Prison in its environment: symptoms of the ambivalent relationship between democracies and imprisonment

Philippe Combessie (1)

1 SOPHIAPOL - Sociologie, philosophie et anthropologie politiques

Where should prisons be built: in the town centre or in the middle of the countryside? In what style should they be built: should they be ostentatious or purely practical? What size should the ideal prison be? What can we learn from the expression, "necessary evil"? Issues surrounding transparency of sentences are at the core of this analysis, which reveals the paradoxical aspects of imprisonment, whereby incarceration affects some people in such a way that it significantly restricts their reintegration into society upon their release.

Où doit-on implanter les prisons : en centre-ville ou en pleine campagne ? Quelle architecture : ostentatoire ou strictement fonctionnelle ? Quelle taille pour une prison idéale ? Que révèle l'expression " mal nécessaire " ? La question de la visibilité des sanctions est au cœur de cette analyse qui met au jour les paradoxes de l'enfermement carcéral, dont la stigmatisation affecte certains citoyens de façon telle qu'elle limite considérablement leur réintégration sociale à leur sortie.

Mots clés: prisons; environment; criminology; environnement; criminologie

Domaines: Sociologie

Philippe Combessie. Prison in its environment: symptoms of the ambivalent relationship between democracies and imprisonment. Cahiers de la Sécurité, 2013, Special Issue (Special Issue), pp.96-106. ⟨halshs-00838538⟩