Criminal justice policies: Trends and their impact on prison health

Abstract

The general theme for this conference is ‘prisons and public health’. Therefore, let me begin with an obvious, but often ignored point, by saying: the best tool for improved prison health is to reduce the prison population. Such a measure would also reduce crime, but I ignore that point here, and concentrate on health. Punishment is intended delivery of pain. Prisons represent a major instrument for the delivery of that pain. Those working in the prisons do much to alleviate pain, as beautifully illustrated by Alison Liebling (2004) in her book Prisons and their moral performance. In individual cases, prisoners might also profit from spending some time in prison.2 None the less, prisons are close relatives to capital punishment. Not the whole life, but parts, of a person’s life is taken. I have never been able to forget an elderly man I once met in the major prison in Oslo. ‘Spring is the worst’, he said. ‘Not because of the explosions in green pleasures outside, but because it was in spring that I was imprisoned. Each new spring is a reminder that one more year is lost. There are not so many left.’

Citation

Christie, N. (2006), "Criminal justice policies: Trends and their impact on prison health", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 63-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449200600744626