Organisational development of the Scottish Prison Service, with particular reference to the role and influence of the prison officer
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Date
04/1986Author
Coyle, Andrew G.
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Abstract
This thesis argues that the Prison Service, while it has several unique
features, is a bureaucratic structure with a typical mix of organisational
strengths and weaknesses. The study of the development of the
organisation of the Scottish Prison Service is, therefore, as possible
and as proper as is the study of any large organisation. The first
substantive chapter of the thesis analyses the historical development o£
the Scottish Prison Service within an organisational context. This has
taken place in 3 main phases, the first two of which were sequential,
the third less obviously so and more the result of the increasing
involvement of central bureaucratic processes. Historically the Scottish
prison system has been properly located within the criminal justice
process and throughout the first 100 years of its modem existence the
judiciary and the legal establishment played a central role in its
development. The first phase or· its history covers the years between
1835 and 1877 when it was taken progressively under central control.
Particular attention is paid to William Brebner, the founding father
of the Scottish prlson system, and to the place of the General Prison
at Perth. The second historical phase covers the tenure of office of
the Scottish Prison Commission between 1877 and 1929. The significance
of the Elgin Report of 1900, which has not previously been the subject
of research, is described. The third phase of development which began
in 1929 and continues today has attempted to take the prison system out
of the criminal justice process and to place it inappropriately within the
mainstream of the administrative Civil Service. · The thesis analyses
the reasons for this and suggests that this structural change, rather than
any lack of resources, is responsible for many of the present difficulties
facing the Prison Service. The second substantive chapter of the thesis
examines the place of the prison system within the sociology of
organisations. By definition, an organisation can have only one
primary .goal. A feature of bureaucratic organisations is that those
who work within them will not be satisfied with a single objective and
are likely to develop secondary goals. One consequence of the location
of the prison system within the mainstream of the civil service has been
an emphasis on the secondary' goals of imprisonment, principally that of
rehabilitation, to the neglect of the primary goal which is the punishment
involved in the deprivation o£ liberty for the length of time laid down
by the court. A second consequence is the influence which staff are able
to exert on the development of the service. The manner in which the trade
unionism of prison staff has evolved in Scotland makes this area particularly
worthy of study; an important and topical example is the control of
difficult prisoners. The Thesis suggests that the management o£ the
Scottish Prison Service is more participative in style .than either the
Official or the Staff Side recognise. Throughout the thesis many of the
arguments presented are given support by responses to a questionnaire which
was issued to serving members of staff and which is fully documented into
appendices.
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