Alternatives to Holloway (1972)
As part of Abolitionist Future’s project of archiving materials from the history of abolitionist organising in the UK, we present Alternatives to Holloway. This document was created by Radical Alternatives to Prison in 1972 during opposition to the rebuilding the women’s prison in North London. It is presented with an introduction by Rebecca Roberts, first published on the Reclaim Justice website in 2016.
In opposition to the reconstruction of Holloway prison in 1972, a campaign group called Radical Alternatives to Prison put forward a proposal for what else could be done on the site. Entitled Alternatives to Holloway, the pamphlet set out to make the case against the use of imprisonment.
Instead of rebuilding the prison, it called for community provision, housing and facilities that would benefit local people. While the terminology and language in places seems a little dated, the analysis is in many ways still spot on.
The ‘alternatives’ outlined are also worth revisiting and are reproduced below. There are some useful suggestions on what else could exist on the site of Holloway prison. The text also suggests that in the longer-term, it is important to reconsider how social problems are defined and dealt with.
Alternatives for the site at Holloway
There will be a large secure building and a large open space, both of which could be used for many different purposes. Since security arrangements would not be necessary, some of the alternatives could be self-contained units with their own entrances into the street. The suggested alternative uses would involve a re-evaluation of the plans, but as work has begun on the staff quarters only, it would not be too difficult to put some of these suggestions into effect.
That part (of the secure building) be used by some of the London courts as an outpatients department for medical and psychiatric reports.That part be run as a voluntary long term community for, say drug addicts.That part be used as an open bail hostel.That part be used as an open hostel for some alcoholics or other heavily institutionalised people.That part be available to local groups for various activities such as play-groups, adventure playgrounds, etc: a large part could be used as a community centre.That part provide short-term ‘crisis’ accommodation and other help.That part be used for flats for homeless families.
Alternatives to Holloway (1972)
Alternatives to Holloway also makes important connections to wider social inequality and approaches to tackling law breaking and conflict;
Alternatives to prison involve a change in attitude towards those who are perceived as ‘deviants’ and a move away from scapegoating, punitive-therapeutic mentality that is epitomized by Holloway. They require a broader perspective in which ‘crime’ is seen, not as a threat on which war must be waged, but as a reflection, along with suicide, mental hospital admissions, strikes and political unrest, of a disharmony and dissatisfaction throughout the whole social order.
The long term aims of an alternative approach are therefore as follows:
To break away from the artificial criminal/non-criminal distinction and the concept of criminality as a manifestation of pathological individuals.To develop a variety of ways of resolving conflicts and deal with behaviour that hurts others… in the context in which it occurs and with the active involvement of those concerned.To help bring about social changes in inequalities of opportunity, power (over decisions affecting one’s life) and wealth and in discrimination in education, housing, work and leisure, that are related not only to ‘crime’, but to more fundamentally to the ever present and perhaps ever increasing tension that a hierarchical society like ours inevitably produces.
Any practical action should embody the following principles:
Wherever possible, it should operate at a community level.Action taken out of the local context should only occur with the consent of those concerned.It should avoid creating a situation of dependency, and concentrate on developing self-dependency.It should aim to be self-determining.It must work towards ends which are positive from the point of view of the individuals or groups involvedIt must not involve stigmatisation.
Alternatives to Holloway (1972)
Some 44 years later and prison numbers have rocketed. In the thirty years leading up to 1972, Alternatives to Prison claims that numbers of women in prison hovered between 800 and 1,000. It now sits at around 4,000. When Holloway was rebuilt it was under the guise that it was for the benefit of women in prison – to create a therapeutic environment. The same false promises are being made again. We need to learn from these failures and identify alternative uses for the land and different ways of supporting women in contact with the criminal justice system.
The solutions outlined in Alternatives to Holloway provide a useful reference point for discussions about alternatives. Community-based services, treatment and small custodial units should all be on the table. The prison visitors centre at Holloway could be retained as a resource for women subject to criminal justice supervision. This is, however, not enough. We need to resist falling into the trap of recreating and replicating the criminal justice services and systems we are trying to break free from.
