Inmate Radicalisation and Recruitment in Prisons

Rezensionen / Stimmen

"How best to manage terrorists in prison, and to ensure that ordinary prisoners are not radicalized during their time in custody, are key issues confronting authorities around the world. Some favour isolation or segregation of convicted terrorists, while others advocate their integration in the general prison community. However, prisons vary widely within and between countries in terms of resources, administrative practices, inmate culture, and the role of religion in prisoner management. Consequently, there can be no "one size fits all" solution to the challenge of prisoner radicalization. The authors of this excellent book warn us against the risks of counterproductive initiatives, and sound a loud and clear call for evidence-based policy in this crucial policy space."

Peter Grabosky, Emeritus Professor, School of Regulation and Global Governance, Australian National University

"Using a wealth of ethnographic data, the book provides a fascinating look at punitive correctional policies aimed at violent extremists while also providing promising suggestions for reform. A great addition to the existing literature on terrorism that focuses on prison environments and inmate culture."

Bryan F. Bubolz, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA

"Inmate Radicalisation and Recruitment in Prisons is a comprehensive consideration of the policy dilemmas of terrorist offenders in prison. It elegantly surveys what we know from prisons in the west and Asia. The book grapples with the complexities of the policy choices. All options risk both radicalization of other prisoners by violent extremists and deradicalization of violent extremists by prison gangs, religious leaders and other social formations inside prisons. Clarke Jones and Raymund Narag have wide experience, especially in the Philippines and Australia, with violent extremists inside. They have dug deep to bring important new information and insights to the world. They reveal counterproductive programs that put Muslim offenders who have had nothing to do with terrorism into deradicalization programs! In choosing between dispersal and segregation of terrorists, consideration must be given to their ratio to non-terrorist prison populations that tend to disapprove terrorism. In most contexts these ratios are small and an option becomes to isolate only exceptionally charismatic proselytizers. Jones and Narag's book is full of fascinating findings such as that inmates tend to be patriots; they break the inmate code by snitching to prison authorities on terrorist propagantists. Therefore, the book makes a novel case for shared self-governance and better prison conditions on the Scandinavian model as a terrorism prevention policy. This is a nuanced book. Its most important conclusion is for a contextually nuanced analysis of what goes on within the diverse cultures of different prisons."

Professor John Braithwaite, Distinguished Professor, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Australia

"In the post 9/11 era there has been great pressure to move toward retributive based penal systems. In their brave new book, Clarke Jones and Raymond Narag challenge the prevailing system in much of the world. Offering insights from ten years of longitudinal participant observation research in the Philippines and a comparative study of eight other correctional systems in the Asia Pacific and Europe, this excellent and ground breaking book provides valuable evidence-based research with respect to gang subcultures, violent extreme offenders and Islamic radicals about how to best house terrorist offenders to reduce the chances of prison radicalisation and promote rehabilitation."

Michael Stohl, Director, Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, Professor of Communication, Political Science and Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA