Citation

Bradshaw J, Emerson D, Haxby D. Br. J. Soc. Work 1972; 2(3): 323-335.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1972, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/oxfordjournals.bjsw.a056324

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the admission process to prison. The paper begins by outlining some of the current views on the effects of imprisonment and the adjustment of the inmate to prison life. Gofiman in particular has identified the important part played by admission procedures in depriving the individual of his personal identity and immersing him in the institutional system.
The authors studied the admission procedures at two penal establishments to see how far these showed the characteristics described by Gofrman as being 'fairly standard in total institutions'. The paper describes how the study was conducted, and gives an account of the admission procedure at the institutions. In their findings the authors try to assess the impact of this system on the inmate, and its significance within the total social system of the institution. The study casts doubt on the general applicability of Goffman's hypothesis, but at the same time shows that the admission procedure has a potential for introducing the inmate to his new environment in a constructive way, which is not being realized within the present system