The Prison Tour as a Pedagogical Tool: Challenges and Opportunities

This chapter is concerned with a “prison tour” by criminology students from Birmingham City University, England, which takes place each year at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Grendon. HMP Grendon is the only prison in Europe that operates wholly as a therapeutic community (see Genders and Player 1995 for a general introduction to the work of the prison), and it is therefore accepted that it is not typical of prisons either within HM Prison Service or within other penal systems. Analyses of the impact of the tour on students have been described elsewhere (see, for example, Wilson, Spina and Canaan 2011; Boag and Wilson 2013). Further information about the impact on the students is provided later, although those who are keen to see a more ethnographic account of the tour should consult Wilson, Spina and Canaan (2011). However, and in opposition to the general position adopted by, for example, Minogue (2003 and 2009), the chapter argues that this particular tour, at this specific prison is “ethical” and does not objectify or oppress those who are “toured,” largely because the therapeutic environment within the prison ensures that the prisoners are fully engaged—without being “scripted”—with the management of the day.