The (Racialised) 'Gang' as a Feature of Institutional Practice: The Case of 'Joint Enterprise'

This research aims to contribute to the empirical understanding of women's imprisonment and the impact of secondary liability doctrine Joint Enterprise (JE). It will seek to understand the experience of women imprisoned as a result of an association with their male partner. Further, it will elucidate the role of gender
and race in JE convictions. After attending a guest talk from JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association), I became aware of the adverse impact of JE - the injustices that can result from an attempt to obtain 'justice'. Although JE disproportionately affects young black men (Williams and Clarke, 2016),
JENGbA campaigners were mostly women related to a male JE prisoner. Witnessing the impact imprisonment has on prisoners' families encouraged me to explore the experience of women who had been in relationships with imprisoned men in my undergraduate dissertation research.