ABSTRACT
We argued in the previous chapter that classification is important because it reflects the core concerns of the particular social system in which it operates, and consequently that the classification of adult, male, long-term prisoners is an activity of central importance for the Scottish prison system. Moreover, we demonstrated a high degree of concern over the operation of the classification system voiced by prison governors as well as administrators at Headquarters. We suggested that, before Grand Design, classification discourse represented a confluence of bureaucratic and rehabilitation discourses and occupied Cell 1 of our discourse matrix (see Figure 2.5 on p.46). Subsequently, as normalisation took over, it occupied Cells 2 and 8. In coming to these conclusions, we argued that the bureaucratic discourse of the centre held sway over classification despite the actual operationalisation of decision-making by professionals and the, albeit limited, scope for professional judgment. In this chapter we develop these themes.
