Behind the Walls: Inmates and Correctional Officers on the State of Canadian Prisons (Law and Society)

Despite falling crime rates, more rights for inmates, and better training for correctional officers, Canada’s prisons are overflowing, and outbreaks of violence continue to grab headlines. Applying Goffman’s frame theory and drawing on interviews with inmates and correctional officers in provincial and federal prisons, Michael Weinrath offers an unprecedented look at how inmates and officers perceive themselves, their relationships with others, and new developments and ongoing issues in prisons, including boundary violations by officers and the rise of prison gangs. Although progress has been made, prisons continue to be plagued by problems that prevent inmates from forging positive relationships among themselves and with correctional officers.

Michael Weinrath is professor of criminal justice and director of the Justice Research Institute at the University of Winnipeg.