The Rise of Prison Managerialism

Based on ethnographic research conducted in two medium security prisons in 2007–8, this chapter describes the rise of managerialism in English prisons. The structure of prison management changed with the introduction of an extensive regime of performance targets, audits and other measures. This was reinforced through assertive, hierarchical management. This period also saw a shift in culture and identity of prison managers as they came to accept and even embody a new approach, developing a managerial habitus. This is not to say that local and traditional occupational cultures were entirely obliterated, rather there was a dynamic interplay between local and global, giving rise to a distinctive form of prison managerialism.