Schreeche-Powell, Edwin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5551-9649 (2026) Institutional withdrawal in open prisons: power through omission in late modern imprisonment. The British Journal of Criminology: An International Review of Crime and Society (BJC):azag016. ISSN 0007-0955 (Print), 1464-3529 (Online) (doi:10.1093/bjc/azag016)

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Abstract

This article argues that institutional withdrawal—the retraction of institutional infrastructure—is a distinctive mode of late-modern penal power. Drawing on fieldwork into peer-led induction in open prisons in England and Wales, it shows how withdrawal operates across interpersonal, procedural and organizational dimensions as institutional actors step back while retaining surveillance and sanctioning powers. Whether intentional or unintentional, withdrawal produces responsibilization by default, generating uncertainty and retreatist adaptations amongst those imprisoned, who carry responsibility without scaffolding. Far from signalling institutional failure, withdrawal reflects neoliberal logics of organizational retrenchment and responsibilization. Drawing on Goffman’s concept of abandonment and Merton’s account of retreatism, the article reframes late-modern imprisonment as governance through withdrawal, demonstrating how penal power persists through omission, producing iatrogenic harm.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	institutional withdrawal, responsibilisation by default, penal power, open prisons, peer support, abandonment,
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) K Law > K Law (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Law and Criminology
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2026 11:21
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/52475

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