Criminology
My research focuses on the use and experience of solitary confinement (SC) in prison. SC is contentious, having received a substantial amount of criticism due to its association with poor mental health outcomes, higher rates of self-harm, suicide and higher recidivism rates. SC is the most extreme sanction, after the death penalty, that a state can impose and pleas have been made to find and implement effective alternatives. My research, through fieldwork in the SC unit in a high security prison, explores the use of SC, to identify and evaluate much needed approaches to reducing the use of SC in prisons.
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