Families and imprisonment - considering how English and Scottish policy constructs experiences across family systems in England and Scotland

England and Scotland have the highest rates of imprisonment in Western Europe. Estimates suggest over 300, 000 children in England (and Wales); and 16, 500 in Scotland have a parent in prison. Including all family members will increase these numbers greatly. Once called the 'Cinderella of penology'
(Shaw, 1987) the last two decades have seen rapid growth in academic research into these families. Research has exposed the negative financial and material (Braman, 2004; Dickie, 2014) emotional and relational (Arditti, 2012, 2018) implications for imprisonment
across families. This literature has highlighted the systemic and symbiotic nature of the harms of imprisonment across a family (Condry and Minson, 2020; Hasley and Deegan, 2015) and the need for both English and Scottish policy to better consider families'
rights and wellbeing (Hutton, Forthcoming; Jardine, 2019). However, penal policy across both jurisdictions remains focussed narrowly on prisoner rehabilitation, considering families primarily as instruments to support this.
My research will be the first comparative study of prisoners' families across
England-Scotland. It is premised on the idea that families' experiences of imprisonment are socially constructed,
and national and local penal policy are part of the exercise of that social construction. Despite their proximity, and similar nature of the criticism of both systems, the English and Scottish justice systems vary according to distinct cultural-political histories,
differently structured policy machines and legal frameworks (McAra, 2008; 2016; Muncie, 2010). While existing literature reflects on different policy approaches - my research is the first to look empirically and in detail at how differing policy shaped experiences.
My research uses historical documentary analysis
of national and local policy documents concerning prisoners' families from the last fifteen years, considering the subtext of these documents and their wider socio-cultural context; as well as qualitative research with families across the two jurisdictions.
My analytical framework for interviews draws on family systems theory to explore how imprisonment, constructed in policy as an individual punishment, has reciprocal and symbiotic impacts across a family. The pairing and sequencing of these methods will allow
me to consider the particular processes of social construction between and within nations.
In focussing on the constructive role of policy,
my findings will help to more clearly articulate to policymakers the power their decisions have over families. Drawing on my own experiences as a policymaker, I have ambitious plans for knowledge exchange with government and other responsible agencies across
both nations. I am committed to bringing families' voices to the forefront of the normative debates surrounding the right policy approach to prisoner's families, seeking opportunities for co-authoring and joint advocacy.