Declared Guilty, a Never-ending Story: An analysis of the impact of the criminal justice system upon the self Brian Steels BA (Behavioural Studies) This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Murdoch University 2005 I declare that this thesis is my own account of my research and contains as its main content work which has not previously been submitted for a degree at any tertiary education institution Signed ……………………………………………………………….. Brian Steels Abstract This study explores the experience of people who have been publicly declared guilty. It retells the narratives of offenders from the point of arrest through to conviction and, where relevant, imprisonment and release. The experiences of close relatives are also explored and provide an important part of the thesis. These accounts are set against the institutional context of the criminal justice system and a systemic account of police, courts, prisons and community corrections is provided. The main aim of the study is to investigate and document the impact of the criminal justice process on offenders’ sense of ‘self’. At a theoretical level, the study is informed by symbolic interactionism, particularly the work of Erving Goffman. This enables the development of insights into issues such as loss, shame, humiliation and loss of self. The asymmetrical power relationship in which these feelings are engendered and maintained is emphasised. At the same time, the study records the level and types of resistance among the subjects of the criminal justice system. The findings are significant for our sociological understandings of the impact of being declared guilty, for they suggest that the criminal justice process per se contributes to a severely damaged self, and that the subjective experience of ‘being found guilty’ starts at the moment of arrest and persists well after sentencing as subjects try to re-integrate into the community with a record of conviction. The study also suggests that these processes are not passively absorbed by subjects. As well as describing feelings of shame and loss, those participating in the research talked about the unfairness of the system, their preparedness to resist in numerous ways, and of their longing for an older, better life in which their sense of self was undamaged. The study concludes by arguing that profound change to the culture of the criminal justice system is needed if rehabilitation is to be successful. In this context it emphasises the importance of accountable and transparent human services concerned with the human and civil rights of offenders, court diversion schemes, alternatives to custody, and the practical application of restorative and therapeutic justice. Contents Chapter Page Acknowledgements 1. Introduction and context of research thesis 1 2. The criminal justice system in Western Australia 13 3. The self and the criminal justice system: theoretical reflections 67 4. Methodology 99 5. Progress through the Criminal Justice System. Participant’s reflections 122 6. Progress through the Criminal Justice System: Participants’ families view 147 7. Guilty as charged: material, social and personal consequences 168 8. Power, subjugation and resistance 192 9. Implications for change 222 Appendices 246 Glossary 257 Bibliography 261 Acknowledgments I acknowledge that so many people have a place in this thesis. First and foremost I very much appreciate the guidance, support and unbelievable patience extended to me by my Supervisor, Professor Trish Harris. Trish has provided excellent feedback and continual encouragement throughout this study. I am especially thankful to my wife Carrol for her constant support and understanding throughout the period of time, for without such support this could not have happened. I also thank my children Louise, Michaela and Deanne for their kindness over many years when work has often taken precedence. Special thanks must also be given to my good friend, fellow activist, colleague on several ventures and kind reader of many notes and unedited ideas for chapters, Dr Dorothy Goulding. Her inspiration was brilliant. A special acknowledgement and thank you also must be given to my dear friend Mary for her encouragement and support when dark clouds approached. Thanks also to John, Kevin, Eunice, Toni and David who provided more than understanding, but fervent interest in the subject matter presented here. Most importantly, I extend my heartfelt thanks to those men and women who as participants in this study, shared with me so openly about their experiences. Their special contribution provided the richness that has a place in the text forever. For them, the struggle continues. 1 Chapter 1 Introduction and context of research thesis One door opens as another closes on the journey from free choice to no choice then out again to very little choice. The path from home to court, to jail, to home again and into isolation. Viewed by the eyes of others, peering into the heart of the punished. Bs95 This thesis explores how it feels to be publicly declared guilty and provides an analysis of the impact of the criminal justice system upon the self. It is told through the experiences of eighteen participants and, to a lesser degree, fourteen of their family members. The study really belongs to these participants, those best able to reflect on such an impact upon their selves. They made this study possible by allowing me to enter their lives and through the recounting of their personal stories. The study took place within the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. The original intention was to examine the social impact of an alternative sentencing option on offenders as I had been conducting research into a community group 2 conferencing model of restorative and transformative justice. However, as there were not enough adults who had experienced restorative justice processes it was decided to focus on the experiences of accused people entering the criminal justice system through traditional court processes. Within this context, my interest in restorative justice was retained in the sense that attention was still directed to the subjective implications of criminal justice proceedings and, more particularly, their impact on the self as perceived by the participants in this study. Most of the literature dealing with the counterproductive aspects of the criminal justice system focuses on imprisonment and other forms of formal punishment (Bowen and Consedine 1999; Carlen 2002, Coyle, 1994; Garland 2002; Goulding, 2002; Pratt 2000; Stern, 1999). This study aims to expand that body of knowledge by suggesting that in order to fully understand the impact of the criminal justice system we must consider the processes in their entirety. That is, from the moment when a person becomes a ‘person of interest’ to the police, through arrest, interrogation, being charged, convicted, sentenced, through to release and beyond. It is only thus, I contend, that we can grasp the totality of punitiveness and its enduring impact on an offender’s sense of self. The importance of this was underlined in the interviews where it became apparent that a sense of being found guilty occurred well prior to the formal court sentencing, occurring in most cases at the point of arrest and continuing well beyond release. 3 Introducing myself My own history is a crucial part of this study and following is a brief outline in introduction. In August 1992 I was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, to a seven and a half year prison sentence. My trial occurred twelve months after my arrest and first court appearance, during which time the experience of an immediate loss of income was felt. Being treated as though guilty by colleagues and officials and having to cope with the collapse of a relationship stressed my situation immensely. I was initially sent to Casuarina Maximum Security Prison and six months later transferred to Canning Vale Prison (now renamed Hakea). Finally, after eighteen months I was sent to Karnet Prison Farm from where my release to a work-release programme in November 1994 occurred. During this entire period of incarceration not one person asked if I required help, nor was any treatment programme provided. The experience of having to explain to everyone from bank staff to insurance and health professionals about my conviction and period away from home was frequent and traumatic, and although my own home was available to return to, I spent the first month living with my eldest daughter. Since my release in 1994 several close friends have died in custody. My release from custody also enabled me to be actively involved in restorative justice practices and penal reform. Within weeks of being released from prison I was back inside – this time providing pre-release courses, a prisoner advocacy service and visiting prisoners as an ‘Unofficial’ Official Prison Visitor, appointed by the Governor General of WA under the Prison Act. ‘Unofficial’ Official Visitors, under this act, were people such as advocates and lawyers, able to raise prisoners’ concerns directly with the Director General or the 4 Minister for Justice and his or her staff. ‘Unofficial’ Official Visitors differed in their role from that of an Official Visitor, who was selected from the community. The Official Visitors at this time were required to enter the prison to provide prisoners the opportunity to raise concerns about their treatment, and report back such concerns to the prison superintendent. Being involved as a justice activist provided me with an opportunity to assist small, community-based groups to raise particular concerns of penal reform issues and become involved with these groups when they protested against an officially imposed 24 hour prison lock-down, many instances of prisoner abuse and the outsourcing of prison and court services. This led, three years ago to my being a part of a team in which we helped develop and research a community group conference model of restorative and transformative justice in the Magistrate’s Courts, in Perth and Fremantle.