Bringing together experts from around the world and presenting a range of comparative critical research relating to key themes of the pains of imprisonment, stigma, power and vulnerability, this book explores the various ways in which offenders relate to the justice systems and how these relationships impact the nature and effectiveness of their efforts to reduce offending.

Carla Reeves is Subject Leader in Criminology at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Prior to joining the University in 2007 Dr Reeves was a Research Officer at Bangor University, during which time she also worked in a Probation Approved Premises (semi-secure hostel accommodation for high risk offenders being released from prison). Her research interests centre around sex offender management and networks (both formal and informal, virtual and real world) with a particular focus on offenders' subjective personal and social experiences of such interactions within, and because of, criminal justice institutions. Alongside this is an allied interest in reintegration and resettlement and offenders' active engagement with these processes.

Introduction, Carla Reeves, Part 1. Cultures of imprisonment: stigma, identity and interaction Introduction, Carla Reeves 1. Extrapolating the realities of stigma: Correctional officers 'seeing' prisoners versus prisoners 'seeing' correctional officers, Rose Ricciardelli and Kimberley A. Clow 2. "Relax lads, youy're in safe hands here": Experiences of a sexual offender treatment prison, Nicholas Blagden and Christian Perrin 3. Staff trauma in youth justice: experiences and responses from England and Australia, Kate Gooch and Patricia McNamara 4. (In-)justice in prison - A biographical perspectives, Holger Schmidt 5. Masculinity, Imprisonment and Working Identities, Jennifer Sloan 6. Mapping Prison Foodways, Amy Smoyer Part 2. Coping with the pains of imprisonment Introduction, Carla Reeves 7. Prisoners' coping strategies in Portugal, Leonel Gonçalves, Rui Gonçalves , Carla Martins, Teresa Braga, Célia Ferreira, Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard and Anja Dirkzwager 8. A European Perspective on Inmates' Perceptions of Safety, Kirstin Drenkhahn and Christine Morgenstern 9. The Perception of Imprisonment and its Effect on Inmate Violence, Daniel Wolter and Verena Boxberg 10. Ageing Prisoners, Natalie Mann 11. Prison for women offenders in Serbia: current situation and perspectives, Sanja Copic, Ljilana Stovkevic and Bejan Saciri 12. Physical and Mental Health Issues of Israeli Women Inmates, Tomer Einat and Gila Chen Part 3. The boundaries between the inside and outside worlds Introduction, Carla Reeves 13. A difficult disclosure: the dilemmas faced by families affected by parental imprisonment regarding what information to share with others, Kelly Lockwood and Ben Raikes 14. Work and training in prison as a form of imagined desistance, Robin Fitzgerald and Adrian Cherney 15. Wrongly convicted, wrongly incarcerated: exoneree experiences and public perceptions, Kimberley A. Clow and Rose Ricciardelli 16. Everyday life in UK Probation Approved Premises for sex offenders, Carla Reeves 17. Approved Premises - more than nine to five?, Francis Cowe 18. Staff experiences of parole supervision in Finland, Mia Kilpeläinen Conclusions, Carla Reeves.