Jamie Bennett

This book critiques the practices of managerialism and their effects on those who live and work in prisons. It draws upon ethnographic research conducted in English prisons over a 15 year period, written by a former prison governor. Since the last years of the 20th century, public services in England have increasingly adopted managerial approaches with an architecture of target setting, surveillance and assertive line management. The book examines how this system was created and then evolved during the period of austerity after 2010 and was disrupted during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-22. It proposes an alternative approach, re-energising the agency of prison managers, reinvigorating a more localised approach, and developing measures that address the lived experience of people in prison. This book will be of particular relevance to prison managers and policy makers, researchers interested in criminology, the sociology of prisons, and the sociology of work, as well as to post-graduate students exploring prison work.

This book explores how an audience of men serving sentences in an English prison responded to viewing five contemporary British prison films. It examines how media representations of prison vary in style and content, how film can influence public attitudes, and how this affects people in prison. The book explains the ways in which film acts as a power resource, presenting an ideological vision of criminal justice. The audience used these films to map the social terrain of prison, including issues of power and resistance; race and racism; corruption and the illicit economy; and staff-prisoner relationships, themes which are explored in the films screened. The authors argue that media consumption is one of the ways in which people in prison construct and maintain an ideal of the prisoner culture and what it is to be a ‘prisoner’. The book also reveals the ways in which audience members’ media choices and readings are part of the ongoing process of constructing their self-identity. This book illuminates the complex ways in which media consumption is an integral part of social power, cultural formation and identity construction. Recognising and engaging with audiencehood offers one potential route for supporting more progressive penal practice. This book speaks to those interested in prisons, crime, media and culture, and film studies.

Now in its Sixth Edition, this book remains the most comprehensive and authoritative on the penal system, providing students with an incisive, critical account of the punitive, managerial and humanitarian approaches to criminal justice. Fully updated to cover the most recent changes in the Criminal Justice System, the new edition: Outlines contemporary policy debates on sentencing, staffing, youth custody and overcrowding. Explores growing inequalities in the criminal justice system including issues of race, religion, gender and sexuality, with new content on faith, and transgender prisoners. Considers the impact of privatisation on the probation service.Discusses the most recent debates around the parole process, including high-profile cases and attempts at reform. The book is supported by online resources for lecturers and students, including chapter PowerPoints, sample syllabus, summaries of key legislative acts, bills and official reports, a list of recommended further reading for each chapter, and links to important Penal Agencies and Organisations, Law Reform Organisations, and other useful academic sites. Essential reading for students of criminal justice and criminology, studying penology, punishments and the penal system.

Now in its Sixth Edition, this book remains the most comprehensive and authoritative on the penal system, providing students with an incisive, critical account of the punitive, managerial and humanitarian approaches to criminal justice. Fully updated to cover the most recent changes in the Criminal Justice System, the new edition: Outlines contemporary policy debates on sentencing, staffing, youth custody and overcrowding. Explores growing inequalities in the criminal justice system including issues of race, religion, gender and sexuality, with new content on faith, and transgender prisoners. Considers the impact of privatisation on the probation service.Discusses the most recent debates around the parole process, including high-profile cases and attempts at reform. The book is supported by online resources for lecturers and students, including chapter PowerPoints, sample syllabus, summaries of key legislative acts, bills and official reports, a list of recommended further reading for each chapter, and links to important Penal Agencies and Organisations, Law Reform Organisations, and other useful academic sites. Essential reading for students of criminal justice and criminology, studying penology, punishments and the penal system.

BOOM.That's the sound from the football field when Knox Lynch takes down the offense. He's big and strong, the best defensive end in the league. Tough. Scary. Dumb. At least, that's all that most people seem to see of him. Except... BOOM.That's also the sound Daisy McKenzie's heart makes when it beats hard against her ribs when she's anxious and worried. She's doing great now-she's moved beyond her past and is focused on her future, taking steps to lead her to independence and happiness, like getting her degree and working as an art conservator. Yes, she's doing great. Except... BOOM.That's the sound of two lives colliding when Daisy and Knox meet. And the sound of both of their hearts, when they start to beat for each other.

LIFE'S A GAMBLE...But Jolie doesn't want to play games. She has too much going on, taking care of everyone and everything, most especially her three-year-old daughter. What she's really looking for is something quick and easy peasy, lemon squeezy-in other words, a guy to call for some fun, one who won't interfere in her life and, above all, need time and attention that she doesn't have to give.Enter Luca, who is equally relationship-averse. But he's a little lonely, and he is looking for a friend. And he's also charming, and sweet, and Jesus, is he handsome...and if one thing leads to another...When Lady Luck deals you this hand, you may have to play it

On the outside, Scarlett Wolfe is perfect.Gorgeous, beautifully dressed, a cool job in fashion PR-what doesn't she have going for her? She meets a guy on a Hawaiian vacation, and his interesting scars and tough exterior get her heart pumping. She could wrap him around her little finger if she wanted to, and why not? It could be fun to have a little fling with Nate, then go back to San Francisco. Back to cocktail parties and clubs and excitement, back to her adoring family, her sweet job, and her busy, full life. That's Scarlett on the outside-and maybe that's who she used to be. But now, on the inside, Scarlett Wolfe is coming apart, splintering bit by bit, and she's scrambling to hold everything together. Things are not as they seem, with her job, with her family, with her friends, and certainly not with Nate Lange, the former soldier she met in Hawaii. Home in California, her life is suddenly entwined with Nate's and Scarlett finds herself losing her heart to him. She needs to bring herself back the brink of chaos, and hopefully, Nate will be with her when she comes through to the other side...

Her: free spirit. Open door (literally). Open heart. Him: serious. Steady. Closed off to love? On paper, Ione and Cooper just don't make sense. Luckily, Ione loses all the papers that she accumulates, along with her phone, her purse, and her shoes, so she's not paying attention to what anything says about her and Cooper When they meet in Japanese class, things are flowing along in her life, taking her with them. But the more she thinks about it, she may not be entirely happy with how things are flowing, and where she's headed. Cooper is everything Ione isn't: driven, responsible, and unfortunately, totally unavailable. He thinks that she would be a good study partner, maybe even a friend-and that's all. But when things go sour and Ione's life turns upside-down, Cooper's the guy who has her back. So will this be love, or just friendship? Can Ione and Cooper find common ground, a common language to speak to find happiness, together?

He stared at me. "You wrote that? I want to know what happens. Tell me what happens." "Well, I'm not totally sure yet. What usually happens is that they fall in love despite themselves..." Maggie lives in a world of aliens, dragons, cowboys, and Happily Ever Afters. As a (slightly-maybe more than slightly) pornographic romance novelist, she's able to escape everything in her writing. Almost everything, even though her life before coming to northern Michigan will not let her go, no matter how far, or how fast she's running from it.Mostly, she's too busy hiding from the world to meet people, and certainly she isn't looking for anyone to sweep her off her feet like one of the stern cowboys or hard-bodied aliens in her books. But then, suddenly, there's Mason, who's sweet, and funny, and damn, is he handsome-and they end up taking a trip together that will change both their lives.For everyone who remembers Mason Whitaker from THE CHECKDOWN, here's his story

"Reid McGrath is going to see me naked. Who would have thought it?"Polar opposites. Karis and Reid are nothing alike. Where she calculates risks, he takes them. When she looks, he leaps-literally.But somehow, they do work well together-better than well, because oddly, they seem to complement each other. They're great work colleagues. They're great friends. Could they be great at something more? Can Reid give up roaming around the world, looking for adventure? Can Karis let go of her control a little, to take a chance? Sometimes, your happy ending can't be planned, coordinated, and calculated...but it's there, if you can let go and reach for it

Evie is doing just fine, thank you very much Everything is great, practically perfect, really-until, POOF Evie's life turns upside down and suddenly, she's more than the fun party-girl she has been all her life. She has responsibilities. Commitments. Out of the blue, she's the one people depend on, and the transition isn't the smoothest. And not that anything is easier when she has to deal on a daily basis with Heath Baldwin, who has a stick up...anyway, he's a little starchy. If he could relax a little, maybe they would get along. If he could just see Evie as something other than a screw-up who needs to be watched, a user with nothing on her mind but what she can get out of him, things would be a lot better. Maybe everyone needs a little work, because if Evie could open her mind to new possibilities, and Heath could open his heart to new love, maybe they could make their unexpected situation a success. Maybe it could become something more than either of them ever expected...

IT'S 4TH AND GOAL FOR LOVE...SHOULD KATIE GO FOR IT?Katie Bell is Nutty. You know, Nutty the Chipmunk? Katie is the woman inside the costume, one of the mascots for her town's football team, and Davis Blake-handsome, forbidding, tough Davis Blake-is the starting quarterback. Until he gets injured and his season, and possibly his career, are over.Davis needs her help, and Katie sees a temp job working for him as an opportunity to secure her future with the football team. But is there more possible for both of them? Maybe friendship? Maybe...love? When it's fourth down, can both Katie and Davis put their hearts on the line and take a risk?

What if her best days are behind her? What if she can't somehow manage to pull her life together?What if she (gulp) has already PEAKED?Sylvie Bowen was voted "Best All-Around" in high school. She breezed through college and moved to New York, ready for the world to fall at her feet. It didn't.Now, six jobs later, Sylvie is living back at home in Michigan. She's consumed with helping her sister plan an over-the-top wedding that is driving them both to the brink, and by the way, who is this guy her parents keep inviting over for dinner? Is he really such a jerk, and if so, why couldn't he be less attractive Between vicious swans, unfortunate teeth veneers, bad dates and mean girls, bridesmaid dresses from hell, and sisters with problems of their own, how is Sylvie going to make all this work? Can she get herself back on track and also get the guy she never wanted, but now seems to need-and maybe love?

"You're not going to do some crazy fangirl thing, are you?" "Oh, please " I scoffed. Yes. So what if Dylan McKenzie came back home to northern Michigan? It wasn't like he would ever notice me, the shy girl lurking around the edges of the pool deck while he passed around his gold medals like it was no big deal. He was one of the best swimmers in the world now, not a 13-year-old who said a few nice things to a little girl following him around like a puppy. So what if he asked me to come with him to the biggest international swim meet of the year in Spain? He was just interested in my writing skills to finish his autobiography. And if he kissed me, well, it was probably just due to the adrenaline after winning his race So what if he had secrets in his life that were tearing him apart? It wasn't like he needed me. Or we were going to end up together. But maybe...

"She's like sunshine. Like anywhere she is, it's brighter there."Eight years ago, Alex Whitaker crashed his car, upending his life. Since then he has struggled-with his family, with his job, with everything in his life. And has he really been living, or just passing time?For the last few years Cecilia Byrne been making her way north in a highlighter yellow van that she calls Nina. Besides the circuitous car trip, she's on a journey of discovery too, but doesn't expect to find love waiting for her in a coffee shop in Detroit.When problems keep them apart, can Alex and Cecilia overcome their differences and start a new season of their lives together?

"You have to ask yourself, Tucker. Is it time to stop playing around?"Everything has always come pretty easy for baseball's Tucker "Tuck" Whitaker. A talented pitcher, he has it all: MVP career, big house in California, gorgeous girlfriend, party-a-minute. He has been living the good life, and why would he want that to change?Meanwhile, Caroline Laurence has been struggling a bit. She has a job she doesn't really like, she lives with her parents, and most importantly of all, she has a baby to raise by herself. She doesn't have the time or inclination to mess around with a playboy ballplayer. Circumstances bring them together. But are they so different that eventually they will strike out?