Agent behind bars – Prisoners’ experience of agency in interaction with prison guards
Over the years, there has been a steady increase in research that focuses on prisoners as agents; prisoners are no longer seen as passive objects that comply obsequiously (i.e. without any personal input) with prison rules and regulations. In this article, we approach the relations between prison officers and prisoners from an “agency” perspective and explore how these relations shape the personal agency of prisoners.
In order to answer this question 17 in-depth interviews have been conducted in one Flemish prison. These interviews have shown that the relations with prison officers rarely constitute a stepping stone toward the regaining of personal agency. We do, however, need to nuance this; there are differences between inmates which can be explained by or based on the reaction typology of Clemmer , revised by Crewe . The relations with prison officers tend to be instrumental, seldom offering a feeling of personal agency.