Are There Still Contrasts in Tolerance? Imprisonment in the Netherlands and England 20 Years Later

• NCJ Number: 235925
• Journal: Punishment & Society Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2011 Pages: 283-306
• Author(s): Candace Kruttschnitt; Anja Dirkzwager
• Date Published: July 2011
• Length: 24 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study examined various penal trends in England and the Netherlands.

Abstract

Twenty years ago, David Downes in his classic study, 'Contrasts in Tolerance', interviewed Dutch prisoners held in England and English prisoners held in the Netherlands and concluded that the Dutch provided a more humane penal system. Since that time, there have been significant changes in penal policies in both England and the Netherlands, which call into question both his conclusions and many of the current comparative analyses of penal trends. The authors examine the conditions of confinement for both Dutch prisoners held in English prisons and English prisoners held in the Netherlands to determine whether and how these carceral environments have changed over time. The authors drew on recent organizational research on 'inhabited institutions' to help advance our understanding of both transformations and continuities in penal trends across different political contexts. (Published Abstract)