- School of Social Policy and Criminology
Open University,
Gardiner Building 2,
Walton Hall,
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
David Scott
The Open University, Social Policy and Criminology, Faculty Member
- Criminology, Critical Criminology, Abolitionism, Penal Abolitionism, Prison Abolition, Social Divisions and Inequities, and 12 moreCritical Social Theory, Punishment and Prisons, Critical Prison Studies, European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, Prisons, detention and punishment, Philosophy, Sociology, Ethics, Human Rights, Social Murder, Massacres in History, and Social protestsedit
- Dr David Gordon Scott @dgscott2 has worked at the Open University since September 2016. In 2019 he was a Visiting Pro... moreDr David Gordon Scott @dgscott2 has worked at the Open University since September 2016. In 2019 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Toronto.
David is a qualified teacher and was awarded an MA (with distinction) in Crime, Deviance and Social Policy from Lancaster University in 1996 and a doctorate under the supervision of Professor Barbara Hudson from the University of Central Lancashire in 2006.
David has taught criminology to undergraduate and postgraduate students since 1994, working previously at Edge Hill University, Durham New College, the University of Northumbria at Newcastle, the University of Central Lancashire and Liverpool John Moores University. He has published widely on critical criminology, prison abolition, penal abolition, socialist ethics, harms of power and liberative justice..
Recent book titles include; For Abolition, Envisioning Abolition, Abolitionist Voices and Demystifying Power, Crime and Social Harm.
Google Scholar link:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=cA8HTbUAAAAJ
Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Gordon_Scott
The Open University:
https://www.open.ac.uk/people/ds25349#tab1edit
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Abolitionist thought visualises a world without prisons – or a radical reduction or transformation of prisons and punishment. This fascinating book explores the abolitionist ideas of key early socialists and anarchists, writing from the... more
Abolitionist thought visualises a world without prisons – or a radical reduction or transformation of prisons and punishment. This fascinating book explores the abolitionist ideas of key early socialists and anarchists, writing from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. It considers how these radical thinkers can provide insights into our present condition, both by highlighting the harms of punishment and by pointing to inspiring alternatives to current policy and practice.
By examining their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination and repression, the book shows how the ideas of early socialists and anarchists can assist those engaging in emancipatory struggles against penal and social injustice today.
By examining their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination and repression, the book shows how the ideas of early socialists and anarchists can assist those engaging in emancipatory struggles against penal and social injustice today.
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Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment? And why have their ideas been so difficult to popularise or garner the political will for change? This book outlines several different approaches to... more
Why have so many radical thinkers advocated for the abolition of prisons and punishment? And why have their ideas been so difficult to popularise or garner the political will for change? This book outlines several different approaches to penal abolitionism and showcases their calls for the ending of legal coercion, domination, and repression.
This exciting and innovative edited collection shows how abolitionist ideas have continued topicality and relevance in the present day and how they can collectively help with devising new ways of thinking about social problems as well as suggesting alternatives to existing penal policies, practices and institutions.
This exciting and innovative edited collection shows how abolitionist ideas have continued topicality and relevance in the present day and how they can collectively help with devising new ways of thinking about social problems as well as suggesting alternatives to existing penal policies, practices and institutions.
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Steven Box’s book Power, Crime and Mystification was published in 1983. This path-breaking book came exactly a decade after Taylor et al’s The New Criminology which not only brought a new critical perspective to criminology but also... more
Steven Box’s book Power, Crime and Mystification was published in 1983. This path-breaking book came exactly a decade after Taylor et al’s The New Criminology which not only brought a new critical perspective to criminology but also generated a rich body of new work in its path which challenged not only the dominant discourses around crime but also the claim that state institutions were neutral in how power was exercised. As the new criminologists recognized, such a position was impossible in a society that was deeply divided between the powerful and the powerless.
Power, Crime and Mystification crystalized and brought together many of the themes which had been identified by critical criminologists over the previous decade and had a major impact on its publication. In six chapters, Box brilliantly argued for the deconstruction of official discourse around crime situating his analysis firmly in the context of power, powerlessness and social divisions and the demystification of what actions were harmful to the wider society. He did his through critically considering a range of case studies in relation to corporate crime, police crime rape and female crime. In between the four case studies, Box considered how definitions of crime had to be demystified within the context of moving from criminal justice to social justice and developing structures of democratic accountability to ensure justice for all.
This collection is designed both to revisit the original text and to consider its relevance thirty years on. It will make direct reference to the critical analysis developed by Box in 1983 and critically analyses the continuities and discontinuities since that time in relation to crime, the state and the exercise/mystification of power.
The chapters will be ordered thematically following the logic of the original text and will assess the contribution of each to critical criminology at that time, the conjectural moment of the first Thatcher government.
Edited by David Scott and Joe Sim
Power, Crime and Mystification crystalized and brought together many of the themes which had been identified by critical criminologists over the previous decade and had a major impact on its publication. In six chapters, Box brilliantly argued for the deconstruction of official discourse around crime situating his analysis firmly in the context of power, powerlessness and social divisions and the demystification of what actions were harmful to the wider society. He did his through critically considering a range of case studies in relation to corporate crime, police crime rape and female crime. In between the four case studies, Box considered how definitions of crime had to be demystified within the context of moving from criminal justice to social justice and developing structures of democratic accountability to ensure justice for all.
This collection is designed both to revisit the original text and to consider its relevance thirty years on. It will make direct reference to the critical analysis developed by Box in 1983 and critically analyses the continuities and discontinuities since that time in relation to crime, the state and the exercise/mystification of power.
The chapters will be ordered thematically following the logic of the original text and will assess the contribution of each to critical criminology at that time, the conjectural moment of the first Thatcher government.
Edited by David Scott and Joe Sim
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This book brings together 60 contributions on penal abolition from people in prison, activists and scholars from all around the world. Co- Edited with Michael J Coyle,.
Published by Routledge.
Published by Routledge.
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For Abolition: Prisons and socialist ethics Contents Foreword: Joe Sim Preface Acknowledgements 1. For abolition: the prison puzzle and socialist ethics 2. Abolitionist ethical hermeneutics: hearing and interpreting... more
For Abolition:
Prisons and socialist ethics
Contents
Foreword: Joe Sim
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. For abolition: the prison puzzle and socialist ethics
2. Abolitionist ethical hermeneutics: hearing and interpreting voice
3. Invisible brutal hands: the problem of prison officer violence
4. Phantom faces at the window: prisons, dignity and moral exclusion
5. Prison is not a home: estrangement and the prison zone of abandonment
6. Falling softly to your grave: time consciousness and the death bound subject
7. Abolitionism as a philosophy of hope: system ‘inside-outsiders’, socialism and the reclaiming of democracy
8. Ordinary rebels, everyone: abolitionist scholarship and activism
9. The abolitionist imagination: ethics of empathy, dignity and life
Afterword
Bibliography
Prisons and socialist ethics
Contents
Foreword: Joe Sim
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. For abolition: the prison puzzle and socialist ethics
2. Abolitionist ethical hermeneutics: hearing and interpreting voice
3. Invisible brutal hands: the problem of prison officer violence
4. Phantom faces at the window: prisons, dignity and moral exclusion
5. Prison is not a home: estrangement and the prison zone of abandonment
6. Falling softly to your grave: time consciousness and the death bound subject
7. Abolitionism as a philosophy of hope: system ‘inside-outsiders’, socialism and the reclaiming of democracy
8. Ordinary rebels, everyone: abolitionist scholarship and activism
9. The abolitionist imagination: ethics of empathy, dignity and life
Afterword
Bibliography
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Foreword: Emma Bell Preface Chapter 1: Against imprisonment Chapter 2: Walking among the graves of the living Chapter 3: Escaping the logic of ‘crime’ Chapter 4: Justifications of punishment and questions of penal... more
Foreword: Emma Bell
Preface
Chapter 1: Against imprisonment
Chapter 2: Walking among the graves of the living
Chapter 3: Escaping the logic of ‘crime’
Chapter 4: Justifications of punishment and questions of penal legitimacy
Chapter 5: The changing face of the prison
Chapter 6: Problematising ‘common sense’ understandings of prison violence
Chapter 7: Contesting the spirit of death
Chapter 8: Saying NO to the mega prison
Chapter 9: Unequalled in pain
Bibliography
Preface
Chapter 1: Against imprisonment
Chapter 2: Walking among the graves of the living
Chapter 3: Escaping the logic of ‘crime’
Chapter 4: Justifications of punishment and questions of penal legitimacy
Chapter 5: The changing face of the prison
Chapter 6: Problematising ‘common sense’ understandings of prison violence
Chapter 7: Contesting the spirit of death
Chapter 8: Saying NO to the mega prison
Chapter 9: Unequalled in pain
Bibliography
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David Scott (with Emma Bell, Joanna Gilmore, Helen Gosling, J M Moore and Faith Spear) Foreword by Ida Nafstad and Per Jorgen Ystehede Prologue 1.Introduction: Emancipatory Politics and Praxis Section A: Critical criminology and... more
David Scott (with Emma Bell, Joanna Gilmore, Helen Gosling, J M Moore and Faith Spear)
Foreword by Ida Nafstad and Per Jorgen Ystehede
Prologue
1.Introduction: Emancipatory Politics and Praxis
Section A: Critical criminology and the utopian imagination
2.Critical criminology and the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [with Joanna Gilmore and JM Moore]
3.Re-awakening our radical imagination: thinking realistically about utopias, dystopias and the non-penal [with Emma Bell]
4.A disobedient visionary with an enquiring mind: an essay on the contribution of Stanley Cohen
5.Critical criminology in the corporate university
Section B: Iatrogenic penal harms and visions of justice
6.Beyond criminal justice: it’s a long road to wisdom, but a short one to being ignored [with JM Moore]
7.Constance Lytton: living for a cause [with Faith Spear]
8.Speaking the language of state violence: an abolitionist perspective
9.Against criminal injustice, for social justice: reflections and possibilities
Section C: Abolitionist real utopia
10.Reimagining citizenship: justice, responsibility and non-penal real utopias [with Emma Bell]
11.Otherwise than prisons, not prisons otherwise: therapeutic communities as non-penal real utopias [with Helena Gosling]
12.Playing the get out of jail for free card: creating a new abolitionist based consensus?
Epilogue
Foreword by Ida Nafstad and Per Jorgen Ystehede
Prologue
1.Introduction: Emancipatory Politics and Praxis
Section A: Critical criminology and the utopian imagination
2.Critical criminology and the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [with Joanna Gilmore and JM Moore]
3.Re-awakening our radical imagination: thinking realistically about utopias, dystopias and the non-penal [with Emma Bell]
4.A disobedient visionary with an enquiring mind: an essay on the contribution of Stanley Cohen
5.Critical criminology in the corporate university
Section B: Iatrogenic penal harms and visions of justice
6.Beyond criminal justice: it’s a long road to wisdom, but a short one to being ignored [with JM Moore]
7.Constance Lytton: living for a cause [with Faith Spear]
8.Speaking the language of state violence: an abolitionist perspective
9.Against criminal injustice, for social justice: reflections and possibilities
Section C: Abolitionist real utopia
10.Reimagining citizenship: justice, responsibility and non-penal real utopias [with Emma Bell]
11.Otherwise than prisons, not prisons otherwise: therapeutic communities as non-penal real utopias [with Helena Gosling]
12.Playing the get out of jail for free card: creating a new abolitionist based consensus?
Epilogue
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An anthology of papers on penal abolition delivered at conferences of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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The intentions of 'community policing' are extensively contested. The research in Burscough, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale is an attempt to clarify the issues and determine the success, or failure, of this approach to policing in terms of... more
The intentions of 'community policing' are extensively contested. The research in Burscough, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale is an attempt to clarify the issues and determine the success, or failure, of this approach to policing in terms of image and effectiveness.
The study includes the perceptions of contemporary policing practices from three hundred members of the public, one hundred from each of the areas specified above. The investigation also incorporates extensive interviews with six officers, whose responses are utilised in the body of the text so that an in-depth perspective of the police interpretation of community policing can be analysed.
Both aspects are combined so that a capacious impression of current opinions can be attained and thus develop an understanding of the way the police in Southwest Lancashire can be considered as community responsive.
The study includes the perceptions of contemporary policing practices from three hundred members of the public, one hundred from each of the areas specified above. The investigation also incorporates extensive interviews with six officers, whose responses are utilised in the body of the text so that an in-depth perspective of the police interpretation of community policing can be analysed.
Both aspects are combined so that a capacious impression of current opinions can be attained and thus develop an understanding of the way the police in Southwest Lancashire can be considered as community responsive.
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This article reflects upon questions around penal legitimacy and the importance of sowing the seeds of change in Irish penal policy. It is argued that prisons should be regarded as an inherently problematic institutional response to... more
This article reflects upon questions around penal legitimacy and the
importance of sowing the seeds of change in Irish penal policy. It is argued
that prisons should be regarded as an inherently problematic institutional
response to criminalised behaviours and that further prison reforms are an
insufficient remedy to such endemic problems. In so doing it is hoped that
the article will help open a space for reflections on a very a different way of
approaching penal and social harms in Ireland – the idea of penal abolition.
Prison abolitionists ask us to consider whether the harm and suffering created by prisons and punishment are justified. People normally think harming other people is morally wrong, and penal abolitionists argue that if the grounds for penal confinement are not morally water-tight, then we should abandon our presumption of imprisonment in response to human wrongdoing and instead develop rational alternatives that are morally justifiable
importance of sowing the seeds of change in Irish penal policy. It is argued
that prisons should be regarded as an inherently problematic institutional
response to criminalised behaviours and that further prison reforms are an
insufficient remedy to such endemic problems. In so doing it is hoped that
the article will help open a space for reflections on a very a different way of
approaching penal and social harms in Ireland – the idea of penal abolition.
Prison abolitionists ask us to consider whether the harm and suffering created by prisons and punishment are justified. People normally think harming other people is morally wrong, and penal abolitionists argue that if the grounds for penal confinement are not morally water-tight, then we should abandon our presumption of imprisonment in response to human wrongdoing and instead develop rational alternatives that are morally justifiable
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Handloom weavers in the nineteenth century were known to be a hard-working and compliant workforce who faced periodic poverty with stoical resilience. Yet in east Lancashire in April 1826 their patience clearly broke. Faced with a perfect... more
Handloom weavers in the nineteenth century were known to be a hard-working and compliant workforce who faced periodic poverty with stoical resilience. Yet in east Lancashire in April 1826 their patience clearly broke. Faced with a perfect storm of high food prices, low or no wages, the accumulative impact of poverty over several years and the introduction of much cheaper forms of weaving through powerlooms in the factories, the handloom weavers and other ordinary people felt they had no choice but to respond to the very real threat of mass starvation and related illnesses and premature deaths with rebellion. The significance of the events of April 1826 have though been largely forgotten and so a new charity has been formed – The Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee – to work towards the remembrance of the context, happenings and aftermath of the weavers uprising.
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In this short article Dr David Scott questions, from a penal abolitionist perspective, whether the criminal law can be effectively deployed to prevent climate catastrophe. In so doing he questions the goals of influential pressure group... more
In this short article Dr David Scott questions, from a penal abolitionist perspective, whether the criminal law can be effectively deployed to prevent climate catastrophe. In so doing he questions the goals of influential pressure group Stop Ecocide International and highlights the importance of the recent book Ecocide by Professor David Whyte, which calls for ordinary people all around the world to directly challenge corporate power.
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Between 24-28 th April 2022, Dr David Scott initiated and led the inaugural 'Weavers Uprising Remembrance Walk', a 45 mile walk following in the footsteps of starving handloom weavers in east Lancashire 196 years ago. During this uprising... more
Between 24-28 th April 2022, Dr David Scott initiated and led the inaugural 'Weavers Uprising Remembrance Walk', a 45 mile walk following in the footsteps of starving handloom weavers in east Lancashire 196 years ago. During this uprising handloom weavers and other working class people attempted to send a symbolic message to government about their precarious living conditions through the destruction of more than 1,100 powerlooms in the local mills.
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Scott initiated and led the inaugural 'Weavers Uprising Remembrance Walk', a 45 mile walk following in the footsteps of starving handloom weavers in east Lancashire 196 years ago. During this uprising handloom weavers and other working... more
Scott initiated and led the inaugural 'Weavers Uprising Remembrance Walk', a 45 mile walk following in the footsteps of starving handloom weavers in east Lancashire 196 years ago. During this uprising handloom weavers and other working class people attempted to send a symbolic message to government about their precarious living conditions through the destruction of more than 1,100 powerlooms in the local mills.
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An overview of the events at Chatterton, Ramsbottom, East Lancashire on the morning of 26th April 1826, where six people were shot dead by British Soldiers. James Lord, John Ashworth, James Rothwell, Richard Lund, Mary Simpson and James... more
An overview of the events at Chatterton, Ramsbottom, East Lancashire on the morning of 26th April 1826, where six people were shot dead by British Soldiers.
James Lord, John Ashworth, James Rothwell, Richard Lund, Mary Simpson and James Whatacre.
James Lord, John Ashworth, James Rothwell, Richard Lund, Mary Simpson and James Whatacre.
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During this uprising handloom weavers and other working class people attempted to send a symbolic message to government about their precarious living conditions through the destruction of more than 1,100 powerlooms in the local mills.
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While prisons have been in existence since at least Egyptian times, it was only in the late 1700s that prisons were proposed as places of rehabilitation in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). At that time, utilitarian... more
While prisons have been in existence since at least Egyptian times, it was only in the late 1700s that prisons were proposed as places of rehabilitation in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). At that time, utilitarian philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and Christian evangelicals, like John Howard in the UK, alongside prison reformers like Benjamin Rush in the US, proposed that prisons could be conduits for radically changing individuals for the better.
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A discussion of undertaking legal activism on prisons in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The political fallout following the death of George Floyd, who died on the 25 th May 2020 during a coercive physical restraint by a police officer in Minneapolis, USA and the revival of Black Lives Matter on a global level, has placed... more
The political fallout following the death of George Floyd, who died on the 25 th May 2020 during a coercive physical restraint by a police officer in Minneapolis, USA and the revival of Black Lives Matter on a global level, has placed renewed emphasis on calls for defunding the state police and greater acknowledgement of the brutal British colonial past. These calls, alongside those for further recognition of the manner in which British wealth is in large part historically derived from the slave trade, have great significance for penal abolitionism (a moral philosophy which questions all forms of legal repression and dehumanisation). In the UK one of the main mobilising events of Black Lives Matter has been to call for the pulling down of statues and monuments which were erected to honour slave traders, such as the statue of seventeenth century slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol. Given this renewed emphasis on the British slave trade, should penal abolitionists today take inspiration from anti-slavery abolitionists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century and the broader political culture in Britain at that time? The short answer, I would argue, is NO. The bourgeois British liberal anti-slavery 'abolitionism from above' was not an emancipatory social movement like Black Lives Matter, nor did it connect with, or was motivated by, the experiences and voice of former slaves, as was sometimes the case in the USA anti-slavery movement during the mid-1800s. If we are looking for inspiration when challenging legal repression, dehumanisation and state coercion, then it is to the lived experiences and testimonies of slaves and former slaves, such as the American former slave Frederick Douglas, or Toussaint
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Short discussion on prisons and coronavirus in England and Wales in May 2020
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This short article for CCJS talks about the importance of making visible prison officer violence in prisons in England and Wales
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Thinking critically about the coronavirus (COVID19) means thinking about the exercise of power and social divisions. While it has been reported that the rich have been jetting off to private islands, and while celebrities have been paying... more
Thinking critically about the coronavirus (COVID19) means thinking about the exercise of power and social divisions. While it has been reported that the rich have been jetting off to private islands, and while celebrities have been paying for testing and then unashamedly proclaiming to the world that they are not infected, as ever it is the economically and socially vulnerable who are being harmed by this pulverising virus. The brutal imposition of free market capitalism, and the retrenchment of social democratic states from policing the economic and harmful activities of the powerful, lie at the root of the crisis. It is these processes, and the systemic indifference to their human costs, which are now proving to be the gravediggers of the powerless.
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An overview of the making of The Open University Film 'Grenfell Tower and Social Murder', which draws upon the testimonies of bereaved families and survivors. The film was awarded the 'life changing award' at the British Film Documentary... more
An overview of the making of The Open University Film 'Grenfell Tower and Social Murder', which draws upon the testimonies of bereaved families and survivors. The film was awarded the 'life changing award' at the British Film Documentary Festival in November 2018. It was also awarded three further awards.
World Gold Medal at New York Festivals TV and Film Awards for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2020)
Vcom Gold Clarion Award for best Education and Training film for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2019)
EVcom Gold Clarion Award for best Social Welfare film for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2019)
World Gold Medal at New York Festivals TV and Film Awards for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2020)
Vcom Gold Clarion Award for best Education and Training film for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2019)
EVcom Gold Clarion Award for best Social Welfare film for The Open University Film ‘Grenfell Tower and Social Murder’ (2019)
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A call for the abolition of prisons for children and young people in England and Wales.
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Drawing upon two case studies - regarding hearing the voice of prisoners and community activists - this short paper explores the limitations of discourse ethics and the importance of engaging in non-reciprocal dialogue for abolitionist... more
Drawing upon two case studies - regarding hearing the voice of prisoners and community activists - this short paper explores the limitations of discourse ethics and the importance of engaging in non-reciprocal dialogue for abolitionist activist scholars. I
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Open University HERC and Centre for Crime, Criminalisation and Social Exclusion LJMU September 2018
With Professor Joe Sim
With Professor Joe Sim
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A Paper Delivered at The School of Criminology, University of Chico, California, United States on 24th October 2018
This paper is an edited and updated version of a lecture I delivered to undergraduate students at the University of Central Lancashire in 2013. This unpublished paper was added to the website of Academia.edu in April 2018. The paper... more
This paper is an edited and updated version of a lecture I delivered to undergraduate students at the University of Central Lancashire in 2013. This unpublished paper was added to the website of Academia.edu in April 2018. The paper highlights the importance of acknowledging and challenging all forms of violence and argues that the criminal law fails both victims and perpetrators of VAW. The paper highlights some non-punitive approaches to responding to VAW and calls for the promotion of an ‘anti-violence alliance’ among feminists, penal abolitionists and other anti-violence activists
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Challenging penal utopias and highlighting the importance of abolitionist activism in the stand against imprisonment.
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This activist contribution draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build at least six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This... more
This activist contribution draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build at least six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This activist contribution focuses specifically on the arguments utilised by campaigners in one of the proposed sites for a new mega prison: Bickershaw, in the borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
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In 2014 a number of radical groups, including War on Want and Reclaim Justice Network bought a small number of shares in G4S. These shares were then redistributed to members in order to allow voices of challenge to be raised at the G4S... more
In 2014 a number of radical groups, including War on Want and Reclaim Justice Network bought a small number of shares in G4S. These shares were then redistributed to members in order to allow voices of challenge to be raised at the G4S AGM. But how successful have the interventions been? Can they be considered a success in terms of providing a moral and political platform influencing G4S policies and practices? Can the AGM of a multinational corporation ever be said to deliver democratic accountability? In this article we explain why ‘shareholder activism’ is an important means of ‘speaking truth to power’ and how members of the Reclaim Justice Network have attempted to turn the AGM into a space for dialogue questioning the sole pursuit of capitalist accumulation.
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The prison is unequalled in pain. Uniquely designed and operationalised through deliberate pain infliction it performs a key function in the maintenance of blatantly unequal societies through the control of poor, marginalised and... more
The prison is unequalled in pain. Uniquely designed and operationalised through deliberate pain infliction it performs a key function in the maintenance of blatantly unequal societies through the control of poor, marginalised and disproportionately BME male lawbreakers (for overview of contemporary debates and discussion in penal theory see Scott, 2013b). But diagnosis and critique of the pains and harms of penal incarceration is not enough. It is also essential that consideration is given to feasible, policy relevant and progressive interventions that can challenge gross economic and social inequalities and mitigate the humanitarian crises confronting contemporary penal practices, without abandoning the broader obligation to promote radically alternative responses to troublesome human conduct and the logic of capitalist accumulation. This necessitates recognition and engagement with the problems and possibilities of our historical moment alongside a disruption of the ideological limitations placed upon what are considered appropriate and feasible means of social and penal transformation. Such engagement must be rooted in a normative framework – what I have described elsewhere as the ‘abolitionist compass’ (Scott, 2013a) - that can assist our navigation away from deeply entrenched social inequalities and the problems associated with the criminal process.
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Welfare and punishment are two sides of the same coin. Whilst welfare sanctions and the often disgraceful treatment of those on benefits show us that punishment and welfare are increasing interlinked, it is important to call for... more
Welfare and punishment are two sides of the same coin. Whilst welfare sanctions and the often disgraceful treatment of those on benefits show us that punishment and welfare are increasing interlinked, it is important to call for non-punitive welfare interventions regarding education, healthcare and the ending of austerity. These calls for non-punitive welfare services must be co-joined at the same time with a reduction in reliance on punishment, starting with a rejection of the Tory prison building programme creating 10,000 modern prison places.
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There is a sickness haunting the prison service in England and Wales. This sickness, which systematically generates suffering and death, goes right to the heart of the daily workings of penal regimes. The meeting this evening has been... more
There is a sickness haunting the prison service in England and Wales. This sickness, which systematically generates suffering and death, goes right to the heart of the daily workings of penal regimes. The meeting this evening has been established to discuss plans to build a new 'super-max' prison here in Wellingborough. What I would like to do is highlight some of the deep and profound problems shaping imprisonment and to give you some indication of what building a new prison will do to the local community. Whatever the rhetoric about jobs and financial investment in the Wellingborough community by local and Westminster politicians, what the prison will really bring is intensified levels of harm and human suffering.
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Transcription of talk at "No mega prison in Wigan" on 3rd April 2013 published in special issue of European Group Newsletter on resisting prison building plans across Europe.
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A short reflection on "justice" as the first of three reflections on justice, power and resistance for volume 1 (issues 1-3) of the journal "Justice, Power and Resistance"
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There were a record number of deaths in prison in 2016. The problem lies not with the vulnerability of prisoners or lack of staff but with the deprivation that defines prison life. Open Democracy, 2nd February 2017... more
There were a record number of deaths in prison in 2016. The problem lies not with the vulnerability of prisoners or lack of staff but with the deprivation that defines prison life.
Open Democracy, 2nd February 2017
https://www.opendemocracy.net/openjustice/dr-david-scott/it-is-prisons-themselves-not-prisoners-that-are-to-blame-for-record-numbe
Open Democracy, 2nd February 2017
https://www.opendemocracy.net/openjustice/dr-david-scott/it-is-prisons-themselves-not-prisoners-that-are-to-blame-for-record-numbe
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A critical account of prisons as places of suffering and death, with a focus on self-inflicted deaths and prison officers.
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To speak the ‘language of state violence’ is for penal abolitionists to insist that irrespective of the conditions, architecture, or general resources available, the prison will always be a place that systematically generates suffering,... more
To speak the ‘language of state violence’ is for penal abolitionists to insist that irrespective of the conditions, architecture, or general resources available, the prison will always be a place that systematically generates suffering, harm and death. Understanding prisons as a modus operandi of state violence may help abolitionists gain political momentum, for it leads to focus on both ‘institutional’ and ‘structural’ violence. Ultimately Speaking the language of state violence provides a name for penal abolitionists to mobilise around and makes connections between the prison and social inequities.
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This article explores three forms of violence in the prison place: cultural, physical and institutionally-structured violence. The article starts with an overview of the nature and extent of 'everyday mundane' physical violence in the... more
This article explores three forms of violence in the prison place: cultural, physical and institutionally-structured violence. The article starts with an overview of the nature and extent of 'everyday mundane' physical violence in the prison place, drawing upon but also problematising official data. The article then looks at 'cultures of violence' and the role that they perform in legitimating everyday prison violence. Finally, and most importantly, the article then explores the problem of 'structural violence' (Galtung, 1969) and 'institutionally-structured violence' (Iadicola and Shupe, 2003) in the prison place and the manner in which it underscores both physical and cultural violence. Making connections with the 'deprivation' thesis in the sociology of imprisonment literature and detailing harmful outcomes and consequences of institutionally-structured violence, such as the generation of suicidal ideation and self inflicted deaths in prison, the article concludes by arguing that prisons are inevitably places of violence, iatrogenic harm, injury and death. Any successful anti-violence and harm reduction strategies must therefore be directly tied to broader radical reductionist and penal abolitionist agendas.
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Headline after headline in the British Press in recent months has placed a spotlight on prisoner violence. Prisoner violence, especially that perpetrated by prisoners against prison officers, has been consistently portrayed as reaching... more
Headline after headline in the British Press in recent months has placed a spotlight on prisoner violence. Prisoner violence, especially that perpetrated by prisoners against prison officers, has been consistently portrayed as reaching epidemic proportions. Statistics have been rolled out again and again detailing rises in assaults on staff, prisoner homicides and general levels of prisoner interpersonal violence in the last four years. Yet much of the recent media focuses only on the physical violence perpetrated by prisoners. Whilst such interpersonal physical violence should not be ignored or downplayed, it is only one kind of prison violence and by no means the most deadly.
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The aim of this article is to briefly explore the strengths and weaknesses of engaging in short visits to Therapeutic Communities (TCs). As we search in or times of penal excess for different ways of responding to ‘troubled’ individuals,... more
The aim of this article is to briefly explore the strengths and weaknesses of engaging in short visits to Therapeutic Communities (TCs). As we search in or times of penal excess for different ways of responding to ‘troubled’ individuals, detailed knowledge about interventions such as the TC are becoming increasing significant. But how can politicians, practitioners, pressure groups, activists and members of the public learn more about the workings of the TC and its potential as a radical alternative? One possibility is through what we loosely refer to as ‘TC Tourism’.
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Research Interests: Therapeutic Relationship, Critical Criminology, Therapeutic Communities And Environments, Sociology of deviance/critical criminology, Therapeutic Work with Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse, and 4 moreTherapeutic Community, Therapeutic Communities, Penal Abolitionism, and European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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This was a paper delivered at the "No More Prison Conference", Florence, Italy in November 2014
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A response to the white paper "Prison Safety and Reform" with particular reference to the influence of the Prison Officer Association [POA] in shaping the current debate on the state of prisons in England and Wales.
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David Scott responds to the UK government's white paper Prison Safety and Reform, published 3 November, with his article Failing Prisons: Carnage, Bloodbaths and Numbers of Prison Staff.
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Justice Reflections 06/2007;
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An account of the main aims of the charity commemorating the weavers uprising of 1826.
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Chapter in the international handbook on public criminologies
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A manifesto exploring 20 key questions that can be presented as challenges to the penal abolitionist
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Foreword to Duggan, M. (ed) (2018) The Ideal Victim Revisited Bristol: Policy Press
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Conversations: “Researching community policing and critical criminology” With Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University The best way to engage with critical analysis is to actually undertake a piece of... more
Conversations: “Researching community policing and critical criminology”
With Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
The best way to engage with critical analysis is to actually undertake a piece of ethnographic research. I’m going to briefly discuss here my first research project, now more than twenty years ago, on community policing in Lancashire and how it helped me develop my ideas as a critical criminologist.
With Dr David Scott, Senior Lecturer, Liverpool John Moores University
The best way to engage with critical analysis is to actually undertake a piece of ethnographic research. I’m going to briefly discuss here my first research project, now more than twenty years ago, on community policing in Lancashire and how it helped me develop my ideas as a critical criminologist.
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This chapter builds upon the insights of Enrique Dussel (2013) to explore the moral underpinnings of a human rights framework for penal abolitionism and the subsequent ethical demand for political action. In the first part of the chapter... more
This chapter builds upon the insights of Enrique Dussel (2013) to explore the moral underpinnings of a human rights framework for penal abolitionism and the subsequent ethical demand for political action. In the first part of the chapter it is argued that through their daily workings prisons structurally deny human rights: moral relationships cannot be fully formed between prisoners or between prisoners and prison staff; the inherent conflict and antagonism of the prison damage the formation of human identity; violations of dignity undermine the self by preventing voluntary intersubjective human relations; and the pains of imprisonment systematically generate suffering and death. Having established the inherent harms of the prison place the chapter then moves on to explore Dussel’s (2013) ethical demand for political resistance in response to denials of human rights. This leads to a focus on grass roots resistance to human rights infringements and the promotion of the common humanity of prisoners through direct, community based action in England and Wales. Drawing upon the campaign work of the author and his direct interventions in against the construction of a number of mega-prisons in England and Wales since November 2015, the chapter paints a picture of the intimate connections between abolitionism praxis and human rights. Overall the chapter reflects upon some of the core contemporary strategies and interventions ‘from below’ deployed by abolitionist activists to challenge the inhumanity of prisons in England and Wales in the second decade of the 21st Century.
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.This chapter draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build at least six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This activist... more
.This chapter draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build at least six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This activist contribution focuses specifically on the arguments utilised by campaigners in one of the proposed sites for a new mega prison: Bickershaw, in the borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester.
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In this chapter it is argued that an understanding of slavery as a social relationship can be incorporated into a penal abolitionist framework in Britain, albeit one which utilises primarily the language of human rights.
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There are two central elements to the logic of ‘crime’: criminal harm and criminal blame. The aim of this chapter is to critically explore both these elements. The chapter starts with a discussion of how the ontological foundations of... more
There are two central elements to the logic of ‘crime’: criminal harm and criminal blame. The aim of this chapter is to critically explore both these elements. The chapter starts with a discussion of how the ontological foundations of criminal harm can be successfully deconstructed (Hulsman, 1986a, 1986b). This is followed by an account which questions the moral legitimacy of criminal blame through the lens of liberation philosophy and the ‘ethics of responsibility’ (Dussel, 2013). The central claim is that penal abolitionism is a philosophy of liberation that stands outside the logic of ‘crime’ which aims to initiate non-penal ways of handling individual and social conflicts.
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The chapter reflects upon the implications of ignorance (penological agnosis) regarding the contemporary harms and suffering of imprisonment and the current rise of ‘historical denial’ when looking at evidence to explain and understand... more
The chapter reflects upon the implications of ignorance (penological agnosis) regarding the contemporary harms and suffering of imprisonment and the current rise of ‘historical denial’ when looking at evidence to explain and understand the humanitarian disaster confronting prisons in England and Wales today.
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The chapter is about the politics and ethics of criminological research and it starts by defining the philosophical conceptions of ‘ontology’ and ‘epistemology’, which are referred to throughout the following discussion. In so doing,... more
The chapter is about the politics and ethics of criminological research and it starts by defining the philosophical conceptions of ‘ontology’ and ‘epistemology’, which are referred to throughout the following discussion. In so doing, examples of prison research are drawn upon to illustrate important political and ethical considerations. The chapter provides a critical review of the politics of criminological research from an abolitionist perspective, locating social research within the context of state power, social divisions and conflicting interests
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This chapter explores the social background of prisoners and the case for the selective abolition of prisoners using the 'attrition model'.
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Introductory chapter to a European Group for the Study of Deviance & Social Control anthology of abolitionist papers
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This chapter explores the limitations and potential of the contribution of human rights to abolitionist struggles around inequalities, domination and the structured violence of the prison place. The paper starts by outline some of the... more
This chapter explores the limitations and potential of the contribution of human rights to abolitionist struggles around inequalities, domination and the structured violence of the prison place. The paper starts by outline some of the tensions between human rights and abolitionist approaches, illustrated through the typology of ‘human rights schools’ proposed by Marie-Benedicte Dembour (2006). Drawing upon the important insights of critical legal studies, critical analysis and left-leaning scholars, the chapter first explores 'what is wrong with prisoner human / legal rights'. Highlighting a number of key difficulties in legal human rights discourses, the paper then turns to consider the seminal work of Stan Cohen (1994) and his argument that human rights can act as both "a shield and a sword", i.e. they provide both legal protections and hidden emancipatory potential. Building upon the insights of Levinas (1992), Galtung (2011) and Dussel (2012), an abolitionist human rights agenda is constructed not for the self, but for the Other, requiring respect, dignity and non-violent relations for the powerless and responsibilities for the powerful. The discussion then draws upon the above insights to connect abolitionism and human rights discourses through calls for the emancipation of subjugated prisoner voices and a critique of structured violence and broader violations of the human rights in the prison place.
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Appendix 3 Letter to G4S May 27th 2016
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In book: Companion to Criminal Justice, Health & Risk, Edition: 1st, Chapter: The pains of imprisonment, Publisher: Policy Press, Editors: Taylor, Corteen, Morley
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This is a taster chapter from the forthcoming book "Emancipatory Politics and Praxis: An anthology of essays written for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, 2013-16" Bristol: EG Press. To order the book... more
This is a taster chapter from the forthcoming book "Emancipatory Politics and Praxis: An anthology of essays written for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, 2013-16" Bristol: EG Press. To order the book please see: http://www.egpress.org/content/flash-sale-emancipatory-politics-and-praxis
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In this chapter we provide a brief history of the European Group and highlight some of its key theoretical and political influences before explaining the rationale of the selection of the chapters included in this anthology.
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An introduction to section A of Critique and Dissent which focuses on the history and politics of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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An introduction to section C of Critique and Dissent
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Our September 2013 newsletter was dedicated to Stan Cohen.
http://www.europeangroup.org/?q=node/36
http://www.europeangroup.org/?q=node/36
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Martin Narey is undoubtedly correct to argue that the prison is not a place that can effectively deliver rehabilitation. We have over 200 years of history evidencing how prisons have always been more likely to de-habilitate those they... more
Martin Narey is undoubtedly correct to argue that the prison is not a place that can effectively deliver rehabilitation. We have over 200 years of history evidencing how prisons have always been more likely to de-habilitate those they contain than rehabilitate them. For rehabilitation to be effective, people require individualised treatments and therapeutic interventions to address their specific behavioural difficulties. This is something that is virtually impossible to deliver within prisons. For someone to change in a positive way, it is essential they feel able to adopt a radical openness to others, for It is only by being open, and hence showing vulnerability, that new pro-social identities can be nurtured. Yet the fear of and/or actual presence of physical violence; the deprivations of basic human needs that characterise daily prison life; and the enforced separation from loved ones and intimate relationships, all block such an ability to be emotionally vulnerable. Indeed, rather than building new life-affirming relationships and/or therapeutic alliances, prisons overwhelmingly lead to endings and the breaking of significant ties, bonds and attachments. Prisons remain haunted by the pain, suffering and failure of their past and prisoners today are forced to endure a hostile daily existence which encourages watchfulness, anxiety, fear and the building of defences against self-disclosure.
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Letter signed by 33 Criminologists in The Times, 15th August 2019. The drafters of the letter were Jonathan Jackson and Emmeline Taylor.
Prisons are soul-destroying pits of human misery that can lead to atrophy, stasis and trauma, writes David Scott in The Guardian, 21st February 2019
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Letter in The Guardian, 19th September 2018
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Critique of 'Opinion' piece by Lord Falconer in The Guardian on the 20th August, 2018
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It's time to take prison abolitionism seriously, argues David Scott.
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The first part of the Novara Media interview on 'Prisons: Abolition or Reform'
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The Independent, 9th January 2018
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The Guardian Newspaper, 22nd November 2017
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Although the number of children in prison has fallen enormously since 2007, there are still more than 800 children in prison, of which 42 are under the age of 14.. 43% of children in prison are from BAME backgrounds (which is a... more
Although the number of children in prison has fallen enormously since 2007, there are still more than 800 children in prison, of which 42 are under the age of 14.. 43% of children in prison are from BAME backgrounds (which is a significant rise in BAME child prisoners in 2007 when it was 24%) and significant numbers of children in custody have drug problems, learning difficulties, mental health problems and have witnessed or experienced physical or sexual violence. Although only 1% of children and young people are in care, more than 35% boys and 61% of girls in custody have previously been in care. Indeed, children in care are much more likely to be sent to prison than to go to University (where the figure is about 10%).
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Why prison building doesn't lead to better lives and stronger communities
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Letter published in The Guardian on 21st June 2016
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Letter asking David Lidington, Justice Secretary to reconsider the plans of your predecessor Liz Truss to invest £1.3 Billion to create 10,000 modern prison places in England and Wales.
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A number of arguments against building new prison in Bickershaw, Greater Manchester. A transcription of a talk by David Scott to the Wigan Trades Council, 6th June 2017.
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Write up on interview on BBC Radio Five Live interview, 15th November 2016 on the "protest action" of prison staff. To hear the interview (which was as respondent to Shadow Justice Secretary see around 2 hour 10 minute on the below link:... more
Write up on interview on BBC Radio Five Live interview, 15th November 2016 on the "protest action" of prison staff. To hear the interview (which was as respondent to Shadow Justice Secretary see around 2 hour 10 minute on the below link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0829h29#play
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Letter in The Guardian Newspaper, 27th March 2017
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Response to the speech by Liz Truss, Justice Secretary, England and Wales, arguing that it is essential that we radically reduce the prison population.
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In extreme circumstances or environments, psychological wellbeing can be precarious and effectively ‘under siege’ even for those with robust internal coping strategies. Prisons are such environments. They are places that can induce... more
In extreme circumstances or environments, psychological wellbeing can be precarious and effectively ‘under siege’ even for those with robust internal coping strategies. Prisons are such environments. They are places that can induce extreme stress and distress. For those living in the extreme environment of the prison the line between mental well-being and diagnosable or enduring mental illness can be blurred. There are three distinct, yet overlapping, populations to consider when taking account of mental health within prisons.
1) Those who are committed to prison with a pre-existing (either diagnosed or not) mental health condition. Prisons are places that tend to confine a disproportionate number of people with mental health problems. Mental health problems, for this population, is imported into prison with them.
2) Those who are committed to prison without a diagnosed pre-existing mental health problem but have a latent mental illness that can be triggered in the stressful or traumatic environment of the prison.
3) Those who are committed to prison without a pre-existing mental health problem and no history of mental health problems, but during the course of a prison sentence develop mental ill-health or experience extreme deterioration of psychological well-being.
1) Those who are committed to prison with a pre-existing (either diagnosed or not) mental health condition. Prisons are places that tend to confine a disproportionate number of people with mental health problems. Mental health problems, for this population, is imported into prison with them.
2) Those who are committed to prison without a diagnosed pre-existing mental health problem but have a latent mental illness that can be triggered in the stressful or traumatic environment of the prison.
3) Those who are committed to prison without a pre-existing mental health problem and no history of mental health problems, but during the course of a prison sentence develop mental ill-health or experience extreme deterioration of psychological well-being.
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Article on prison reduction and prison building moratorium as part of abolitionist strategy to engage in current penological debates.
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Article published in The Independent, February 16th 2017
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The Guardian Newspaper, 2nd February 2017
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Talk at Wigan "NHS in Crisis" meeting on 6th May 2017
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Penal abolitionism is a radical style of thinking which acknowledges that there are many different ways of interpreting and understanding problematic behaviours, troubles and human conflicts and that when it comes to prison sentences it... more
Penal abolitionism is a radical style of thinking which acknowledges that there are many different ways of interpreting and understanding problematic behaviours, troubles and human conflicts and that when it comes to prison sentences it is often more about the person who breaks the law than the illegality that has been perpetrated. Penal abolitionists question the very assumptions of the criminal law and argue that rather than providing a solution, the criminal law is much more likely to create new social problems.
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Abolitionism in Question[s] [Part Two] 10 common questions with short answers which confront penal abolitionists.
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Prison abolitionists question the moral and political justifications of imprisonment and call for the radical reduction or elimination of the use of prisons as they are currently constituted. Abolitionists are concerned about the... more
Prison abolitionists question the moral and political justifications of imprisonment and call for the radical reduction or elimination of the use of prisons as they are currently constituted. Abolitionists are concerned about the harmfulness that prison causes to those imprisoned, victims, families, prison staff and society at large. They are also concerned with the continued failure of prisons to fulfil any of their stated aims or purposes. Below we consider a range of questions that often arise whenever the idea of prison abolition is raised and offer some detailed, but concise, responses that may be used as a resource for those who are new or wish to learn more about abolitionist ideas.
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This is the English and German translation of the article published in the German Restorative Justice Journal TOA-MAGAZIN on 3rd December 2018. The paper provides a friendly but critical account of Geoffroy De Lagasnerie (2018) Judge and... more
This is the English and German translation of the article published in the German Restorative Justice Journal TOA-MAGAZIN on 3rd December 2018. The paper provides a friendly but critical account of Geoffroy De Lagasnerie (2018) Judge and Punish: The Penal State on Trial from an abolitionist perspective.
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Book Review for Howard Journal, March 2017
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This is the founding document of the Weavers Uprising Bicentennial Committee [WUBC]. The founding document has seven parts. It was published in April 2022
Executive Summary This report sets out a response to the Ministry of Justice’s Proof of Evidence submitted in June 2022. The findings presented here are based on independent research and scrutiny of official data collected as part of an... more
Executive Summary
This report sets out a response to the Ministry of Justice’s Proof of Evidence submitted in June 2022. The findings presented here are based on independent research and scrutiny of official data collected as part of an ongoing research project that will offer the first in-depth analysis of the UK Government’s ‘prison modernisation’ agenda in England and Wales.
This report sets out a response to the Ministry of Justice’s Proof of Evidence submitted in June 2022. The findings presented here are based on independent research and scrutiny of official data collected as part of an ongoing research project that will offer the first in-depth analysis of the UK Government’s ‘prison modernisation’ agenda in England and Wales.
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R v Secretary of State for Justice (ex parte Davis) Report for the High Court of Justice (Queens Bench Division) Administrative Court Dr David Scott and Professor Joe Sim Prepared 12th April 2020 Case R v Secretary of State... more
R v Secretary of State for Justice (ex parte Davis)
Report for the High Court of Justice (Queens Bench Division) Administrative Court
Dr David Scott and Professor Joe Sim
Prepared 12th April 2020
Case R v Secretary of State for Justice (ex parte Davis) Heard in May 2020
(please see also a second supplementary report from 22nd April 2020)
Report for the High Court of Justice (Queens Bench Division) Administrative Court
Dr David Scott and Professor Joe Sim
Prepared 12th April 2020
Case R v Secretary of State for Justice (ex parte Davis) Heard in May 2020
(please see also a second supplementary report from 22nd April 2020)
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TEN STEPS
Arguments for Reducing the Prison Population
[A Policy Paper for the Labour Party]
Dr David Scott
The Open University
3rd September, 2018
Arguments for Reducing the Prison Population
[A Policy Paper for the Labour Party]
Dr David Scott
The Open University
3rd September, 2018
How to Reduce the Prison Population:
Starting Points
[A Briefing Paper for the Prison Minister]
Dr David Scott
The Open University
25th May 2018
Starting Points
[A Briefing Paper for the Prison Minister]
Dr David Scott
The Open University
25th May 2018
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In extreme circumstances or environments, psychological wellbeing can be precarious and effectively ‘under siege’ even for those with robust internal coping strategies. Prisons are such environments. They are places that can induce... more
In extreme circumstances or environments, psychological wellbeing can be precarious and effectively ‘under siege’ even for those with robust internal coping strategies. Prisons are such environments. They are places that can induce extreme stress and distress. For those living in the extreme environment of the prison the line between mental well-being and diagnosable or enduring mental illness can be blurred. Thus, in this submission to the Mental Health and Deaths in Prison Inquiry we argue that a broad definition of mental health should be taken into account.
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On the 3rd November 2016 the Conservative government published its white paper on prison reform. This document is evidence to the Justice Committee on Prison Reform following the publication of the white paper.
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Submission to Lammy Review of BAME representation in the Criminal Justice System, May 2016.
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Official Submission to Harris Review on deaths in custody
http://iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk/harris-review/
http://iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk/harris-review/
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Article by Harriet Heywood in the Lancashire Telegraph on the 197th Anniversary commemorations of the Weavers Uprising in east Lancashire in April 1826.
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A justice expert has branded plans to turn Wigan’s jail into a mega-prison “totally unsuitable” saying the Government would be better off closing it.
By Holly Pritchard
Friday, 22nd April 2022
By Holly Pritchard
Friday, 22nd April 2022
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Article in the Lancashire Telegraph including interview with Dr David Scott
Open University Documentary featuring interviews with children rights campaigners calling for the end of child imprisonment.
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A short lecture from The Open University on the definition of 'crime'.
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Britain's worst prison is being taken over by the government from the private firm G4S, after inspectors said it had fallen into a "state of crisis". We spoke Dr David Scott, Criminologist in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, The... more
Britain's worst prison is being taken over by the government from the private firm G4S, after inspectors said it had fallen into a "state of crisis". We spoke Dr David Scott, Criminologist in the Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, The Open University.
Listen to interview on the Radio: https://soundcloud.com/radiosputnik/prisons-the-government-must-recognize-that-they-are-on-the-wrong-pathway-expert I
Listen to interview on the Radio: https://soundcloud.com/radiosputnik/prisons-the-government-must-recognize-that-they-are-on-the-wrong-pathway-expert I
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A short film by Dr David Scott, who explores the rising prison population in the UK and considers a number of measures aimed at downsizing the system.... more
A short film by Dr David Scott, who explores the rising prison population in the UK and considers a number of measures aimed at downsizing the system.
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society-politics-law/criminology/strategies-reduce-the-prison-population?in_menu=689650
Published on OPEN LEARN, by The Open University
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society-politics-law/criminology/strategies-reduce-the-prison-population?in_menu=689650
Published on OPEN LEARN, by The Open University
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http://www.open.edu/openlearn/society-politics-law/criminology/the-growing-demand-drugs-uk-prisons
Short Video for OPEN LEARN on why prisons do not work
Short Video for OPEN LEARN on why prisons do not work
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Short Video and text for Open Learn, Free courses from The Open University
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For Full Version of discussion see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqJ79IrSBZE
Originally broadcast on BBC1 22nd January 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqJ79IrSBZE
Originally broadcast on BBC1 22nd January 2017
Broadcast on BBC1 29th April 2018
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2016-17 saw the worst prison riots in decades. Across the country the prisons estate exploded as campaigners and prisoners had predicted. A light was shone on the so-called prison crisis. In Injustice it's not that prisons are in crisis,... more
2016-17 saw the worst prison riots in decades. Across the country the prisons estate exploded as campaigners and prisoners had predicted. A light was shone on the so-called prison crisis. In Injustice it's not that prisons are in crisis, prisons are the crisis. A film maker decided to chart the current state of prison and the criminal justice system. Injustice tells the story of the system through the stories of prisoners, their families, and prison workers, interwoven with research and analysis by campaigners and academics. We hear of life before prison, alienation, crime and confinement, and the consequences they hold for all of us.
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Overview of Round Table interview on Sky 512, broadcast 30th April 2018
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Interview on The Lockdown, 10th January 2018
https://soundcloud.com/novaramedia/the-lockdown-prisons-abolition-or-reform
https://soundcloud.com/novaramedia/the-lockdown-prisons-abolition-or-reform
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A leading prison academic has claimed research into who is being held behind bars shows no need for massively expanding the borough jail. Dr David Scott from The Open University says his Freedom of Information [FOI] Requests show the... more
A leading prison academic has claimed research into who is being held behind bars shows no need for massively expanding the borough jail. Dr David Scott from The Open University says his Freedom of Information [FOI] Requests show the existing HMP Hindley site is easily capable of housing everyone from the local area that needs to be in custody.
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Article in Wigan Observer, 27th June 2017
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Wigan Post 7th April 2017 A leading prisons academic has set up a petition calling on the Government to publish the economic case for the transformation of Hindley's jail. Dr David Scott from the Open University is one of two lecturers... more
Wigan Post
7th April 2017
A leading prisons academic has set up a petition calling on the Government to publish the economic case for the transformation of Hindley's jail. Dr David Scott from the Open University is one of two lecturers and researchers who started the campaign on change.org asking justice secretary Liz Truss to openly state the benefits the Government believes the work on the prison will bring. The
7th April 2017
A leading prisons academic has set up a petition calling on the Government to publish the economic case for the transformation of Hindley's jail. Dr David Scott from the Open University is one of two lecturers and researchers who started the campaign on change.org asking justice secretary Liz Truss to openly state the benefits the Government believes the work on the prison will bring. The
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A leading prisons expert has suggested the borough's jail set for a massive refurbishment and likely expansion could be shut completely. Open University academic Dr David Scott told a public meeting on the planned transformation of... more
A leading prisons expert has suggested the borough's jail set for a massive refurbishment and likely expansion could be shut completely. Open University academic Dr David Scott told a public meeting on the planned transformation of Hindley Prison that if Greater Manchester's rate of putting people behind bars was brought down to the national average there would be no need for the jail at all.
Read more at: http://www.wigantoday.net/news/environment/prison-in-revamp-plan-could-be-shut-expert-says-1-8474370
Read more at: http://www.wigantoday.net/news/environment/prison-in-revamp-plan-could-be-shut-expert-says-1-8474370
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Interview with Wigan Observer on 28th March 2017
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This chapter explores how prisons in England and Wales are haunted by the presence of death. It details how prisoners experience civil death (death in law), social death (death as a worthy human being) and corporeal death (literal death... more
This chapter explores how prisons in England and Wales are haunted by the presence of death. It details how prisoners experience civil death (death in law), social death (death as a worthy human being) and corporeal death (literal death of the body). The chapter discusses two different but associated abolitionist strategies to contest the prison as a place of death: (i) naming the people who have died and recognising their continued humanity, as a way to promote greater penal accountability; and, (ii) direct action as a way of ‘making something happen’. Overall, the chapter points to the need for a dedicated democratic public space (an agora) committed to rational, informed debate that recognises the inherent deadly outcomes of imprisonment.
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The chapter is about the politics and ethics of criminological research and it starts by defining the philosophical conceptions of ‘ontology’ and ‘epistemology’, which are referred to throughout the following discussion. In so doing,... more
The chapter is about the politics and ethics of criminological research and it starts by defining the philosophical conceptions of ‘ontology’ and ‘epistemology’, which are referred to throughout the following discussion. In so doing, examples of prison research are drawn upon to illustrate important political and ethical considerations. The chapter provides a critical review of the politics of criminological research from an abolitionist perspective, locating social research within the context of state power, social divisions and conflicting interests
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ABSTRACT
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ABSTRACT
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The language of human rights is a commonplace one for those actively engaged in emancipatory struggles against inequality, domination and state power, and it has a long association with penal abolitionism. Penal abolitionists question the... more
The language of human rights is a commonplace one for those actively engaged in emancipatory struggles against inequality, domination and state power, and it has a long association with penal abolitionism. Penal abolitionists question the moral and political legitimacy of the current application of the penal rationale (punishment) and call for alternative ways of handling interpersonal conflicts within a fairer and more egalitarian society. The language of rights has been championed by a number of penal abolitionists, most notably Stanley Cohen and Barbara Hudson. For Stanley Cohen (1994) human rights are a defensive strategy creating legal safeguards and protections against violations of dignity whilst at the same time facilitating a progressive utopian vision of social transformation. For Barbar Hudson (2003) human rights are absolutely necessary to protect the common humanity of those people whose behaviour we find repugnant or are unable to empathize with. Not all penal abolitio...
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Strangeways 08/2001; 4:8-11.
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For a tribute article to Barbara written by David Scott, please consult our November 2013 newsletter. http://www.europeangroup.org/?q=node/36
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European Group Newsletter 07/2014
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This chapter explores the social background of prisoners and the case for the selective abolition of prisoners using the 'attrition model'.
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The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Ethnography provides an expansive and authoritative overview of the challenges presented by qualitative, and particularly ethnographic, inquiry. Global in perspective, the chapters reflect upon the means by... more
The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Ethnography provides an expansive and authoritative overview of the challenges presented by qualitative, and particularly ethnographic, inquiry. Global in perspective, the chapters reflect upon the means by which ethnographers aim to gain understanding, make sense of what they learn and the way they represent their finished work. The handbook offers urgent insights relevant to current trends in the growth of imprisonment world-wide. In an era of mass incarceration, human-centric ethnography provides an important counter to quantitative analysis and the 'official' audit culture on which prisons are frequently judged. The handbook is divided into four parts. Part I (About Prison Ethnography) assesses methodological, theoretical and pragmatic issues related to the use of ethnographic and qualitative inquiry in understanding complex social and political problems. Part II (Through Prison Ethnography) considers the significance of ethnographic insig...
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Since Melvin Burgess published his first children’s book, The Cry of the Wolf (1989) he has had the reputation of being a powerful and challenging writer, discussing issues that many other writers have shunned. But it was with Junk (Smack... more
Since Melvin Burgess published his first children’s book, The Cry of the Wolf (1989) he has had the reputation of being a powerful and challenging writer, discussing issues that many other writers have shunned. But it was with Junk (Smack in the US) in 1996 that he became a notorious media figure. This Carnegie winning novel showed teenagers not only
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This study explores the influence of the Human Rights Act (1998) on prison officer understandings of prisoner human rights. Utilising the insights of discourse analysis, the implementation of the Human Rights Act (1998) is understood... more
This study explores the influence of the Human Rights Act (1998) on prison officer understandings of prisoner human rights. Utilising the insights of discourse analysis, the implementation of the Human Rights Act (1998) is understood within the complex interrelationships of penology, law, penal policy, and occupational culture. In so doing, this book utilises a neo-abolitionist normative framework to assess the legitimacy of the current restrictive interpretations and marginalisation of human rights in penological discourses and prison service policies. Central is an empirical study of prison officer occupational culture which critically explores how prisoners become constructed as ghost like figures whose needs are denied and othered as beyond the realm of humanity. Against this dehumanising backdrop the author calls for the development of a positive rights agenda and the promotion of alternative means of dealing with wrongdoers that recognises their shared humanity. This study wil...
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ABSTRACT This article draws upon research undertaken between March 14th - May 12th 2014 with critical criminologists currently working in Universities in England, Wales and the North of Ireland. Overall 24 academics from 20 different... more
ABSTRACT This article draws upon research undertaken between March 14th - May 12th 2014 with critical criminologists currently working in Universities in England, Wales and the North of Ireland. Overall 24 academics from 20 different universities participated in the study. The ‘Critical Criminology Questionnaire’,3 from which both the quantitative and qualitative data is derived, is now available on the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [European Group] website.
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Strangeways 10/2003; 6(2):5-8.
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Justice Reflections 06/2007;
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Our September 2013 newsletter was dedicated to Stan Cohen. http://www.europeangroup.org/?q=node/36
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Official Submission to Harris Review on deaths in custody http://iapdeathsincustody.independent.gov.uk/harris-review/
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... Readings range from extracts from a biography of Willie Bosket and autobiography of Jack Henry Abbott to the classic longitudinal ... Situating an autobiographical account by Piri Thomas about life on the street, with chapters on... more
... Readings range from extracts from a biography of Willie Bosket and autobiography of Jack Henry Abbott to the classic longitudinal ... Situating an autobiographical account by Piri Thomas about life on the street, with chapters on grounded labelling theory, feminisms, and recent ...
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Abstract The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) received royal assent on 9 November 1998 and came into force ten years ago on 2 October 2000. The government rhetoric surrounding the introduction of the HRA included a commitment to ‘bring rights... more
Abstract The Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) received royal assent on 9 November 1998 and came into force ten years ago on 2 October 2000. The government rhetoric surrounding the introduction of the HRA included a commitment to ‘bring rights home’ and develop a ‘rights culture’ for the benefit of all people, including prisoners. Yet in terms of providing an impetus for a culture of rights in state institutions such as the prison, the HRA has proved to be somewhat of a damp squib. When we ask the question ‘why didn't prisoner rights come home’ at least part of the answer can found through the recognition that from the start the HRA was shackled within a wider context of responsibilisation and minimalism. Evidence of its historically restrictive interpretation by the Prison Service can be indentified in two main ways: (1) assessment of existing policies and the level of training available prior to implementation and (2) the reassuring messages sent to staff via official discourse.
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Prison studies has experienced a period of great creativity in recent years, and this collection draws together some of the field's most exciting and innovative contemporary critical writers in order to engage directly with one of the... more
Prison studies has experienced a period of great creativity in recent years, and this collection draws together some of the field's most exciting and innovative contemporary critical writers in order to engage directly with one of the most profound questions in penology - why prison? In addressing this question, the authors connect contemporary penological thought with an enquiry that has received the attention of some of the greatest thinkers on punishment in the past. Through critical exploration of the theories, policies and practices of imprisonment, the authors analyse why prison persists and why prisoner populations are rapidly rising in many countries. Collectively, the chapters provide not only a sophisticated diagnosis and critique of global hyper-incarceration but also suggest principles and strategies that could be adopted to radically reduce our reliance upon imprisonment.
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This article explores three forms of violence in the prison place: physical, cultural and structural. The article starts with an overview of the nature and extent of 'everyday mundane' physical violence in the prison place,... more
This article explores three forms of violence in the prison place: physical, cultural and structural. The article starts with an overview of the nature and extent of 'everyday mundane' physical violence in the prison place, drawing upon but also problematising official data. The article then looks at 'cultures of violence' and the role that they perform in legitimating everyday prison violence. Finally, and most importantly, the article then explores the problem of 'structural violence' (Galtung, 1969) in the prison place and the manner in which it underscores both physical and cultural violence. Making connections with the 'deprivation' thesis in the sociology of imprisonment literature and detailing harmful outcomes and consequences of structural violence, such as the generation of suicidal ideation and self inflicted deaths in prison, the article concludes by arguing that prisons are inevitably places of violence, iatrogenic harm, injury and death....
Research Interests: Sociology, Criminology, Psychology, Violence, Critical Criminology, and 13 moreCritical Prison Studies, Sociology of prison life, Punishment and Prisons, Prisons, Structural Violence, Abolitionism, Prison Abolition, Prison, Peace and Non-violence, Imprisonment, Harm, Anti violence Programmes, and prison service
This article explores the ethico-political justifications for hearing the prisoner voice from an abolitionist perspective. It starts by locating the interpretation of prisoner narratives within the specific moral context of the prison... more
This article explores the ethico-political justifications for hearing the prisoner voice from an abolitionist perspective. It starts by locating the interpretation of prisoner narratives within the specific moral context of the prison place and moves on to consider whether discourse ethics can effectively safeguard the voice of the prisoner. After identifying the strengths and weaknesses of discourse ethics and their application in liberal penologies, the discussion turns to the alternative critical theory of liberation ethics. Enrique Dussel (2013) has argued that we have an ethico- political responsibility to not only ensure material conditions are in place to facilitate voice but also to adopt the worldview of the powerless. Whilst such a position cannot be uncritically accepted, an argument is made for the selective adoption of the prisoner voice which is consistent with an abolitionist normative framework promoting emancipatory politics and praxis. The article draws to a conclu...
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This activist contribution draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This activist... more
This activist contribution draws upon the issues emphasised by abolitionist activists in their struggles throughout 2017 (and before) to challenge government plans to build six new mega prisons in England and Wales by 2020. This activist contribution focuses specifically on the arguments utilised by campaigners in one of the proposed sites for a new mega prison: Bickershaw, Wigan, Greater Manchester.
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In this chapter we provide a brief history of the European Group and highlight some of its key theoretical and political influences before explaining the rationale of the selection of the chapters included in this anthology.
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All academic writing is collaborative. It is collaborative in the sense that when we write academic discourse we inevitably engage with the ideas of others who have previously written on our topic areas; that when we publish our work it... more
All academic writing is collaborative. It is collaborative in the sense that when we write academic discourse we inevitably engage with the ideas of others who have previously written on our topic areas; that when we publish our work it has often - and largely invisibly - benefitted from formal and informal reviews, suggestions and helpful comments from colleagues and other peers; and often, what we write can be an indirect and serendipitous result of being part of an intellectual milieu where we are able to freely discuss issues and debates collectively and learn through a dialogue with like-minded people. Without such a collaborative ethos academic discourse would be much the poorer and advances in scholarship much harder to come by. Those forums that facilitate collaboration should be treasured and their crucial contribution acknowledged. The European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control [European Group] is one such intellectual milieu in which the ideas explored in...
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This article explores the 'violence of incarceration' from an abolitionist perspective. The article starts by exploring the meaning of 'state violence' and connecting this with broader debates around 'structural... more
This article explores the 'violence of incarceration' from an abolitionist perspective. The article starts by exploring the meaning of 'state violence' and connecting this with broader debates around 'structural violence'. It then goes on to overview the abolitionist approach, first by differentiating it from liberal penological understandings of violence in prison and then by naming the 'violence of incarceration' as form of state violence. The article concludes with a call for the mobilisation of social justice activists against all manifestations of state violence.
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Research Interests: Sociology Of Deviance, Criminal Justice, Political Science, Politics, Social Justice, and 11 moreCritical Criminology, Equality and Diversity, Critical Prison Studies, Solidarity, Abolitionism, Prison, Social Equality, Injustice, Criminal InJustice, HV, and European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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An introduction to section A of Critique and Dissent which focuses on the history and politics of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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<p>A discussion of the development of critical criminologies in theUK and its main theoretical and political priorities. </p
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An anthology of abolitionist papers presented to conferences of the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control
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Emancipatory Politics and Praxis: An anthology of essays written for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, 2013–16 Book How to cite: Scott, David with Bell, Emma; Gilmore, Joanna; Gosling, Helena; Moore, J. M.... more
Emancipatory Politics and Praxis: An anthology of essays written for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, 2013–16 Book How to cite: Scott, David with Bell, Emma; Gilmore, Joanna; Gosling, Helena; Moore, J. M. and Spear, Faith. (2016) Emancipatory Politics and Praxis: An anthology of essays written for the European Group for the Study of Deviance and Social Control, 2013–16. EG Press, London.
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The aim of this article is to critically engage with the idea that Therapeutic Communities (TC’s) can be promoted as a radical alternative to prison for substance users who have broken the law in England. After grounding the discussion... more
The aim of this article is to critically engage with the idea that Therapeutic Communities (TC’s) can be promoted as a radical alternative to prison for substance users who have broken the law in England. After grounding the discussion within the normative framework of an ‘abolitionist real utopia’ (Scott, 2013), the article explores the historical and theoretical underpinnings of TC’s. Existing literature which advocates that TC’s can be ‘otherwise than prison’, not ‘prisons otherwise’ are then reviewed, followed by a critical reflection of the strengths and weaknesses of the TC’s contribution to a broader non-penal real utopia manifesto. After evaluating evidence concerning whether TC’s necessarily are a genuine alternative to the prison place, the article concludes that whilst findings indicate TC’s could be a plausible and historically immanent non-penal real utopia for certain people in certain circumstances it is essential that we remain focused on the broader priority of chal...
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Thank you very much for inviting me to speak today. I am going to split this talk into two parts. First, I will give a very brief overview of the 1826 weavers uprising in East Lancashire. Second, I will outline the goals and objectives... more
Thank you very much for inviting me to speak today. I am going to split this talk into two parts.
First, I will give a very brief overview of the 1826 weavers uprising in East Lancashire.
Second, I will outline the goals and objectives of the recently formed bicentennial committee and how it plans to work towards the 200th anniversary of the uprising in 2026.
First, I will give a very brief overview of the 1826 weavers uprising in East Lancashire.
Second, I will outline the goals and objectives of the recently formed bicentennial committee and how it plans to work towards the 200th anniversary of the uprising in 2026.
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Online Talk for Momentum, 7th April 2020 The current government policy on COVID-19 in prisons are falling woefully short of what is required to ensure the safety of prisoners. The government approaches of lockdown, shielding and... more
Online Talk for Momentum, 7th April 2020
The current government policy on COVID-19 in prisons are falling woefully short of what is required to ensure the safety of prisoners. The government approaches of lockdown, shielding and cohorting are grounded in the flawed logics of coercion, risk and vulnerabilities. Government policy should, however, be guided by the principle of protecting human life and preventing violations of human dignity. This talk highlights the dangers of the coronavirus in prisons; the inherent harms of imprisonment and ultimately calls for plausible non-coercive alternative available to the government, including welfare social policies and a radical reduction in the prison population.
The current government policy on COVID-19 in prisons are falling woefully short of what is required to ensure the safety of prisoners. The government approaches of lockdown, shielding and cohorting are grounded in the flawed logics of coercion, risk and vulnerabilities. Government policy should, however, be guided by the principle of protecting human life and preventing violations of human dignity. This talk highlights the dangers of the coronavirus in prisons; the inherent harms of imprisonment and ultimately calls for plausible non-coercive alternative available to the government, including welfare social policies and a radical reduction in the prison population.