Violence, Self-Harm, and Suicide in Prison: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Prison Inspection and Political Reporting on Prisons in England and Wales

The discourses on violence, self-harm, and suicide in prisons are yet to be explored within penological research or literature. To date, there is a limited use of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) within penological studies, yet politically and administratively documents are published daily to detail the experiences and actions that are taken on imprisonment. This thesis utilises CDA to explore how His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and political stakeholders have discursive views on violence, self-harm, and suicide. The study contends with how discourses on these problems are enhanced, reproduced and sustained by these two groups, whilst critically exploring the consequences and challenges that appear as a result of these discursive positions. Through my analysis I discuss how these groups maintain dominant discursive practices and actions that are characterised through risk-management, datafication, and problematising prisoners. I also explain how HMIPs and the political stakeholders organisational discourses, a term I develop from Hajer’s (1995) concept of ‘storylines’, can be used to explain why action is not always taken on these issues, explaining how discourses are reinforcing, reproducing, and underpinning what groups see, overlook, and avoid within practices. I conclude this thesis by arguing that greater self-reflection is needed in the inspection and political spheres that need to consider how language use can move towards greater comprehensive, compassionate and transparent approach to understanding the complex and generative nature of prisons and the root causes of violence, self-harm, and suicide.