Preventing Prison Violence

Preventing Prison Violence introduces the idea of 'prison ecologies' - a multi-layered perspective to understanding prison violence as a 'product' of human, environment (social and physical), systemic, and societal influences - and how an ecological approach is helpful to prevention efforts.

Armon J. Tamatea (Rongowhak-ta; Te Aitanga-a-M-haki), PhD., PGDipPsych(Clin) is a clinical psychologist who served as a clinician and senior research advisor for Ara Poutama Aotearoa/Department of Corrections (New Zealand) before being appointed senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. He has worked extensively in the assessment and treatment of violent and sexual offenders and contributed to the design and implementation of an experimental prison-based violence prevention programme for high-risk offenders diagnosed with psychopathy. His research interests include institutional violence, psychopathy, New Zealand gang communities, and exploring culturally informed approaches to offender management. Armon currently divides his professional time between research, teaching, supervision, and clinical practice in the criminal justice arena. Andrew J. Day is an enterprise professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne, Australia. His interests are in criminological psychology, especially the development of interventions to improve wellbeing and reduce risk. David J. Cooke is a chartered forensic and chartered clinical psychologist in Australian Catholic University. He has long-standing research and clinical interests in violence risk; including the risks created by the ecologies of institutions. He is a co-author of PRISM and has carried out PRISM evaluations in institutions in many countries.

Introduction: Steps to an Ecology of Prisons PART ONE: KEY KNOWLEDGE Chapter 1: Understanding Prison Violence: An Ecological Perspective Chapter 2: Prison Violence: Definition and Measurement Chapter 3: Toward a Gendered Ecological Approach for Understanding Prison Violence Chapter 4: Elucidating the Ecology of Prisons: A look through the PRISM Chapter 5: Preventing Prison Violence PART TWO: VIOLENCE IN CONTEXT Chapter 6: New Zealand Prison Violence: History, Prevalence and Organisational Responses Chapter 7: What Do People in Prison Think about Violence? Chapter 8: Correctional Staff: Roles and Experiences PART THREE: CRITICAL ISSUES Chapter 9 Critical issue 1: Colonialism, Settler Colonialism, and Supporting Indigenous as Violent Chapter 10: Critical issue 2: Gangs Chapter 11 Critical Issue 3: Prison Social Climates Chapter 12: Critical Issue 4: The Prison Environment PART FOUR: POSSIBILITIES AND SOLUTIONS Chapter 13: An Approach to Preventing Prison Violence Chapter 14: Exploring the Wicked Problem of Violence in Prison: Capturing the Complexity of Contexts Chapter 15: Violence in Prisons: What Have We Learned So Far?