Equating the lock-down with being locked up – are we really pent up like in prisoners in our own homes?

By Darshpreet Gill

The freedom to grab our mail while sipping a cup of tea seems mundane yet would a prisoner enjoy such liberty? We spend much of our adult lives avoiding the ‘hell-hole’ of prison yet miss no opportunity to refer to ourselves as ‘prisoners’ when locked down during a global pandemic.

Tracey McIntosh states “the comparison between lockdown and being locked-up is spurious, and neglects to recognise the true experience of incarceration”. Whilst many of us wallow in self-pity for missing vacations or cocktail parties, we forget our ‘prison’ is temporary. There are many vital lessons that stem from our personal and collective experiences in lockdown, including how difficult isolation and lack of routine truly is. Looking beyond ourselves, prisoners in New Zealand have allegedly been locked in their cells for 29 hours on end. Therefore, the expectation of prisoners being rehabilitated under further dehumanising conditions is unreasonable.

Prisons are designed to be dehumanising – our homes are not. Despite being in lockdown we have retained many overlooked freedoms according to former inmate Dean Lloyd. Imagine being trapped inside an institution with no means of escape and the very probable chance of a deadly virus spreading between the four walls you find yourself entrapped. In contrast, celebrities are complaining of being ‘imprisoned’ from the comfort of their mansions. By continuing to draw such comparisons between ourselves as moral entrepreneurs engaging in collective-hardship and sacrificing our freedoms, we undermine the idea of punishment.

Recently in London an immersive cocktail bar called ‘Alcotraz’ was opened to the public. Guests adorned in orange jumpsuits must smuggle liquor past ‘prison guards’ whilst enjoying beverages in cells. The idea of smuggling contraband and fetishising the misfortunes of prisoners into a ‘fun’ experience is highly inappropriate. Tracey McIntosh states the depravations arising in prisons are intergenerational and ongoing. Profiting off the idea of punishment and an institution in which many lives are lost depicts how disconnected from reality ‘Alcotraz’ is. Prison is not exciting; it deprives offenders of a life.

During lockdown, prioritising our mental health has been key in addition to accessing mental health services. For many, the uncertainty and anger we feel lies in being overwhelmed by an invisible force we have no power or control of. In New Zealand prisons, 9/10 offenders enter with a diagnosed mental health condition. Through social media we have come to understand that exiting lockdown without learning a new skill or getting fit is okay. In contrast, we expect an individual headed into prison will come out fully reformed or ideally, an ‘ordinary’ member of society.

The human rights violations currently taking place in prisons over this period of lockdown will continue to surface for years to come. As our freedoms slowly return, the stories of prisoners’ experiences in lockdown will depict the true reality of life on the inside. Possessing too many cleaning rags will land you in solitary, hand sanitiser is deemed contraband and owning the smallest amount of cleaning bleach will get you in trouble. What is the solution to stopping the spread of the virus in prison then? Put a sock over the phone receiver before answering, to stop the spread of germs and refrain from touching your face.

The problem with equating prison with lockdown is that we spend billions of dollars each year to maintain penal institutions. One that is designed to control and isolate deviant and undesirable members of society. Comparing our homes with prisons creates a false narrative of the institution we built and support. The levels of freedom which are suppressed during lockdown appear similar to being locked-up but if this was true then abolishing prisons and keeping the majority of offenders on house arrest would be more cost effective and convenient. However, this is not practical and many of us would feel unsafe knowing an abuser, kidnapper or even murderer lived next door.

During lockdown we have been confronted with many issues and witnessed how our government and respective institutions respond. According to Siobhan Hegarty we can use this time to reflect on our prison system. The extent to which lockdown is regarded as similar to imprisonment by the lay person can offer thoughtful insights into whether confinement and social isolation are effective in achieving rehabilitation. Whether as a society, rather than undermining the idea of prison, we take this time to question if it offers the outcomes we expect.

Imprisoning offenders neglects them from remaining in a place they call home; our homes are not designed to be prisons.

Darshpreet Gill – Op-ed Reference List (APA format)

1. The quote from Tracey McIntosh was exclusively given to me for this op-ed and any other reference made by her.

McIntosh, T. (2020).

2. [Prisoners locked in their cells for 29 hours on end]

Espiner, G. (2020). Covid-19: Prisoners confined to cells for up to 29 hours, diary shows. Stuff New Zealand. Retrieved from: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/300002649/covid19-prisoners-confined-to-cells-for-up-to-29-hours-diary-shows

3. [Reference to inmate Dean Lloyd]

Hegarty, S. (2020). Coronavirus rules might feel like house arrest, but these ex-inmates say it’s a world away from life in prison. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-26/ex-inmates-prison-lockdown-coronavirus-lockdown-empathy/12178062

4. [Using this time to reflect on our prison system]

Hegarty, S. (2020). Coronavirus rules might feel like house arrest, but these ex-inmates say it’s a world away from life in prison. ABC News. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-26/ex-inmates-prison-lockdown-coronavirus-lockdown-empathy/12178062

5. [Alcotraz]

Cassidy, C. (2020). Alcotraz: Cell Block Two One Two. Retrieved from: https://www.designmynight.com/london/whats-on/food-drink/alcotraz-code-of-contraband

6. [Statistic, 9/10 offenders enter prison with a diagnosed mental health condition]

Smith, R. (2016). Investing in better mental health for offenders. [COTA Finding Report – A Question of Restraint]. Retrieved from: https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/strategic_reports/investing_in_better_mental_health_for_offenders

7. [Prisoners’ experience with Covid-19]

Longworth, A. (2020). What Coronavirus Looks Like in Prison. Retrieved from:

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/03/18/what-coronavirus-quarantine-looks-like-in-prison

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