Garrihy, Joe and Marder, Ian and Gilheaney, Patricia (2023) ‘Cocooning’ in prison during COVID-19: Findings from recent research in Ireland. European Journal of Criminology, 20 (3). pp. 996-1015. ISSN 1477-3708

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Abstract

The advent of COVID-19 prompted the enforced isolation of elderly and vulnerable populations around the world, for their own safety. For people in prison, these restrictions risked compounding the isolation and harm they experienced. At the same time, the pandemic created barriers to prison oversight when it was most needed to ensure that the state upheld the rights and wellbeing of those in custody. This article reports findings from a unique collaboration in Ireland between the Office of the Inspector of Prisons – a national prison oversight body – and academic criminologists. Early in the pandemic, they cooperated to hear the voices of people ‘cocooning’ – isolated because of their advanced age or a medical vulnerability – in Irish prisons by providing journals to this cohort, analysing the data, and encouraging the Irish Prison Service to change practices accordingly. The findings indicated that ‘cocooners’ were initially ambivalent about these new restrictions, both experiencing them as a punishment akin to solitary confinement, and understanding the goal of protection. As time passed, however, participants reported a drastic impact on their mental and physical health, and implications for their (already limited) agency and relationships with others, experienced more or less severely depending on staff and management practices. The paper also discusses the implications for prison practices during and following the pandemic, understanding isolation in the penological context, and collaboration between prison oversight bodies and academics.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	prisons; COVID-19; cocooning; shielding; prison oversight; prison life; isolation;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
Item ID:	18724
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708221132888
Depositing User:	Joe Garrihy
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2024 09:30
Journal or Publication Title:	European Journal of Criminology
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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