NCJ Number
218430
Date Published
2007
Length
224 pages
Annotation
This book provides a systematic study of prison governors, specifically, how they carry out their task, how their task has changed over time, and how their role has evolved.
Abstract
Due to the very nature of penal institutions, there will always be tension that exists between control from above that reduces the governor’s autonomy. So long as this remains the case, the work of a prison governor will remain a form of management that is unique. Prison governors are a key occupational group within the criminal justice system of England and Wales. They enforce the state’s most severe penalty. They must control, care for, and contain a variety of offenders. The nature of the work, and the environment in which it is undertaken, has led to the role of the governor being described, in the past, as unique. They are viewed more as a general manager with an increase in responsibilities and demands. The purpose of this book is to develop further an understanding of how prisons are managed and by whom. It attempts to identify who governs the prisons, discusses the work that they do, and considers whether that work is different from the work of their predecessors. It considers whether the governor is still the key player in a prison and whether the success, or failure, of a prison depends more on the governor than on anything else. Interviews were conducted with 42 serving governors, to learn how they seek to achieve secure, safe, and productive prisons. The book is divided into eight chapters: (1) a description of the research process; (2) and (3) trace the development of the role and work of governors; (4) explore how the role of governor has changed under external pressures; (5) a description of the demographic and social characteristics of the 42 governors interviewed; (6) exploration of prison governorship; (7) analysis of the governors’ current role; and (8) the implications of the research. Tables, appendix and references