IS prison a place for punishment, retribution or rehabilitation?

A group of sociology, law and public services students from Alton College considered this at Behind Bars, a conference run by True Life conferences.

The day featured released prisoners discussing all types of crime.

Students listened to speakers who included a forensic psychologist, Brian, a successful businessman who was convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years imprisonment for embezzling £21m, and Jim, who has spent more than 19 years behind bars. He started a life of crime at the age of seven, shoplifting from local businesses. Eventually after spending several years in care homes and young offender institutes, Jim became a full-time burglar.

The conference was relevant to all three subjects, with links to all of their specifications, and enhanced the curriculum. In sociology, for example, the second-year students study the unit ‘crime and deviance’.

The interactive lectures and more in-depth question-and-answer sessions brought topics alive for students and provided them with real-life experiences that they will be able to apply to their learning.

Students need to understand what white collar crime is, why it happens, why it is less detectable, they need to be able to analyse why people commit crime and how a person’s background can influence the likelihood of crime and also how important the labelling process is. All of these things were touched upon by the speakers.

A lot of the A-Level students who took part in the conference are going on to study criminology or forensic psychology-related courses at university, so the conference was an excellent addition to their classroom studies.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and provided some excellent feedback.

Lara Keville, previously at Marlborough College and currently studying sociology at Alton College, said: “The conference was insightful and the speakers challenged the stereotypes society holds of criminals through their approachability and willingness to answer questions to further our knowledge as sociologists.”

Also studying sociology, Liam Jenkins, previously at Farnham Heath End School, added: “The speakers’ experiences were interesting, captivating and informative. We were able to gain an in-depth view of how the prison environment is, as opposed to the ‘holiday home’ portrayal we are given by the media, which is extremely useful for the ‘crime and deviance’ topic in sociology.”

Annie McMullan, previously at Eggar’s School, now studying sociology and psychology at Alton College, found the conference “really interesting.” She said: “We were able to see how society has labelled individuals who have committed crimes and how this label has affected their life outside of prison. I would highly recommend the conference.”

Previously at Mill Chase Academy in Bordon and now studying sociology, law and psychology, Emmy Hunt agreed. She said: “The conference provided an extremely valuable perspective on prison life and the criminal justice system. It highlighted some of the problems with the criminal justice system and taught me that the law isn’t perfect.”

Law student Katie Carlisle, previously at Eggar’s School in Holybourne, found the conference “valuable and fascinating”, adding: “Not only to put academic studies to practice by having to apply knowledge when faced with real-life situations, but also on a personal level, hearing from the man who committed murder really impacted me.

“I’ve always been an extremely law-abiding citizen in every institute I’m involved with but it hit home to encourage friends, siblings and even acquaintances to make good decisions because, as shown, even really normal nice people can find themselves in trouble from making a split-second choice.”

Law teacher Yvette Wands said: “This was a hugely valuable opportunity for our law students, which challenged their thinking as to offenders and what it means to be imprisoned. It also highlighted issues we’ve been exploring in the classroom as part of the A-Level law specification, such as proposed reforms to the law on murder.”