Routine Victimisation in Prisons

Discussions of safety in prisons often emphasise the grossest forms of interpersonal violence, such as murder and sexual assault. However, a focus on spectacular acts of violence obscures the mundane, day‐to‐day victimisation which characterises institutional life. This study, based on an inmate survey and in‐depth interviews, provides a snapshot of the range and nature of ‘outine’victimisation. It builds on the prisoners'own accounts of assault, robbery, threats of violence, cell theft, verbal abuse and exclusion, to show how these experiences shape their daily lives.