Surviving Incarceration: Inside Canadian Prisons

Is prison a humane form of punishment and an effective means of rehabilitation? Are current prison policies, such as shifting resources away from rehabilitation toward housing more offenders, improving the safety and lives of incarcerated populations?

Considering that many Canadians have served time, are currently incarcerated, or may one day be incarcerated–and will be released back into society–it is essential for the functioning and betterment of communities that we understand the realities that shape the prison experience for adult male offenders. Surviving Incarceration reveals the unnecessary and omnipresent violence in prisons, the heterogeneity of the prisoner population, and the realities that different prisoners navigate in order to survive.

Ricciardelli draws on interviews with almost sixty former federal prisoners to show how their criminal convictions, masculinity, and sexuality determined their social status in prison and, in consequence, their potential for victimization. The book outlines the modern "inmate code" that governs prisoner behaviours, the formal controls put forth by the administration, the dynamics that shape sex-offender experiences of incarceration, and the personal growth experiences of many prisoners as they cope with incarceration.

Introduction

Rose Ricciardelli

The introductory chapter explores the Canadian corrections environment, current legislative changes and presents the theoretical and empirical underpinning of the book. The scope of the project is presented as well as the need for incarceration to be understood in order to reduce the stigmatic barriers between prisoners, prisons, communities and mainstream society. 

Chapter One

Rose Ricciardelli

Chapter one provides an overview of the current Canadian federal prison system as well as the former prisoners whose personal experiences compose the empirical data. The objective is to explain how prisons and prisoners are ‘classified’ in Canada, what differentiates the federal corrections experiences from the provincial, and to use this information to present the men whose stories make up this book with details about the methods used to collect and analyze this information.   

Chapter Two

Rose Ricciardelli

In Chapter two the hierarchy evident among the prison population is outlined with an explicit focus on how it is structured by the interconnected statuses associated with each prisoner’s criminality, masculinity, and sexuality; which they must negotiate to acquire social status in prison. The emphasis is on the heterogeneity of the prisoner population and, theoretically, the role of prisoners’ perceptions of being safe or unsafe in the construction and maintenance of this hierarchy.

Chapter Three

Rose Ricciardelli

The focus in chapter three is the administration of the penal institutions as well as the realities of violence within the prisons. Theories of prison and incarceration are reviewed with a focus on explicit or implicit violent nature of correctional institutions and the role of informal and formal controls at the disposal of the prison administration or management in shaping prisoner behaviours. 

Chapter Four

Rose Ricciardelli

In chapter four, the ‘inmate code’ or informal behavioural guidelines that shape how prisoners must behave when incarcerated to manage the risks underlying the prison experience is explored. A revised ‘modern’ inmate code is presented that builds on past scholarly work and represents the experiences of Canadian former-prisoners.

Chapter Five

Rose Ricciardelli

Chapter five begins with an explanation of who constitutes a sex offender with an emphasis on the difference between pedophiles and sex offenders. The penal experiences of sex offenders are then explored as well as the factors contributing to that experience. 

Chapter Six

Rose Ricciardelli

In Chapter six, the experiences of remorse and personal change experienced by some prisoners and a look at what does not ‘work’ in corrections are examined. The focus is on what is present and what is needed for resources and programs in the institutions in light of shortcomings in the system as identified by former prisoner. 

Chapter Seven

Rose Ricciardelli

Chapter seven speaks to what the future of Criminal Justice in Canada may ‘look like’. The changing infrastructure of prisons is also examined alongside how such changes may affect prisoner well-being and rehabilitation in the future.