
The Working Lives of Prison Managers
Global Change, Local Culture and Individual Agency in the Late Modern Prison
Jamie Bennett(Author)
Palgrave Macmillan (Publisher)
Published on 29. October 2015
Book
Hardback
VII, 279 pages
978-1-137-49894-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book offers the first ethnographic account of prison managers in England. It explores how globalised changes, in particular managerialism, have intersected with local occupational cultures, positioning managers as micro-agents in the relationship between the global and local that characterises late modernity.
The Working Lives of Prison Managers addresses key aspects of prison management, including how individuals become prison managers, their engagement with elements of traditional occupational culture, and the impact of the 'age of austerity'. It offers a particular focus on performance monitoring mechanisms such as indicators, audits and inspections, and how these intersect with local culture and individual identity. The book also examinesimportant aspects of individual agency, including values, discretion, resistance and the use of power. It also reveals the 'hidden injuries' of contemporary prison managerialism, especially the distinctive effects experienced by women and members of minority ethnic groups.
The Working Lives of Prison Managers addresses key aspects of prison management, including how individuals become prison managers, their engagement with elements of traditional occupational culture, and the impact of the 'age of austerity'. It offers a particular focus on performance monitoring mechanisms such as indicators, audits and inspections, and how these intersect with local culture and individual identity. The book also examinesimportant aspects of individual agency, including values, discretion, resistance and the use of power. It also reveals the 'hidden injuries' of contemporary prison managerialism, especially the distinctive effects experienced by women and members of minority ethnic groups.
More details
Series
Edition
1st ed. 2015
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
VII, 279 p.
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
481 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-137-49894-6 (9781137498946)
DOI
10.1057/9781137498953
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Jamie Bennett
The Working Lives of Prison Managers
Global Change, Local Culture and Individual Agency in the Late Modern Prison
E-Book
02/2016
Palgrave Macmillan
€96.29
Available for download

Jamie Bennett
The Working Lives of Prison Managers
Global Change, Local Culture and Individual Agency in the Late Modern Prison
Book
01/2014
Palgrave Macmillan
€96.29
The article will not be published
Person
Jamie Bennett has been a prison manager since 1996 and is currently Governor of HMP Grendon and Springhill, UK. He is also a Research Associate at the University of Oxford, UK, and has edited the Prison Service Journal since 2004. He has written widely on prisons and was awarded a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, UK.
Content
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. A New Approach to Understanding Prison Managers.- Chapter 3. "...It Just Happened": Becoming a Prison Manager.- Chapter 4. "I Wouldn't Ask You To Do Something I Wouldn't Do Myself": Prison Managers and Prison Office Culture.- Chapter 5. "Our Core Business": Prison Managers, Hard Performance Monitoring and Managerialism.- Chapter 6. "...They've Got an Axe to Grind": Prison Managers, Soft Performance Monitoring and Managerialism.- Chapter 7. "We Haven't Quite Been Turned Into Robots Yet": The Role of Individuality and Subjectivity in Prison Management.- Chapter 8. The Hidden Injuries of Prison Management.- Chapter 9. Prison Managerialism and Beyond.- Afterword. "It's a New Way, But... What Have They Lost?": Prison Managerialism in an Age of Austerity.