Prison as seen by children

This project was initiated during a Working Session titled, “Representing (Oneself) in Prison: The Carceral Universe in Pictures,” organized by the Bureau of Statistics and Studies under the Direction of Penitentiary Administration (DPA), which took place in Paris on December 6-7, 2018. Its purpose was to collect the representations French people had on prisons, and gain insight into the role played by audiovisuals in this process.

To obtain these images, the DPA conducted a study by questionnaire, contacting about 3,000 people over the age of eighteen and living in mainland France. This is the fourth iteration of a study whose first version had been initiated in partnership with the Genepi¹ in 1995. Results showed that well-established images exist, regarding prison: difficult detention conditions, violence, overcrowding, etc. So, we wondered to what extent these images were already formed in childhood. For the first time, we sought to complete this investigation by capturing children’s views of prison. What points do they have in common with adult representations of prison? Do audiovisual productions relating to this subject have an impact on children?

Capturing children’s depictions of prison required departing from traditional investigation methods using questionnaires because of the risk of constructing questionnaires poorly adapted to this audience. Using drawings seemed to be a more appropriate method.

We solicited several schools and felt the reticence of some teachers to undertake a project relating to prison. For us, that was a first element of understanding! In the end, three teachers in three public schools agreed to participate in this project, which they found particularly interesting.

The project took place in two stages. The first stage was a drawing session in class with the teacher. During this phase, there was no intervention on our part to avoid influencing the children’s expression of their representations. We let them draw freely, with whatever materials they wished, about what they understood to be “life in prison.” If they wished, they could add this sentence to their drawing, and complete it: “For me, life in prison is…” The second phase of the project was a moment of reflection, where we presented to the classes’ notable elements of their drawings and where we talked with them about how life in prison worked. The students were particularly interested in seeing their friends’ drawings and were very curious about the rules of life in prison: they asked us numerous questions.

This project had positive outcomes that we had not anticipated when we started. Presentation of the drawings at the Working Session provoked lively public interest. Thus, we decided to mount an exhibition, which was first displayed in the Ministry of Justice at Place Vendôme. We were able to invite two of the three classes to come see the exhibition and tour the Hôtel Bourvallais. The two classes were even greeted by the Minister in his office. The exhibition was then mounted in other Ministry sites, and we hope that it will be shown in other places, as well.

People being imprisoned are often represented in yellow- or orange-striped uniforms. Sometimes they’re even dragging a ball and chain. These images, as well as the representation of some beds, probably come from the Daltons [in Lucky Luke comic books]. Many of the drawings also reveal a very « Americanized » view of life in prison. It’s not rare to see detained people eating together in a “refectory,” though that’s not the case in France. The children therefore seem to be impressionable to series on prison that have flourished in recent years. Indeed, during exchanges that we have had in class on the subject, we have been surprised to see that they were already familiar with “Prison Break” or “Orange is the New Black” (two series on the carceral universe, ed.), which also explains the representation of dramatic scenes where the incarcerated persons use violence to obtain the keys and escape.

At the same time, we must emphasize that the children have numerous accurate representations of life in prison. Interestingly, they know that there exist living spaces where girls and boys are separated. They drew very few girls, and we must remember that, in fact, the women represent less than 4% of the carceral population in France. The buildings are also quite well represented with their high walls, barbed wire, and cameras. Similarly, they have drawn different living spaces inside, always clearly separated from one another: the exercise courtyard, gym, etc.

Even if some drawings include several persons in a single cell, most children represented one cell for one person. We were rather surprised by this result, knowing that the image of “overcrowded” prisons is deeply engrained in adults, according to the questionnaire investigation conducted by the DPA in early 2018.

We can hypothesize that the investigation method used with children is less adapted to making the overcrowding problem in prisons stand out: perhaps the phenomenon is more difficult to draw than to express in words? Moreover, if children’s impressions of prison life come from books, comic books and television series, we formulate the hypothesis that they probably have less access to societal debates on subjects like overcrowding, which are more often relayed in news reports or articles in the press.

One thing that is clear is that children have a pretty good image of the different spaces in a prison, the security measures deployed, and the difficulties of life in prison. In the feelings that they attribute to detained persons, they especially highlight the well-known results of research done on the carceral experience: the sadness linked to separation from those close to them, the absence of occupations, and the boredom. It is also interesting to see that when viewed together, the various drawings represent the heterogeneity of French prisons quite well. The conditions of life are indeed very different depending on the type of institution, their capacity, their architecture, etc. However, that doesn’t affirm that these representations of children, in other words, the uninitiated, correspond perfectly to the realities of detention. Children do not hold the “truth about prisons.”

It would be more accurate to attribute to them the “truth of representations on prison.” Children do indeed seem to communicate to us without the filter transmitted to them by society on the subject. For example, with respect to the roles they attribute to prison, they generally bring up the punitive aspect.

Preventing new criminal acts is also evoked, as is the possibility of redemption. On the other hand, the role of rehabilitation is never mentioned, and no professional besides the guards is represented in their drawings. That says much about a lack of understanding of this function which is also seen in adults: even if the profession of guard is very present in their minds, few people are familiar with the work of social worker or parole officer, or even the network of organizations involved with prisons. Similarly, the stigmas still associated with imprisoned people in our society appear in the drawings of children who may describe them as “nasty.” Even so, like the adults questioned, their gaze exhibits ambivalence: children express an empathy towards those detained, as well, by translating their suffering.