What Do We Know and What Should We Do about Abolishing Prisons?

A critical exploration of the role and (in)effectiveness of prisons in contemporary society. It challenges popular misconceptions about what prison is and does, explains links between prison, social inequality and social power, analyses the limits of liberal prison reform, and openly champions an evidence based approach to prison abolition.

Joe Sim is Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Liverpool John Moores University, UK. He has written extensively about prisons, the state and punishment. He was a member of the Radical Alternatives to Prison Collective and is currently a Trustee of the charity INQUEST.