Is incarceration the mark of a civilised society?

For politicians to be 'tough on crime' could be perceived as them grabbing the low-hanging fruit, particularly at canvassing time. Most members of society want to feel safe and secure in their community and declarations of intent to build more prisons rarely perturb the public zeitgeist. Incarceration appears to be the normative form of retribution for crime. But is there a more nuanced approach, one that can serve to enhance public safety and minimise negative impact on innocent family members of the offender as well as administer just and effective punishment?

Earlier this year, the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, supported by the St Stephen's Green Trust, hosted a workshop to discuss and challenge current prison policy in Ireland and beyond.

The summer 2024 issue of Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review publishes the three papers presented, as well as three further contributions which consider prison and punishment from religious and theological perspectives. Shona Minson confronts the disruptive effects of women's imprisonment on their children; Anna Schliehe examines the principle and practice of 'trauma-informed practice' in women's prisons; David Gordon Scott considers the symbiotic relationship of the state and penal reformers. Catherine Cox and Sheena Orr both reflect on the historical and contemporary role of prison chaplaincy to those incarcerated; and Kevin Hargaden explores the place of the prison within the Bible.

Elsewhere in the issue Kevin Rafter reflects on the person and political legacy of the former taoiseach John Bruton, himself an occasional contributor to Studies; Peader Kirby continues his reflection on responding to people and opinions of the far right in a way that is 'primarily concerned with individuals and the common good'; John Turpin describes the work that The Friends of the National Collections of Ireland has done since its foundation in 1924. Two Irish poets, James Harpur and Peter Sirr are represented in this issue; and theologian Gerald O'Collins SJ, writing about the characteristics of Jesuit education, identifies 'seven sources of human and Christian wisdom' on which Jesuit pedagogy is built.

Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review summer 2024, Power and Punishment: Challenging Prison Policy is published by Messenger Publications. Priced at €10.

For more information see: www.studiesirishreview.ie