Indeterminate sentencing and imprisonment – an interdisciplinary study of the experiences of court processes and prison practices

Indeterminate sentences have one particular feature that sets them aside from all other types of imprisonment: there is no guarantee of ever being released. This uncertainty often results in severe pains for the prisoners in question. IndeSent responds to the Council of Europe’s call for more research focused on the needs of the offender in the light of the negative effects of the often long-term imprisonment. The combination of courts and prison practices is one of the most pioneering aspects of the project, illustrating the connections between the wider aims and functions of the penal state and the everyday practices, experiences and interactions in prison. Usually, there is a sharp distinction between the allocation and delivery of punishment; the first happens in courts and the second in penal institutions. Using ethnographic research methods (participant observation, interviews and a Dialogue Group), IndeSent will address this gap in the scholarship.

IndeSent collaborates with the Danish Prison Service, researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, University of Oslo, Norway, University of Agder, Norway as well as members of the prison service in Norway.