ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on studies of ageing prisoners which was conducted in three very different establishments in England. In-depth interviews were carried out with ten prison officers and 40 prisoners, aged 55 to 81 years of age, about their experiences of ageing and imprisonment. Although the UK's ageing prison population continued to rise under the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government, it was in fact the policies of New Labour that did much to damage the effectiveness of the penal system and increase the number of ageing men in prison. In order for the ageing prison population to overcome the potential for deterioration and decline, it is essential that, like older people in free society, they remain active both socially and physically. Jewkes suggests that the perceived toughness of a prisoner's regime and entrenched status hierarchies can be further indicators of masculinity and power.
