: SAGE.

Jeffrey, W., & Kevin, A. (2011). Too early is too soon: Lessons from the Montana Department of Corrections Early Release Program: Journal of American Society of Criminology & Public Policy, Vol. 10, (4) p.881.

Richards, C., & Ross, I. (2003). Convict criminology. 1^st Edition Wadsworth: Cengage Learning

Robinson, B. (2005). Justice Blind? Ideals and Realities of American Criminal Justice. 2^nd Edn, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.