Narratives of hope: small stories of desistance; building social capital amid on-going Covid 19 restrictions at HMP/YOI Winchester

Penal reform is necessary, urgent, and indicative of our moral and ethical compass. The UK's prison system has, 'the highest imprisonment rates in western Europe, with more than 44% reconvicted of another offence within one year of release. For those who have served more than 10 previous custodial sentences the rate of reoffending rises to 77%.' (PRT, 2022, p. 2). Prisons are inherently oppressive environments, and can be, 'brutalising with many inmates trapped in squalid, dirty and disgraceful cells' (Clarke, 2017). This context has been intensified following nearly two years of severe restrictions brought about by the Covid 19 pandemic, and a 'decade of declining standards in prisons in England and Wales' (PRT, 2021).
The 2016 Coates review highlights the potential of rehabilitation to, 'transform individuals' lives and contribute to building safer communities and reducing the significant financial and social costs of reoffending (UK annual estimate £9.5-£13 billion)'. Rehabilitation is an inherently complex, problematic, and debated term. Martinson (1974) established the 'nothing works' doctrine, this was revised by McGuire (2004) with 'what works'. Maruna (2019) asserts that neither 'what works' or 'desistance' research is capable of producing a 'secret formula' to reduce crime, but we still need all possible social science evidence to make sense out of the 'complexity of crime'. This
ethnographic study address this by investigating the value of prison theatre education (theatre devised by prisoners) for framing rehabilitation as social capital and desistance as set against a prison context described as 'de
sperate' (Howard League for Prison Reform, 2022).
The current government prioritises rehabilitative education as, 'the attainment of academic qualifications and practical skills, so prisoners are, equipped for work on release' (MoJ, 2021). However, this fails to address the complex hierarchy of social and emotional human needs of prisoners. The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) (2021) asserts that access t
o arts and creative activity is essential for more holistic prisoner health and wellbeing, and therefore these activities have a crucial role to play. However, prison-based arts practices often, 'rely too much on anecdotal evidence' (MoJ, 2019) to be able to demonstrate efficacy in relation to supporting theories of desistance.
To address this gap, this ethnographic study seeks to understand and evidence the contribution of prison theatre within a rehabilitative context focused on desistance and the development of social capital. The study will con
sider how desistance theories (Cernkovich et al.,2002; Maruna et al., 2019) are evident in prisoner's accounts of their experiences. Todd-Kvam (2021) asserts that desistance develops at 'micro levels' and is supported by social networks and relationships. Desistance is typically understood to be 'more than just an absence of crime, it is the maintenance of crime-free behaviour and is an active process in itself. It is a journey that involves the pursuit of a positive life' (Maruna, 2007, p. 652).
Social capital, 'has received little attention in the prison setting' (Butler et al. 2016, p. 1). Bourdieu (1986) states that social capital is built on the potential of individuals to secure benefits and invent solutions to problems through membership in social networks. The study will consider how desistance and social capital emerge in prisoners' new narratives in custody and post release, and how they might inform new modalities of rehabilitation that precede long-term life change.
The research presents a rare opportunity to access HMP/YOI Winchester; described by HM Chief Inspector of prisons as 'one of the 'most troubled and violent prisons in the country' with 'prisoners not having enough to do' and feeling 'bored and frustrated by the lack of activity' (2022).