The Carceral Geography Working Group is delighted to announce the winner of our 2024 Postgraduate Paper Prize:
Iain Stevens (University of Cambridge): “Exploring the concept of ‘the Third Place’ in Prison“.
Submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management in January 2024. The full (18,000 word) paper can be found on the University of Cambridge Institute of Criminology website https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/alumni/available-theses
Congratulations Iain!
Abstract
Using Ray Oldenburg’s ‘third place’ as a sensitizing concept, I explore prisoners’ experiences of space and place in their social interactions. Third places are “public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals” (Oldenburg, 1999, p.16) and are distinct from a person’s first (home) and second place (work). Third places can arguably offer wide-ranging benefits to people who spend time in prisons – such as emotional support, structure and meaning, a sense of community, and social capital. This research was undertaken at HMP & YOI Parc in Bridgend, Wales. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 adult, male prisoners across three separate wings: a main wing, a Family Intervention Unit, and a Drug Rehabilitation Unit. I also undertook observation across the prison. The findings highlight the centrality of spatial control in enabling or limiting access to third places for prisoners. Prisoners living on specialist units, with higher status IEP, and able to benefit from prison officer discretion had more geographical freedom and spatial control. In turn, this allowed them access to better quality third places, higher up the ‘hierarchy of place’. Time spent in third places allowed prisoners to have more positive experiences of their first and second places. Place appropriation provided the richest third place experience for the men, by fostering ownership and investment in a third place. This research highlights the value of third places and challenges a narrow definition of ‘purposeful activity’ that excludes some third places. Although small-scale, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of place in a prisoner-centred regime.