A double-edged sword : children’s experiences of visiting a parent in prison in Scotland

Lockwood, KA; Long, T; Loucks, N; Raikes, B; Sharratt, K

Abstract

Prison visits are recognised as an important feature of a humane prison system, providing important benefits for prisoners and their family in maintaining ties (McCarthy & Adams, 2017). Scotland has a history of penal welfarism and a right-based agenda in relation to visits (McCarthy & Adams, 2017); however, there is a lack of research that focuses on visits in the context of Scottish prisons. Equally, there is limited research that considers the perspective of children visiting a parent in custody. This paper explores the experiences of children visiting a parent in prison in Scotland, highlighting lessons for policy and practice.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 25, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jul 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 27, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 27, 2021
• Journal: Probation Journal
• Print ISSN: 0264-5505
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-3079
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 159-176
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/02645505211025592
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/02645505211025592
• Related Public URLs: https://journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
• Additional Information: Projects : Constructive Connections : building resilience of families affected by the criminal justice system