DOCSLIB.ORG

Overcrowded As Normal: Governance, Adaptation, and Chronic Capacity Stress in the England and Wales Prison System, 1979 to 2009

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Overcrowded As Normal: Governance, Adaptation, and Chronic Capacity Stress in the England and Wales Prison System, 1979 to 2009 The London School of Economics and Political Science Overcrowded as normal: Governance, adaptation, and chronic capacity stress in the England and Wales prison system, 1979 to 2009 Simon Bastow A thesis submitted to the Department of Government of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, January 2012 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,629 words. 2 Abstract Why do public policy systems sustain chronic conditions despite general consensus that these conditions are detrimental to overall performance? The answer is because they are, in one way or another, sustainable. Systems find ways of sustaining manageable and acceptable equilibrium between demand for their services and their supply. Yet in doing so, they develop ways of coping with and normalizing situations of chronicness. This research is about chronic capacity stress (CCS) in a large and complex public policy system. CCS may be caused by excessive demand for services. It may also be caused by inadequate supply. Either way, it is a property of sustainable equilibrium between the two, and therefore must be understood in these dynamic terms rather than as just the product of one or the other. I examine overcrowding in the England and Wales prison system as an archetypal case of CCS. It starts with the assumption that the prison system should in theory be set up to deal with the demands made upon it. In doing so, it examines the way in which the system itself has coped with, normalized, and sustained crowding over the years. I have conducted in-depth interviewing with former ministers, top officials, governors, and other key actors, as well as extensive quantitative analysis covering three decades. I develop four inter-related themes as a part of a ‘problematique’ which explains why CCS is sustained: ambivalence towards rehabilitation, coping and crisis culture, benign resistance, and obsolescence and redundancy. Constrained autonomy of actors and their adaptive behaviours are key to understanding how the system sustains CCS, and how it is able to function despite CCS. Ultimately, I show how three groups of public policy theory – public choice, cultural theory, and governance - are vital aspects of an overall explanation, but that independently they are insufficient to explain why chronicness sustains, and therefore must be integrated into a more holistic, governance-style explanation. CCS can be seen as a function of governance dysfunction. 3 Contents List of Figures and Tables 6 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 11 Chapter 1 The limits of theory in explaining chronic capacity stress 20 1.1 Strategic actors, rational choices, and alignment problems 22 1.2 Adding in culture, beliefs, and values 29 1.3 Seeing the whole – governance, architecture and steering 35 1.4 Why we need a more integrated approach 44 Chapter 2 A more holistic governance-style approach 49 2.1 The ‘holistic trinity’ – values, system, and environment 50 2.2 Value-based goals of prison in a changing environment 56 2.3 System design and meeting value-based goals 63 2.4 Imposing value-based goals and resistance in the system 67 2.5 How system design keeps pace with environment change 71 2.6 Integrating four loops into one – the ‘problematique’ 75 Chapter 3 Performance improvement and managerialism as a basis for legitimacy 81 3.1 Productivity analysis as a proxy for performance 82 3.2 Adjusting productivity to account for performance 88 3.3 Countervailing dynamics of managerialist change 99 Chapter 4 Measuring capacity and setting crowding standards 115 4.1 Ex ante and ex post standards for prison capacity 116 4.2 Two capacity standards 120 a. Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) 120 b. Operational Capacity (Op Cap) 127 4.3 Perceptions of how these two standards have performed 132 4.4 Control through counterbalance between standards 138 4 Chapter 5 Senior ministers, and the limits of their influence on capacity questions 144 5.1 Seeing the capacity problem from the ministerial perspective 145 5.2 Autonomy of ministers to shape and impact CCS 151 5.3 Constraints on ministerial autonomy to reform the system 159 Chapter 6 Top officials, and the interface between political and operational 174 6.1 The shift towards managerial and operational cultures 175 6.2 The managerial challenge of making the system work 179 6.3 Autonomy of senior officials to influence capacity 186 6.4 How senior officials are constrained by the system 191 Chapter 7 Governors, staff, and strategies of local adaptation 201 7.1 Managing prisoners, cost savings, and physical assets 202 7.2 How governors are constrained by the centre 208 7.3 Autonomy of governors to influence capacity in their prisons 217 Chapter 8 Privately contracted prisons – new setting, same condition 226 8.1 Constraints on the autonomy of the private sector 227 8.2 The ‘contractualization’ of crowding and capacity stress 236 8.3 Operational autonomy and comparisons with the public sector 242 Chapter 9 Chronic capacity stress - a function of governance dysfunction 252 9.1 Return to the problematique 253 9.2 Individual actors, constrained autonomy, and adaptation 261 9.3 Theoretical implications of the holistic approach 267 9.4 Prospects for breaking out of the chronic condition 275 Annex A – Research design and methods 285 Annex B – Bibliography 305 Annex C – Background on the prison system and prison population 318 Annex D – List of interviewees and references for quotations – NOT na INCLUDED IN THE BOUND COPY - For examiners only 5 List of Figures and Tables Figures 1.1 Key relationships between actors in the prison system 24 1.2 How shaping behaviour leads to under-supply of capacity 25 2.1 Integrating the trinity in a holistic relationship, and four potential 53 misalignments 2.2 Collapse of the rehabilitative ideal 59 2.3 Number of receptions of prisoners sentenced to immediate 60 imprisonment, by length of sentence 2.4 Number of receptions of prisoners sentenced to immediate 60 imprisonment, by type of offence 2.5 Reoffending rates reported to parliament for adult males, within two 61 years of discharge from custody 2.6 Adding in the ‘coping and crisis culture’ loop 64 2.7 Adding in the ‘direct or benign resistance’ loop 68 2.8 Expenditure at different levels of the prison system, 1979 to 2009 69 2.9 Adding in the ‘sustained obsolescence and redundancy’ loop 74 2.10 The problematique 76 3.1 Total factor productivity in the prison system, 1979 to 2009 85 3.2 Trends in labour productivity in the prison system, 1979 to 2009 86 3.3 Average annual number of prisoner escapes, per 1000 prisoners 90 3.4 Index of disturbances and riots across the prison system 91 3.5 Percentage of prisoners ‘tripled’ or ‘doubled’ in cells designed for 92 one, since 1945 3.6 Rate of self-inflicted deaths in custody, per 1000 prisoners 92 3.7 Indicators of effective capacity management in the prison system 96 3.8 Revised productivity tracks after adjustments for performance quality 99 3.9 Comparing indexed rates of change in crowding and quality-adjusted 101 productivity 3.10 Rates of reoffending within two years after discharge from different 104 types of prison, for sentences less than 12 months and more than 12 months 3.11 Reference to crowding made by HM Inspectorate reports, and specific 109 focus of the reference, 1998 to 2009 4.1 Crowding in local prisons and remand centres, measured against CNA 124 4.2 Crowding in adult closed training prisons, measured against CNA 124 4.3 Crowding in all other types of prisons, measured against CNA 124 4.4 Legend showing different levels of severity of crowding above CNA, 125 with reference to Figures 4.2 to 4.4 below 4.5 The relationship between average CNA, Op Cap, and the prison 130 population in all prisons, since 2004 5.1 Number of mentions of ‘crowding’ in Parliament, by type of role of 153 the speaker 6.1 Number of new prisoner places, by type of accommodation 181 6 6.2 Number of new prisoner places, by type of prison 181 6.3 Estimated ‘headroom’ capacity in the prison system, and rates of 194 executive release under End of Custody Licence (ECL) 7.1 Flow of prisoners processed IN and OUT of a local prison 205 7.2 Box plots showing average daily movement of prisoners processed IN 205 and OUT of Birmingham prison from Jan to Dec 2008 7.3 Numbers of mentions of POA and PGA in national newspapers, and 216 proportions of mentions relating to crowding issues 8.1 Growth in market share for privately contracted prisons 228 9.1 The problematique rehearsed. 254 9.2 Indexed rates of prison crowding and quality-adjusted productivity 255 since 1979 9.3 Fallacy of a linear conception of under-supply and over-supply 271 A1 Alternative ways of calculating quality adjustment in total factor 303 productivity Tables 1.1 Four cultural theory archetypes, and how they relate to CCS 30 1.2 Three dimensions of governance 36 1.3 Key features of New Public Management (NPM)
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Inside Books Project Resource Guide
    INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT RESOURCE GUIDE ABOUT INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT 2 LEGAL RESOURCES 15 CONTESTING BOOK DENIALS 2 L-G-B-T RESOURCES 19 ARTIST AND WRITER RESOURCES 2 PAROLE & PRE-RELEASE 21 BOOKS-TO-PRISONERS PROJECTS 3 PEN PAL PROGRAMS 23 DEATH PENALTY RESOURCES 5 PRISONER SUPPORT 24 EDUCATION 7 PUBLICATIONS & NEWSLETTERS 26 FAMILY RESOURCES 8 RELIGIOUS & SPIRITUAL 28 HEALTH RESOURCES 10 RESOURCES FOR VETERANS 30 IMMIGRATION RESOURCES 12 RESOURCES FOR WOMEN 31 INFORMACIÓN EN ESPAÑOL 14 Updated January 2020 About Inside Books Project the Mail System Coordinators Panel in Huntsville. Pages cited by the mailroom as Based in Austin, Texas, Inside Books inappropriate are reviewed and if the book Project is an all-volunteer, nonprofi t is denied, it takes a permanent place on organization that sends free books and the banned book list. educational materials to people in Texas prisons. Inside Books Project works to If the panel choose to censor the book, a promote reading, literacy, and education mailroom offi cial is responsible for notifying among incarcerated individuals and to you and informing you of the appeals educate the general public on issues of process. Many books are banned simply incarceration. because they are not appealed, and this means the book will be denied to everyone INSIDE BOOKS PROJECT else in the TDCJ. We encourage you to PO Box 301029 contest your publication denials, not only Austin, TX 78703 for your own sake but for other prisoners [email protected] who may request the same title. insidebooksproject.org Book denials in a federal unit may be easier to challenge.
    [Show full text]
  • Identity, Authority and Myth-Making: Politically-Motivated Prisoners and the Use of Music During the Northern Irish Conflict, 1962 - 2000
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Queen Mary Research Online Identity, authority and myth-making: Politically-motivated prisoners and the use of music during the Northern Irish conflict, 1962 - 2000 Claire Alexandra Green Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 I, Claire Alexandra Green, confirm that the research included within this thesis is my own work or that where it has been carried out in collaboration with, or supported by others, that this is duly acknowledged below and my contribution indicated. Previously published material is also acknowledged below. I attest that I have exercised reasonable care to ensure that the work is original, and does not to the best of my knowledge break any UK law, infringe any third party’s copyright or other Intellectual Property Right, or contain any confidential material. I accept that the College has the right to use plagiarism detection software to check the electronic version of the thesis. I confirm that this thesis has not been previously submitted for the award of a degree by this or any other university. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author. Signature: Date: 29/04/19 Details of collaboration and publications: ‘It’s All Over: Romantic Relationships, Endurance and Loyalty in the Songs of Northern Irish Politically-Motivated Prisoners’, Estudios Irlandeses, 14, 70-82. 2 Abstract. In this study I examine the use of music by and in relation to politically-motivated prisoners in Northern Ireland, from the mid-1960s until 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • The Prisoners of New York
    LIHJ — Founded by Roger Wunderlich in 1988 published by the Center for Global & Local History a unit of the Stony Brook Institute for Global Studies Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-3380 ISSN 0898-7084 Editor in Chief Associate Editor Associate Editor Editor at Large Charles Backfish Noel Gish Joshua Ruff Wolf Schäfer HOME ABOUT LIHJ LIHJ BOARD AUTHORS RESOURCES SEARCH SUBSCRIBE Volume 22, Issue 2, Summer 2011 The Prisoners of New York Edwin G. Burrows Brooklyn College Abstract: New York City was occupied by the British for the duration of the Revolutionary War. Tens of thousands of American insurgents, civilian as well as military, were detained in and around Manhattan, the great majority under scandalously horrible conditions. As many as 18,000 may have perished--nearly three times as many as the number who died in battle. For a number of reasons, including the Anglo-American rapprochement that began around the turn of the 20th century, historians have generally downplayed the magnitude of the disaster. Keywords: American Revolution, prisoners of war, the Jersey, prison ships, Wallabout Bay, George Washington, William Howe, Ethan Allen Editor’s Note Professor Burrows presented this talk at a symposium, “The American Revolution on Long Island and in New York City,” held at Stony Brook University on October 4, 2010, and co-sponsored by the Three Village Historical Society, the LIHJ, and Stony Brook University. The LIHJ includes the talk as it was delivered by Professor Burrows so this format will not contain the citations usually accompanying articles in the journal. However, since his talk made significant use of two diaries written by Long Island residents, Professor Burrows offers the following references for readers who might find them of interest: [Anon.], Journal of Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Contractual Management of Custodial Services in the United Kingdom
    Contractual Management of Custodial Services in the United Kingdom TIM WILSON This chapter reviews the provision of custodial services by the private sector under the Conservative governments in power in the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1997. This account of govern- ment policy in the United Kingdom, since it was written in July 1996, could not anticipate government policy after the election of a Labour Government in May 1997; an indication of the ap- proach to prison management that the new Government may take is given in appendix A. The development of contractual management—a term more appropriate than “privatization” for the approach taken in the United Kingdom—occurred in three phases: (1) the debate and passage of legislation (1987–1992); (2) the introduction of contractually managed prisons and court escort services (1992–1995); Notes will be found on page 90. 63 64 Privatizing Correctional Services (3) the letting of contracts under the Government’s Private Fi- nance Initiative (PFI) for the private design, construction, management, and financing of prisons (DCMF) (1995– 1997). Background Her Majesty’s Prison Service is the only penal service within England and Wales entrusted with criminal and the small num- ber of civil prisoners. It is also responsible for some immigra- tion detainees (others are held by contractors1 appointed directly by the Immigration Service or that service itself). There are separate prison services responsible for Scotland and North- ern Ireland but, while these have contracted some functional services such as catering and building maintenance, at the time of writing they have not awarded any contracts for the manage- ment of prisons.
    [Show full text]
  • Banged up August 2008 for the Term ‘Banged REFORM Up’ in the Previous Three Months
    and by humanising both the young The media and reform: offenders and their adult mentors. Using LexisNexis, a search was made of UK newspapers on 14 the case of Banged Up August 2008 for the term ‘banged REFORM up’ in the previous three months. David Wilson discusses the reform potential This yielded 42 stories over 24 newspapers in which the programme of popular media, focusing on the TV series was mentioned. This mention might PENAL Banged Up. have been as brief as the programme being cited as evidence of Channel 5’s commitment to new programmes to over 2,000 words of interview ORING with David Blunkett. n my previous writing I have prisoner’s story and measuring their As might be expected the suggested that popular, progress within the series. The Rt majority of mentions were in TV EXPL Imainstream TV and fi lms about Hon David Blunkett MP, the former previews (20) and reviews (8) and prisons can serve a penal reform Home Secretary (2001-2004) was clearly the majority of other articles/ function through, for example, recruited to chair the parole board profiles had been sparked by the helping to set standards of decency hearings. Throughout the programme series or publicity for it. The setting for what is and what is not makers not only wanted to entertain of Scarborough’s former jail ensured acceptable practice in prison, and viewers with this piece of ‘reality some coverage by local papers (four representing prisoners as people in TV’, but also have the young mentions in Scarborough Evening an attempt to counter processes of prisoners experience what prison News) as did the participation of ex- depersonalisation and de- was like in the belief that this could offenders (Birmingham Evening humanisation (Wilson and change their future behaviour.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ambiguous Patriotism of Jack Tar in the American Revolution Paul A
    Loyalty and Liberty: The Ambiguous Patriotism of Jack Tar in the American Revolution Paul A. Gilje University of Oklahoma What motivated JackTar in the American Revolution? An examination of American sailors both on ships and as prisoners of war demonstrates that the seamen who served aboard American vessels during the revolution fit neither a romanticized notion of class consciousness nor the ideal of a patriot minute man gone to sea to defend a new nation.' While a sailor could express ideas about liberty and nationalism that matched George Washington and Ben Franklin in zeal and commitment, a mixxture of concerns and loyalties often interceded. For many sailors the issue was seldom simply a question of loyalty and liberty. Some men shifted their position to suit the situation; others ex- pressed a variety of motives almost simultaneously. Sailors could have stronger attachments to shipmates or to a hometown, than to ideas or to a country. They might also have mercenary motives. Most just struggled to survive in a tumultuous age of revolution and change. Jack Tar, it turns out, had his own agenda, which might hold steadfast amid the most turbulent gale, or alter course following the slightest shift of a breeze.2 In tracing the sailor's path in these varying winds we will find that seamen do not quite fit the mold cast by Jesse Lemisch in his path breaking essays on the "inarticulate" Jack Tar in the American Revolution. Lemisch argued that the sailor had a concern for "liberty and right" that led to a "complex aware- ness that certain values larger than himself exist and that he is the victim not only of cruelty and hardship but also, in the light of those values, of injus- tice."3 Instead, we will discover that sailors had much in common with their land based brethren described by the new military historians.
    [Show full text]
  • Prison Ships
    Br. J. Am. Leg. Studies 10(2) (2021), DOI: 10.2478/bjals-2021-0002 Prison Ships Robert M. Jarvis* ABSTRACT In 2026, New York City plans to close the VERNON C. BAIN, America’s only currently- operating prison ship. Although prison ships have a long history, both in the United States and elsewhere, surprisingly little has been written about them. Accordingly, this article first provides a detailed overview of prison ships. It then surveys the U.S. case law generated by them. KEYWORDS Hulks, Prisoners, Prisoners of War, Prisons, Ships CONTENTS I. Introduction ......................................................................................283 II. Definitions and Scope ......................................................................284 III. History .............................................................................................288 A. Use During Wartime ......................................................................288 1. By Foreign Countries .....................................................................288 2. By the United States .......................................................................292 B. Use During Peacetime ..................................................................293 1. By Foreign Countries .....................................................................293 2. By the United States .......................................................................300 IV. U.S. Case Law ...................................................................................316 A. Mere Mention
    [Show full text]
  • Taiwan's Darker Past: Emerging Histories of the World-War II Prisoner
    Taiwan’s darker past: Emerging histories of the World-war II prisoner of war camps. Michael Hoare European Association for Taiwan Studies Paris, 31st March 2006 Introduction Taiwan played a significant part in the system of Japanese prisoner of war camps that extended across South-East Asia between 1942 and 1945 . In part it served as a transit point for prisoners sent on to Japan, but as the Japanese defeat drew closer, with the Americans advancing northwards, it came to receive increasing numbers of prisoners displaced from the Philippines and Indonesia. Although records were assembled, largely through agencies investigating war crimes, the part played by Taiwan has tended to be down-played in relation to some of the more dramatic locations, such as Thailand, and those nearer the hostilities, such as Java and the Philippines.1 As the survivors of the Pacific War have grown old, a quite remarkable surge of interest by amateur historians among them has led to the collection and publication of a fund of first-hand oral history, organized through various societies of veterans. The Taiwan Prison Camps Memorial Society founded some ten years ago is particularly active and has done much to reverse the relative neglect of the island’s history during the war period, and the efforts of the Japanese to cover up some of the worst crimes that took place there. The great majority of prisoners held in Taiwan were captured as a result of the surrenders of Hong Kong in December 1941 and Singapore in February 1942 and were principally of British and Australian nationalities, with rather less Americans.
    [Show full text]
  • American Common Seamen Prisoners of War in Britain During the American Revolution
    AilERICAE COPIPION SEAPIEN PRISONERS DB WAR fM BRITAXM DURING THE BBERICAN BEVOLUTfON Ralph Nelson Skinner B. A,, Occidental College, 1867 1 A THESIS SUBBITTED IN PABTIAL FULFILLBENT OF THE REQBLREHENTS FOR THE DBGfEE OB BASTER OF AWTS in the Departseat History > @ RALPH lJ3lSON SRINIBR 1975 SIMON f BBSEB UNZVEBSITX , September 1975 All sights reserved, This thesis way not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, vitbout pernission of the author, Don 5. Kirschner --w--*-~~-'~L"L-VII*I*--kZ-L->-y---------w----**--M------ I - Xean S. ronen fxtetnaf Exsetnsr 4ssoctste Profsfsar tlccioental Catfega~Cos dngefast Ca!ifi?rnia Data Bp~rovaa: ,,,Segfwber ,,,,,,,L,,,,,, 8 1975 PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENSE I hereby grant to Simon Fraser University the right to lend my thesis or dissertation (the title of which is shown below) to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for multiple copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Title of Thesis I~issertation: American Revolution. Author: - . - - - / I ., / / (signature) Ralph Nelson Skinner (name ) December 9, 1975 (date) ABSTRACT The history of the coB@on man
    [Show full text]
  • A PRESUMPTION AGAINST IMPRISONMENT Social Order and Social Values
    July 2014 A PRESUMPTION AGAINST IMPRISONMENT Social Order and Social Values A Presumption Against Imprisonment Social Order and Social Values July 2014 THE BRITISH ACADEMY 10 –11 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5AH www.britishacademy.ac.uk Registered Charity: Number 233176 © The British Academy 2014 Published July 2014 ISBN 978-0-85672-615-6 Designed by Soapbox, www.soapbox.co.uk Printed by Kube 3 Contents Acknowledgements 4 The Authors 5 Foreword by the Rt Hon. the Lord Woolf 9 Executive Summary 15 Introduction 21 Part I: Where We Are Now and How We Got Here 26 Part II: Why Our Imprisonment Policies Should Change 52 Part III: Strategies for Reducing the Prison Population 86 Annex: Key Events and Documents 106 4 A Presumption Against Imprisonment // British Academy Acknowledgements This Report has been produced under the aegis of the British Academy’s programme of public policy activities. Written by members of a steering group set up by the Academy, those with authorial responsibility for the various parts of the Report are Rob Allen, Andrew Ashworth, Roger Cotterrell, Andrew Coyle, Antony Duff, Nicola Lacey, Alison Liebling and Rod Morgan. Other members of the steering group, who offered helpful advice at various stages in the production of the Report, were Tony Bot- toms, Brenda Hale and Paul Rock. As a serving judge, Brenda Hale takes no view on the opinions expressed in the Report. The Foreword was written by the Rt Hon. Lord Woolf; and the Report was edited and the Executive Summary written by Les Newby and Nicky Denison, independent consultants and writers on society, economy and the environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Philip Freneau, the British Prison Ship, Poem, 1781, Selections
    MAKING THE REVOLUTION: AMERICA, 1763-1791 PRIMARY SOURCE COLLECTION PHILIP FRENEAU, The British Prison-Ship, 1781 __ __ Heavens! may I never feel the poignant pain, / To live subjected to such brutes again; * Known as the Poet of the American Revolution, Philip Freneau wrote The British Prison Ship as the first-person account of a six- week ordeal on British prison ships, on which an estimated 11,500 Americans died during the war. Although some facts in the poem conflict with ships’ records and Freneau’s own prose account, it is likely that Freneau was describing his own experiences as a young prisoner in his twenties.1 Presented here are the imprisonment sections of the first and least-known version, published only months after Freneau’s release in summer 1780. He revised the poem six times over the next three decades, retaining the details of the prisoners’ harsh treatment but removing his furied denunciations of Britain. Included in the sidebars are selections from Freneau’s prose narrative, Some Account of the Capture of the Ship Aurora, written in 1780 and published in 1899. As recounted in Canto I, the privateer Aurora was captured in 1780 while sailing down the Delaware River, its destination St. Eustatia in the western Caribbean islands. It was taken to New York harbor where Britain moored most of its prison ships during the war. See map, p. 2. (A privateer was a privately owned warship, usually commissioned to attack the enemy’s commercial ships.) What follows is the entire text of Cantos II through IV. CANTO II.
    [Show full text]
  • Download the Working Paper
    WORKING PAPER A Shock To !e System: Journalism, Government and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 Jeremy Hayes May 2009 FOREWORD: The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has changed journalism in Britain. Four years after it was introduced the flow of news stories relying in whole or in part on information gained through a request to a government department, agency or statutory body has become continual. Although government ministers insist that the Act was not created for the benefit of journalism, there is no doubt that for a number of journalists the Act has altered the way they work and their expectation about the information they can gather through it. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the way in which the Act is being applied by officials and the uses to which it is being put by journalists. I have carried this out at a time when the stakes over the future definition of public interest as it applies to FOI have never been higher. 2009 may prove to be a decisive year for the Act through the rulings of the Information Tribunal and the responses evoked in government, and as the scope of the Act as it applies to organisations working in the public sector, including central government, is redefined. I have been greatly assisted by the willingness of many partners in FOI – journalists, campaigners, officials and politicians – to share their experiences and insights with me. Because of the limit of time available to me I have not been able to consider the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act (Scotland) 2002 in any detail.
    [Show full text]