Expanding Prison: The Crisis in Crime and Punishment and the Search for Alternatives

by David Cayley

The Expanding Prison is a provocative, cogent argument for prison reform. David Cayley argues that our overpopulated prisons are more reflective of a society that is becoming increasingly polarized than of an actual surge in crime. This book considers proven alternatives to imprisonment that emphasize settlement-oriented techniques over punishment, and move us towards a vision of justice as peace making rather than one of vengeance.

Genres: Nonfiction

406 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

Reviews

[Allan Savage]

Cayley doubts that prisons are instruments of correction. Like all institutions they grow to a size which frustrates their original intention. To illustrate this he cites national (Canadian) and international examples of how prisons currently work. Cayley understands justice as peace making and incorporates into his arguments insights from critical thinkers whose notions are significant to prison reform. We are social beings prior to understanding ourselves as individuals, he notes, and suggests that a moral understanding of good and evil is necessary to obtain justice. He writes (p. 85) that "In a world without good, evil is secularized as crime." and "Justice without a sense of the good is darkened." Cayley offers excellent historical insights into the relationship between prison rehabilitation and Christianity that have implications for the future direction of the treatment of prisoners. The notion of 'truth as relational' (p. 323), which he attributes to Martin Buber, reveals a phenomenological understanding of justice. This understanding contrasts with the classical ideas of Aristotle and Aquinas which currently underpin concepts of justice. Anyone interested in the alternatives available for prison reform or the religious and pastoral care in prisons will find a wealth of information in Cayley's book.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone like me who had only heard of the growing “prison industrial complex,” this book was a great introduction to the topic. In the first part of the book, Cayley gives a good overview of why prisons are expanding. He lays out what he understands are the foundational rationales for imprisonment today. The third part of the book (and close to half of the entire book) goes into exploring alternatives to the current way of administering justice. The alternatives Cayley presents are all centered on the importance of community and on humanizing not only the offender, but also the victim.