Book: Understanding the?criminal: Exploring the Nature and Consequences of Imprisonment
Reviewer: Dr Glenville Ashby
Adam John?McIntyre?embarks on an interesting study as he searches for the elusive elixir that promises social stability and justice. ?McIntyre?s ideas, though?probing our conscience and inviting dialogue, are hardly original. Yet, in cutting to the chase, his exhortations on?crime, the?criminal,?and society, touch a nerve, sounding a salvo for an emotionally charged enquiry.
McIntyre?s background, credentials and experience lend an unmistakable seal to this undertaking. He is impressive, no doubt. A stellar career as an educator in Jamaica, a corrections officer and an innovator in the Cayman Islands? penal system, do not fully cover the enormity of the resources he now offers. He later emerges as a maverick, of sorts, after being derailed ? ending up?on the receiving end of the legal system ? only to be exonerated. ?But is his work definitive? Can anyone truly understand the dynamics of the?criminal?mind??McIntyre, in viewing the problem through various prisms comes close, but not close enough.
To decode a problem that has beset man from the earliest days of his creation is a tall order, one that dwarfs thinkers whose solutions are based on social and material dialectics.?McIntyre?is right in saying that despite soaring accomplishments in science, medicine and the arts, humankind is still socially hamstrung, internecine and and?victims of?their own lust for violence and retribution.
He is right, again, when he states that prison,??by its very nature, is inhospitable to the acquisition of positive values.?
And for all his perspicacity, there is that detectable strain of paradox in his work. He writes, ??.we cannot afford to get it wrong this time, for it is by understanding the?criminal?that we will enhance our chances of co-existing with him, of sharing his world, for, as we now know, the?criminal?is here to stay.?
The corollary to such an assertion raises an emotive debate.? Should society?seek some common ground, some tolerable coexistence with?criminals???Is it at all possible?
McIntyre?courageously hoists substantive blame on society ? individuals and the institutions that spawn social?rejects? It is a sensitive argument, albeit, unquestionable to a degree.??Aren?t our teachers, pastors and counselors often guilty of theft and abuse of office for stealing the hopes and dreams of countless children by their failure to provide the youth with the skills that they need to cope in a changing world??
His argument that faith-based programmes in prisons are therapeutic and useful in the rehabilitation process is measured, impartial and a strong response to detractors.
His views on parenting and the onslaught of technology and secularism on traditional values are well articulated. He?posits that parents must adapt to changing scenarios. And his counsel couldn?t be more crucial. He writes:??A deliberate and intensive effort to teach our youth to manage adversity?needs to be given urgent priority.?
That children create the setting where parents can learn invaluable lessons to cope with life, and, in turn render good counsel to their children is indisputable. ?Parents should switch to the learning mode and pay attention to what their children are trying to teach them,??he demands.
In viewing the society as the fons et origio of?crime?(not the individual),?McIntyre?must see some hope in restructuring our institutions. But his own words on the ubiquity of the criminal mind?could well bury his ambitions.
Understanding the?Criminal?is insightful, analytical, offering panoramic view of prison life; the?conflicting interests between the custodial and therapeutic staff; the prisoners? distrust; the primal fear and survival; the dehumanisation; the erosion of self worth, and the formation of new identities that wage war against a society that in effect has created them.
We also learn that correction officer teeters on the brink of disillusion, a victim of an onerous, ingratuitous profession.
McIntyre, at times verbose, is a worthy writer ? thoughtful, detailed, and deliberate with?an enviable?ability to ?metaphorise? situations for added effect. And there are more than flashes of academic brilliance. Unfortunately, they can be shrouded by his overreaching sensibilities.
As?McIntyre?flirts with the?neuropsychological, the psychiatric and physiological dimensions of the?criminal?mind, the reader begins to fathom the complexity of such a daunting undertaking work, begging the question, ?Is human behaviour really predictable, or, even measurable?
That said, the value, the ?werthurtheil? of?McIntyre?s work will be judged by the results of its application. Will society embrace the author?s call for introspection, for change, for a drastic overhaul of how its culture? In detailing the hubris and untamed?violence of our forebearers I believe? that?McIntyre?has already answered that question.
Feedback:?glenvilleashby@gmail.com/Follow?me on Twitter@glenvilleashby
Understanding the?Criminal?by Adam John?McIntyre
Selecto Publications, 2012
Kingston, Jamaica
ISBN: 978-9768050-33-5
Available: Amazon.com
Rating:Recommended
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