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Challenges and Solutions in Establishing the Impact of Custodial Design

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The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Design

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology ((PSIPP))

Abstract

Custodial facilities, such as jails or prisons, are complex environments that are influenced not only by their physical design, but by their residents—staff and inmates alike. As such, it is often difficult to isolate which elements of the institutional environment may impact behaviour or general wellbeing, and whether those elements are working as intended. With an emphasis on U.S. prison systems, this chapter explores the most common challenges in conducting research—and establishing causality—on custodial architecture. Three key difficulties are explored: (1) operationalizing custodial design and its intended outcomes, (2) collecting comprehensive data, and (3) distinguishing the effects of the physical environment from other influences. The chapter then concludes with a discussion of several potential solutions that might allow future studies to surmount those challenges, including establishing a consistent definition of custodial design and its elements, the collection of more detailed custodial data, and methods for distinguishing the impact of design from other potential influences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abt Associates, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA

    Melissa Nadel

Authors
  1. Melissa Nadel
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Correspondence to Melissa Nadel .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Dominique Moran

  2. Social & Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, UK

    Yvonne Jewkes

  3. Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA

    Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill

  4. Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA

    Victor St. John

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Nadel, M. (2023). Challenges and Solutions in Establishing the Impact of Custodial Design. In: Moran, D., Jewkes, Y., Blount-Hill, KL., St. John, V. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Prison Design. Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11972-9_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11972-9_10

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