NCJ Number
162623
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 19 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1995) Pages: 269-274
Date Published
1995
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The comparative study of racial justice in the prisons of different countries is advanced as a way to develop a fresh theoretical perspective on the subject and provide clues as to how countries can solve their problems.
Abstract
Because a prison is a society in miniature, and not immune to the ills of society as a whole, prison administrators are tackling the problem of racial justice. The British Prison Service produced several manuals intended to clarify the Service's race relations policies and their practical implications, to provide information for foreign prisoners, and to guide the Prison Service Staff. Japanese prisons, in an attempt to improve communication between prison officers and foreign prisoners, offer Japanese language lessons for foreign inmates and send prison officers for foreign language training. The most serious problem which Japanese prison officials must resolve involves the tendency for foreigners to be too individualistic and assertive, which clashes with the group-orientation of prison life in Japan, and which both prison officers and prisoners regard as destructive to the harmony in a prison community. The English Prison Service's race relations policies emphasize the professional behavior expected of the staff. However, it is questionable whether attempting to change behavior without changing underlying attitudes is sufficient to achieve racial justice in English prisons. Notes