Body Searches and Imprisonment

278 Pages·2023·3.851 MB·English

by  Tom Daems

PALGRAVE STUDIES IN
PRISONS AND PENOLOGY
Body Searches and
Imprisonment
Edited by
Tom Daems
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
Series Editors
Ben Crewe, Institute of Criminology, University
of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Yvonne Jewkes, Social & Policy Sciences, University
of Bath, Bath, UK
Thomas Ugelvik, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Oslo,
Norway
This is a unique and innovative series, the first of its kind dedicated
entirely to prison scholarship. At a historical point in which the prison
population has reached an all-time high, the series seeks to analyse
the form, nature and consequences of incarceration and related forms
of punishment. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology provides an
important forum for burgeoning prison research across the world.
Series Advisory Board
Anna Eriksson (Monash University),
Andrew M. Jefferson (DIGNITY - Danish Institute Against Torture),
Shadd Maruna (Rutgers University),
Jonathon Simon (Berkeley Law, University of California) and
Michael Welch (Rutgers University).
Tom Daems
Editor
Body Searches
and Imprisonment
Editor
Tom Daems
Faculty of Law and Criminology
KU Leuven
Leuven, Belgium
ISSN 2753-0604 ISSN 2753-0612 (electronic)
Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology
ISBN 978-3-031-20450-0 ISBN 978-3-031-20451-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20451-7
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
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Preface
The chapters in this book were first presented and discussed at the
international workshop “Body searches and imprisonment” which was
organized on 21 April 2022 at the Leuven Institute of Criminology
(LINC), KU Leuven, Belgium. In that workshop we aimed to explore
body search practices in prisons from different angles (criminology, soci-
ology, philosophy and law) and study such practices comparatively in
different national contexts within Europe. What exactly makes such
control measures problematic in a prison context? How do such prac-
tices come to be regulated in an international and European context?
How are such rules translated into national law? To what extent are laws
and rules respected, bended, circumvented, denied? And what does the
future hold for body searches?
I am very grateful to all the speakers and participants in the workshop
for excellent papers and lively discussions. The authors did a great job
in meeting deadlines when turning the draft papers into chapters and
answering my queries when producing this volume. I am grateful to the
editors of the wonderful Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology series
for welcoming this volume to the Series and to Josie Taylor and her team
v
vi Preface
at Palgrave Macmillan for their help and assistance in producing this
volume in a timely manner.
The workshop was organized during a 6 month period of sabbatical
research leave (February–July 2022). Most of the editing and writing for
this volume was done during this period. I am grateful to the Faculty of
Law & Criminology at KU Leuven for approving my research leave and
the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for awarding me a generous
research grant which allowed me to travel, read and write. My sabbat-
ical leave was only possible with the support of Diego Zysman, Máximo
Sozzo, Malcolm Feeley and Jonathan Simon who made it possible for me
to travel to—and spend valuable time in—Buenos Aires, Santa Fe and
Berkeley.
Last but not least, thanks a million to my family and—especially—mi
mariposa Eva, for all their patience and support.
Leuven, Belgium Tom Daems
September 2022
Contents
Body Searches as Contested Control Measures 1
Tom Daems
The Imposition of Power Through Touch: A Sensory
Criminology Approach to Understanding Body Searches 7
Jason Warr
Searching, ‘State of Security’ and the Structuration
of Prison Security 27
Jamie Bennett
Strip Searches: A Risky Practice That Needs to Be
Monitored 45
Barbara Bernath
Strip Searches Through the Lens of the Prohibition
of Inhuman and Degrading Treatment in European
Human Rights Law 67
Natasa Mavronicola and Elaine Webster
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viii Contents
Body Searches and Vulnerable Groups: Women
and LGBTQI+ People in Prison 101
Aurore Vanliefde
Body Searches in Belgian Prisons: Dignity, Security
and Denial 131
Tom Daems
Body Searches in French Prisons: Dignity and Security
on a Roller Coaster 153
Joana Falxa
Stripping the Self Away: Security, Control,
and Punishment in the Practice of Strip Searches
in Spanish Prisons 177
Cristina Güerri
Gendered Punishment and Protest in a Context
of Conflict: Strip Searching in Northern Ireland 215
Conor Byrne and Linda Moore
“There’s a Tech for That”: Balancing Dignity and Security
in Carceral Settings Through Alternative Technology
Devices 241
Anaïs Tschanz
What Future for Body Searches in Prisons? 265
Tom Daems
Index 269
Contributors
Jamie Bennett University of Oxford, Oxford, UK;
Youth Justice Board, London, UK
Barbara Bernath Association for the Prevention of Torture, Geneva,
Switzerland
Conor Byrne Ulster University, Belfast, UK
Tom Daems Faculty of Law and Criminology, KU Leuven, Leuven,
Belgium
Joana Falxa Université de Pau et des Pays de L’Adour, Pau, France
Cristina Güerri Instituto Andaluz Interuniversitario de Criminología,
Universidad de Málaga, Málaga, Spain
Natasa Mavronicola University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Linda Moore Ulster University, Belfast, UK
Anaïs Tschanz National Correctional Administration Academy
(ENAP), Agen, France
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