Submitted by Administrator on Thu, 23/04/2020 - 11:07
Ellie Brown, a final year PhD student, has recently been awarded one of this year's Cambridge Society for the Application of Research Awards for her research which seeks to understand the current use and experience of segregation (also known as solitary confinement) in English prisons.
As a qualified lawyer Ellie is interested in how the law has shaped the experience of segregation and is adopting a socio-legal approach to her research. She undertook her fieldwork in HMP Whitemoor, a high security prison, spending four months conducting interviews with prisoners and staff, as well as observing prison practices. During her fieldwork she explored:
(i) the processes involved in segregating individuals;
(ii) how segregation was typically used; and
(iii) the experience of segregation.
Ellie hopes her work might prompt policy-makers to revisit the use of segregation, to consider avenues for reform and to re-imagine a better version of the English penal system.
(Cambridge Society for the Application of Research)