Charity Punishment

Punishment and Charity: Beyond Contracts, Beyond Foucault

Philippa Tomczak, from the The University of Manchester, made a contribution to the 2012 Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, in the category “Crime and Society,” under the title “Punishment and Charity: Beyond Contracts, Beyond Foucault”. Here is the abstract: Recent policy developments in England and Wales have created a new role for penal voluntary organisations: acting as ‘contractors’ for criminal justice agencies. A flurry of academic commentary has examined the impacts of this role. Although the role of penal voluntary organisations in punishment is increasingly alluded to, it remains insufficiently understood. I make a contribution towards this task, examining two key areas. First, recent commentary overlooks the informal relationships between the institutions of punishment and charities. I highlight the need to analyse more than the formalised contractual arrangements that form the basis of existing literature. Second, the body of literature draws on the Foucaldian account, suggesting that the relationship between the penal voluntary sector and the criminal justice system may enhance control and maximise regulatory power. I propose that a more pluralistic account is required and examine how charities can ‘humanise’ prisoners.[rtbs name=”criminology”]

Resources

See Also

Further Reading

• “Punishment and Charity: Beyond Contracts, Beyond Foucault”, by Philippa Tomczak (Proceedings)