The "Rehabilitation Prison": An oxymoron or an opportunity to radically reform imprisonment?

Prisons are experiencing numerous problems: rising numbers, 'new' populations requiring specialised care (e.g. elderly men, military veterans); an ageing and dilapidated estate that spatially exacerbates effects of overcrowding; a preoccupation with security at the expense of other goals; an influx of new and dangerous drugs and illegal phones; and unprecedented numbers of deaths in custody. In response to these crises, the Government is undertaking an ambitious modernisation programme (the first for 60 years), at the core of which is up to nine new prison builds and the provision of an extra 10,000 prison places. These plans represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity, not only to build modern fit-for-purpose facilities but to reassess what prisons are for and what they can aspire to achieve. In the current era, punishment and rehabilitation are the paradoxical twin drivers of policy, made and implemented within a context of 'effectiveness' and 'efficiency' which, ministers argue, are goals best served by the economies of scale offered by very large prisons. Consequently, despite a wealth of scholarship finding smaller facilities to be better at housing prisoners safely, providing meaningful work, education and training, encouraging purposeful activity, and fostering healthy relationships between prisoners and staff, the Government remains committed to constructing 1000+ bed 'mega-prisons'.

Meanwhile, prisoners are often ill-prepared for release at the end of their sentence, and a return to society can be experienced as a welcome but ultimately catastrophic event. Factors inhibiting successful resettlement include: long-term health problems caused by exposure to overcrowded, brutalising and/or insanitary custodial environments; broken family ties due to remote location of prisons and poor visiting arrangements; unresolved violence and substance misuse issues; limited job prospects due to poor educational attainment and the acquisition of a criminal record; and, for long-term prisoners, lack of experience with the basic, essential technologies that are required to function in modern society. In this context, rehabilitation can seem a forlorn ambition, so the opening of HMP Berwyn in 2017 - described by media as the 'poster child of Britain's super prisons' (BBC, 28 Feb 2017) - is a significant milestone. With capacity for 2,106 inmates, it is (along with Oakwood in England) the second largest prison in Europe, and the largest publicly-run prison in England and Wales. It is also the cheapest to operate, with anticipated costs of just £14,000 per prisoner per year, compared to the national average of £32,500. Yet Berwyn is also the first custodial facility in England and Wales to be designated a 'Rehabilitation Prison' and embed a 'rehabilitative culture' from the outset. If successful in this mission, Berwyn will be a 'flagship' model for the next phase of prisons to be constructed by 2021.

Conducted by a team based at the Universities of Leicester and Kent, and at HMP Berwyn, the study will empirically investigate the extent to which Berwyn can deliver on its promise of rehabilitation, and will employ its findings to inform current and future debates about how prisons might be designed and operated. Following the applicants' existing ESRC-funded research and using the key stakeholder relationships and networks established during those projects, the intent is to innovate in two important ways: i) the research findings will inform knowledge and debates now as well as in future - impact will not come at the end of the study, but will be embedded from the start; ii) it will move beyond traditional 'top-down' research methods, and will fully involve prisoners and staff as co-producers of data. Challenging conventional wisdom and taken-for-granted assumptions, the proposed project is imaginative, significant and timely.

Who will benefit?
- Berwyn's managers, staff and prisoners (and their families);
- MOJ prison estate transformation team and others responsible for the modernisation agenda;
- Senior leaders tasked with designing, building & operating forthcoming prisons;
- Ministers, correctional personnel etc. who are planning new prisons within a similar timescale (e.g. Scotland, NI, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, USA);
- Her Majesty's Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS);
- Public/Third Sector organizations directly involved in prison operation and governance, e.g. Parole Board, HM Inspectorate, Prisons & Probation Ombudsman, Prison Reform Trust, Inquest, Howard League for Penal Reform;
- Private contractors awarded future DCFM contracts or variations thereof;
- Prison architects/planners;
- Local Authorities; the communities in which Berwyn and other new prisons are located;
- The wider public.

How?
At a macro level, the project will generate data to inform policy and practice in and beyond the UK. With up to nine new prisons currently planned for construction in England & Wales, the study has significant impact potential among high-end stakeholders. In addition, given the global corrections industry interest generated by Berwyn, the study has potential to impact policy and planning in other countries. The research seeks answers to questions e.g: might some ground-breaking initiatives being tried at Berwyn be successfully incorporated into other new prisons in the UK and elsewhere? Could individual prisons, the Prison Service and society at large benefit from designing and building prisons that normalise the custodial experience and adopt as their primary goal the rehabilitation of offenders? Given that financial constraints and economies of scale have resulted in a commitment to build very large prisons (1000+), to what extent is it possible to make 'big feel small'? Addressing such questions in the context of a new, super-sized rehabilitation prison will enable planners, policymakers, architects and other professional practitioners to develop custodial designs based on actual experience of the individuals who live and work in prisons, rather than on assumptions made about end users and their needs.

At a 'meso' level, then, the primary beneficiaries are senior managers, staff and prisoners, who are rarely consulted about 'what works' regarding prison design, environment and culture. The study will inform future development of policy/practice at Berwyn, ultimately improving outcomes for those who live and work there. In seeking to better understand the lived experience and the intended/unintended consequences of the implementation of a rehabilitation culture, recommendations will be made to ensure that senior managers realise their aim of creating a safe, decent, secure and just prison where the men are assisted to progress their rehabilitative journey. If successful in this regard, the study has potential to benefit prisoners' families, the communities in which prisons are located, and society more widely.

At a micro level, in addition to potentially improving the lives and future prospects of all prisoners at Berwyn the study will provide additional benefits to those prisoners recruited to the research team. It is proposed that around 20 men will be trained to conduct interviews and participate in the photography project. It is also hoped that a prisoner can be identified to register for a PhD attached to the project (at no cost; to be funded by UoL). As well as giving the men new skills in research, we anticipate the co-production of data will have a morale-boosting impact and will itself be regarded as an aspect of the rehabilitation culture.

Finally, the project has potential for significant public engagement. Media interest in Berwyn is high and, with social media accounts created by the local community, there is opportunity to disseminate ideas and gain opinions.