No Prisoner Left Behind? Enhancing Public Transparency of Penal Institutions
Prisoners suffer life-long debilitating effects of their incarceration, making them a subordinated class of people for life. This article examines how prison conditions facilitate subordination and concludes that enhancing transparency is the first step towards equality. Anti-subordination efforts led to enhanced transparency in schools, a similar but not identical institution. This article argues that federal school transparency measures provide a rudimentary and balanced framework for enhancing prison transparency.
“The Prison System Doesn’t Make It Comfortable to Visit”: Prison Visitation From the Perspectives of People Incarcerated and Family Members
While extensive research documents the causes and impacts of incarceration, the effects on families are under discussion. Prison visitation is one mechanism to help families communicate and bond, yet the institutions and restrictive policies often create distinct barriers and stressors. This qualitative descriptive study examines experiences and perceptions of visitation through focus groups with 77 people incarcerated and interviews with 21 family members in one southeastern U.S. state. Using thematic analysis, three major themes were developed through qualitative coding of participants’ responses: financial and time-related burdens, stress from rules and regulations, and familial interactions. Our findings highlight that although visitation can help maintain social bonds among families, the barriers, processes, and procedures overshadow the visit itself. The weight of such stressors is especially felt by immediate family members and women who visit. The findings are discussed in light of implications for correctional policy and future visitation research.
Drug Testing in Public Agencies: Are Personnel Directors Doing Things Right?
The results of a survey of 300 public agencies personnel directors are reported. The report describes the drug and alcohol testing policies and procedures now used by these respondents. The implications of the survey results are evaluated in terms of critical issues of personnel management practice and public policy: (1) the protection of employees' constitutional rights, (2) the public's right to an effective public service, and (3) management's need to reduce liability risks and to increase program effectiveness.