This book offers a detailed study of the therapeutic regime at Grendon Underwood Prison. Opened in 1962 as an experiment in the psychological treatment of prisoners, it has survived several changes in policy and direction within the prison system and it accommodates some of the most serious offenders and difficult prisoners in the country.
The book is based on a path-breaking empirical study and provides convincing evidence of the effectiveness of the Grendon regime. In the prevailing political climate, where attitudes to imprisonment have been determined by principles of just desserts, this study of a rehabilitative alternative will make an important and timely contribution to the wider debates about the purpose of imprisonment and current trends in criminal justice.
Opened in Britain in 1962 to investigate and treat prisoners whose crimes had a clear psychiatric cause, Grendon Prison promulgated radical ideas of rehabilitation through psychological and psychotherapeutic treatment that have been embraced by the influential Woolf Report. Drawing on interviews with prisoners and prison staff, this study of a "model" prison will interest criminologists, penologists, and prison staff worldwide.