Abstract
This chapter considers the topic of leisure within the distinctive socio-spatial context of both youth and adult custodial institutions. While the study of leisure is predominantly concerned with how individuals spend their ‘free’ time, leisure within prisons poses a number of different issues and questions. As this chapter demonstrates ‘prison leisure’ is often geared towards ‘killing time’, thereby posing challenges to the association of leisure with ideas of voluntarism. The purpose of this chapter is, therefore, to critically assess the appeal—and subversion—of the deviant leisure perspective within the unique social world of a prison. This chapter draws on an extensive and ongoing multi-site ethnographic study to explore the ways in which prisoners use the large amounts of empty, unstructured time to create and pursue opportunities for forms of leisure which mirror and reproduce leisure pursuits and activities enjoyed in the community, recategorised here for the prison context as cellular leisure, regulated leisure and institutionalised leisure.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
In addition to the authors, it should also be noted that this includes Professor James Treadwell who contributed to the data collection which informs this chapter as part of a wider project.
References
Abbott, J. (1991). In the Belly of the Beast: Letters from Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Alber, J. (2007). Narrating the Prison: Role and Representation in Charles Dickens’ Novels, Twentieth Century Fiction, and Film. New York: Cambria Press.
Barrett, D. (2015, February 11). Concerns Over ‘Holiday Camp’ Jails. The Telegraph.
Burrows, T. (2016, May 25). F∗∗k the System: Facebook Page ‘Set Up to by Prisoners’ Devoted to Violent Videos Filmed Behind Bars Reveals the Brutal Beatings and Chaos Inside Britain’s Jails. Daily Mail.
Cederstrom, C., & Fleming, P. (2012). Dead Man Working. Alresford: Zero Books.
Clarke, P. (2017). Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales. Annual Report 2016–2017. HC 208. London: The Stationery Office.
Cohen, S., & Taylor, L. (1972). Psychological Survival: Experiences of Long-Term Imprisonment. London: Penguin.
Crewe, B. (2009). The Prisoner Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Crewe, B. (2011). Depth, Weight and Tightness: Revisiting the Pains of Imprisonment. Punishment and Society, 13(5), 509–529.
Crewe, B. (2015). Inside the Belly of the Penal Beast: Understanding the Experience of Imprisonment. The International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 4(1), 50–65.
Crewe, B., Hulley, S., & Wright, S. (2017). Swimming with the Tide: Adapting to Long-Term Imprisonment. Justice Quarterly, 34(3), 517–541.
Drury, I. (2016, April 1). The Cushiest Jail in Britain: Prisoners Will Have Telephones in Their ‘Rooms’ so They Can Say ‘Goodnight’ to Their Children and Warders Must Knock Before Entering. Daily Mail.
Dullum, J., & Ugelvik, T. (2012). Penal Exceptionalism? Nordic Prison Policy and Practice. London: Routledge.
Foucault, M. (1980). Prison Talk. In C. Gordon (Ed.), Power/Knowledge: Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972–77. New York: Pantheon Books.
Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. London: Penguin.
Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. New York: Anchor.
Gooch, K., & Treadwell, J. (2015). Prison Bullying and Victimisation. University of Birmingham, Birmingham. ISBN: 978-0-7044-2859-1. Retrieved from birmingham.ac.uk/prisonbullying.
Gooch, K., & Treadwell, J. (in progress). Transforming the Violent Prison. Palgrave.
Gooch, K., Trent, R., & Treadwell, J. (2015). Preventing and Reducing Prison Bullying. Prison Service Journal, 221, 25–29.
Hayward, K., & Smith, O. (2017). Crime and Consumer Culture. In A. Liebling, S. Maruna, & L. McAra (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Criminology (6th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hogan, B. (2010). The Presentation of Self in the Age of Social Media: Distinguishing Performances and Exhibitions Online. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society 30(6), 377–386.
Hope, C. (2012, September 28). 3,000 Prisoners Allowed to Watch Subscription Sky TV. The Telegraph.
Hulley, S., Crewe, B., & Wright, S. (2016). Re-Examining the Problems of Long Term Imprisonment. British Journal of Criminology, 56(4), 769–792.
Jewkes, Y. (2002). Captive Audience: Media, Masculinity and Power in Prisons. Cullompton: Willan.
Jewkes, Y. (2005). Men Behind Bars: “Doing” Masculinity as an Adaptation to Imprisonment. Men and Masculinities, 8(1), 44–63.
Liebling, A. (2008). Incentives and Earned Privileges Revisited: Fairness, Discretion and the Quality of Prison Life. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 9, 25–41.
Liebling, A. (2011). Moral Performance, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment, and Prison Pain. Punishment and Society, 13(5), 530–555.
Matthews, R. (2009). Doing Time: An Introduction to the Sociology of Imprisonment. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Meek, R. (2013). Sport in Prison: Exploring the Role of Physical Activity in Correctional Settings. London: Routledge.
Mendelson, A. L., & Papacharissi, Z. (2010). Look at Us: Collective Narcissism in College Student Facebook Photo Galleries. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites (pp. 251–273). New York: Routledge.
Ministry of Justice. (2016). Prison Safety and Reform. Cm9350. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
O’Donnell, I. (2004). Prison Rape in Context. British Journal of Criminology, 44, 241–255.
O’Donnell, I. (2014). Prisoners, Solitude and Time. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sabo, D., Kupers, T.A., & London, W. (2001). Prison Masculinities. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Scheerhout, J. (2016, October 12). Shocking Prison Footage Shows Naked Prisoners ‘High on Spice’ Pretending to Be Fight Dogs. The Mirror.
Sim, J. (1994). Tougher than the Rest? Men in Prison. In B. Stanko & T. Newburn (Eds.), Just Boys Doing Business: Men, Masculinities and Crime. London and New York: Routledge.
Sloan, J. (2016). Masculinities and the Adult Male Experience. London: Palgrave.
Smith, O. (2014). Contemporary Adulthood and the Night Time Economy. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Smith, O., & Raymen, T. (2016). Deviant Leisure – A Criminological Perspective. Theoretical Criminology 22(1), 1–20.
Stacey, A. (2017a, May 24). Teen Jailed for Stabbing Attack Posts Brazen Instagram Pictures from Prison Cell. Birmingham Mail.
Stacey, A. (2017b, February 18). Brutal Fight Filmed in Midlands Prison Bathroom. Birmingham Mail.
Sykes, G. (1958). The Society of Captives. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
The Mirror. (2017a, January 3). Crack Dealer Prisoner Posts Videos and Photos on Instagram of Wild Christmas Party with Inmates in Santa Hats. The Mirror.
The Mirror. (2017b, February 6). ‘Fight Club’ Footage from Inside Riot-Hit UK Prison Shows Inmate Being Battered as Crowd Screams “Finish Him”. The Mirror.
The Telegraph. (2011, September 26). Slopping Out Case: Life of Luxury in British Jails. The Telegraph.
Young, J. (2007). The Vertigo of Late Modernity. London: Sage.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gooch, K., Sheldon, D. (2019). Holiday Camps, Prison Time and Confined Escapism: Understanding Leisure, Pleasure and Harm in Prisons. In: Raymen, T., Smith, O. (eds) Deviant Leisure. Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17736-2_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-17736-2_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-17735-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-17736-2
eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)