What is it about?
Undertrial prisoners from poor backgrounds find it difficult to access free legal aid. So, they languish in prisons as there is nobody to represent 'their voices' in court. Hence, criminal justice social work in prison becomes important 'to hear their voice', in facilitating their release on bail and bringing them back into mainstream society.
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Why is it important?
The case study of undertrials depicted in the chapter illustrates their marginalisation and grassroots challenges, firstly in accessing bail; secondly, meeting bail conditions due to poverty; and thirdly, the importance of criminal justice social work. Social workers intervention in prisons has proved crucial, as it has helped the undertrial prisoners gain visibility, and free legal aid lawyers are appointed in their cases. Social workers have been able to initiate long-lost contact and reunite them with their families, arrange for identification documents via family and other innovative sources, and arrange cash support through NGOs that are required to meet bail conditions. All these interventions helped to facilitate the undertrial's release from prison, build familial ties, and further social workers provided post-release support through vocational training, which helped them to reintegrate back into society. It helped in acquiring new skills, thus reducing recidivism and overcrowding in prisons.
Perspectives
I hope this publication is able to bring out the innovative role of social workers and lawyers while working with prisoners and the readers understand the need for criminal justice social work. My experience says each case is unique; however, marginalization and vulnerabilities are common in most of them. And, there is a possibility of multiple vulnerabilities associated with a person, which could either push the person into crime or get them entangled within the criminal justice system. It is crucial to understand the backstory of each prisoner coming in contact with the criminal justice system and guide interventions accordingly that address the vulnerabilities and help not only the prisoners but their families as well, i.e., the support system. Having a strong support system helps better in restructuring and reshaping their lives. I hope it creates a pathway to 'hear the unheard voices'
Ms. Sharli Mudaliyar
Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Criminalization of Undertrial Prisoners in the Context of Specific Offences: Social Work Responses to Marginalization, November 2024, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004711105_007.
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