This two year master thesis examines the Swedish prison library's history during cell prison era.The investigation extends from the mid-1800s well into the 1900s. The purpose is to investigate theprison library by using a power concepts influenced by Michel Foucault. The questions revolvearound the ideas that formed the basis for the prison library and how the prison library was organizedin practice. Three types of sources are used to answer the essay questions and illustrate its pro -blems. Firstly, annual reports concerning the swedish prison system.

In this two-years masters thesis the information practices of former interns are examined in relation to a possible lack of certain kinds of information in the prison environment. The essay is positioned in the research field of information practices which means its looking at all kinds of information, formal and informal. Since the essay is in the field of information practices it means the focus lies in how information is taught whithin contexts and groups. Information is not looked at solely as an individual process but is seen as a collective experience.The method of the essay is that of the qualitative research interview. Besides taking an interest in information practices i investigate whether access of information in prisons could be improved and whether the library organisations could be a part of those improvements.The result of my research shows that information in the prison coming from the correctional institution is not perceived as well functioning.

This essay considers the new prison in Kalmar, which was built 1852 and replaced the former prison in the castle of Kalmar. In the forts the conditions were awful and the interms lived together in large rooms. With the new reform that took place in Sweden, with the so-called Philadelphiasystem, the concept was to isolate the prisoner one by one in smaller rooms. The idea was to give them a religious ground so they could get themselves a self-reflection and a conscience. It was a new system for the personnel to control the internals and the order in prison..

Different Perspectives is a study of detainees' and guards' experiences of the remand prison. The result of the study shows that the remand prison brings forth the individuals anxiety, stress and fear. The individual detained in remand prison have a great need for contact with their families, but also with the guards. In the remand prison there is always a great level of control and always some kind of power practised. It is the guards who have the power and the competences to make the individuals detained in remand prison follow the rules and do what they have been told.

According to the statistics, the number of older inmates in prison is increasing, and the care needs for this group are relatively unexplored. The purpose was to study prison officer?s perceptions of older inmates and their care needs. The study was based on a qualitative approach in which prison officers at one prison were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed based on earlier research and from a social constructionist perspective.

The discussion of the swedish treatment of offenders often revolves round the two contradictions punishment and care. Modern prison is described to be based on values such as humanity, care and respect, although the main task is to protect the society from criminals by keeping them locked up. This study focused on the role of the prison officer with the purpose of understanding how he sees his profesional role in an organisation influenced by punishment and care.Central questions are: How does the prison officer handle his role as caretaker in an organisation where he not only has the right to, but also is obliged to, controle and power his clients? How does the prison officer define his working role and does he find any dificulties in combining these?The research was realized during the months of April and May 2005 through qualitative interviews and conversations with prison officers working in a swedish prison. It also contained a minor fieldstudy in that same prison.The results showed that the principle conflict between punishment and care have an insignificant influence on the daily work of the prison officer.

The purpose of this study was to look at how clients, in the Swedish criminal justice, experience their involvement in treatment programs. The spotlight in the study was to examine which helpful and unhelpful factors are involved in a treatment process, in the view of individual experiences. The study is based on a qualitative method, with interviews as an instrument for collection of data.The result is summarized in three fields; is it possible to show vulnerable, the therapist and the meaning of the program. The result is based on interviews with six informants; five of them have been partaking in treatment programs in prison and one in the probation office. The study shows that partaking in treatment programs in prison is combined with problems in aspect of the different roles criminals play in prison.

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to explore how prison officers in Sweden manage their feelings in remand prisons versus inmates and colleagues. Due to changes in the prison officers occupational role and work environment we found it profoundly interesting to study how prison officers perceive and reflect on their emotion management, that relates to the work they perform. The prison officers occupational role includes tasks that corresponds with security work and rehabilitative labor towards inmates, this tend to create a complexity as the occupational role consists of contradictive tasks. They need to uphold safety by physical means simultaneously as they need to become more intimate with inmates to accomplish the rehabilitative tasks. The study proceeds with a qualitative inquiry with six interviews from three different remand prisons around Sweden.

The purpose with this study was to investigate the rules and norms there is in a prison. The rules in a meaning of the one that the prison have that the interns must follow and the norms and values. This study is from an outside perspective, which is in this case between the prison warders and the interns and the relation between the interns. The essay is based on nine interviews with prison warders from four different prisons in south of Sweden. Habermas theory about systems and lifeworld and prior research by Donald Clemmer and Ricard Nilssons B-essay in law of sociology is used to support the results.

This thesis explore women?s needs when reentering society after having served a sentence at the female prison Färingsö, outside Stockholm and whether those needs are being met in the reentry strategies that are being provided. Parallel to this the thesis also examines if there, based on nonconformity and gender theories, is a socially constructed representation of women maintained in the rehabilitation work.The method of this thesis applied semi-structured interviews and used snowball sampling to expand the network of informants to obtain the data necessary. Totally five interviews were carried out. Previous research has shown that women in prison have much more complex problems than men and that there is a need for reentry strategies that take gender in account.The results showed that in terms of being able to reenter back in society, women needed help to structure a previously chaotic life.

In this study, religiosity in prison is investigated. What opportunities are there for those detained to practice their religion and how did their religiosity change after they were detained? Six interviews were conducted to gain a better perspective of religiosity in prison. The focus is on Correctional Institution in Kalmar, where surveys have been conducted over a longer period but also the monastery at the Correctional facility in Kumla is discussed. Most interviews were conducted in the prison of Kalmar, in a room where religious conversations are conducted.

This thesis explore women?s needs when reentering society after having served a sentence at the female prison Färingsö, outside Stockholm and whether those needs are being met in the reentry strategies that are being provided. Parallel to this the thesis also examines if there, based on nonconformity and gender theories, is a socially constructed representation of women maintained in the rehabilitation work.The method of this thesis applied semi-structured interviews and used snowball sampling to expand the network of informants to obtain the data necessary. Totally five interviews were carried out. Previous research has shown that women in prison have much more complex problems than men and that there is a need for reentry strategies that take gender in account.The results showed that in terms of being able to reenter back in society, women needed help to structure a previously chaotic life.

This paper presents an investigation into the relationship between inmates and staff in a high security prison in Sweden. The primary objectives are to investigate this relationship from an inmate perspective and to identify key factors that may promote or hinder rehabilitative interaction with staff. Empirical data utilized in this study consist of semi-structured interviews carried out by the authors with nine inmates currently in custody of the treatment facility within the prison and six inmates housed within the study facility. This data collection method is an extension of grounded theory and four key themes were generated from the data analysis. The first of these examines the effect of rule enforcement on prison atmosphere and subsequent staff/inmate relations.

This two years master´s thesis examines how books and literature can strengthen the contact between imprisoned fathers and their children, and the connection between the treatment of offenders and education in Sweden. The methods used are interviews and textual analysis. The theoretical starting points are influenced by Bernt Gustavssons works concerning the concept of education (the Swedish term ?bildning?) and Foucaults thoughts on the subject of power and its relation to knowledge and resistance.Through history many attempts have been made to ?cure? those who commit criminal acts by educating them, at first to enable them to get employed after serving their sentence, the education thus being for the greater good of the society in general, but since the 1940?s the aim has shifted towards education for the individuals own personal development and readjustment to society.The findings indicate that the service provided to prisons by public libraries play an important role for the inmates, as a source of books for amusement and diversion as well as providing the means for education. This thesis examines four reading programmes in prison, in order to establish their place in the tradition of education within the Swedish penal system.

The purpose of this essay was to look at how the Swedish Prison and Probation Service and the Social Service work with children who have parents in prison and what they can do to ease the contact between the children and their parents. In our study we have used different questions regarding parent role, gender, child perspective, contact possibilities and collaboration. We have interviewed six prison officers and five social workers in Skåne. We have also used previously written reports. Our conclusions are that the parent role is affected by imprisonment and more amongst the women than the men.