This thesis examines how long-term prisoners make sense of their sentence: what they see as its purpose, whether they think it fair and how they integrate their sentence in their life story. Its findings are based on narrative interviews with six men at the start of their sentence, twelve men who were about to be released and nine men who were under supervision in the community. The men interviewed felt the prison largely failed in its purposes of reform, rehabilitation and deterrence, even though these outcomes were much desired, as almost all wanted to desist. Reformative efforts were seen as overly relying on cognitive behavioural courses in the prison, which, because they were compulsory for progression within the prison, were attended by many who were not motivated to engage with them. Furthermore, the men felt that they were treated as an aggregate rather than as individuals with individual needs and that this meant the necessary supports upon release were often not put in place. Meaningful communication about the relationship between the offence and the sentence was largely lacking. Any moral communication in the courtroom was hampered by the emotional demands on the men at the sentencing stage, their wish to manipulate the outcome in their own favour and their perception that court actors, too, manipulated processes, thereby lessening the moral standing of the court. However, despite the common perception of sentences failing to achieve any desired outcome and other complaints - about the inconsistency of sentencing, the standing of the court to judge and miscarriages of justice - almost all the men nevertheless positioned their sentence as fair (enough) in their narrative. While some referred to normative reasons to explain the legitimacy of their sentence, for others their acceptance was determined by their need to cope with the lived reality of imprisonment. This led to a strategy of ‘getting your head down’, which included accepting the ‘justice’ of one’s sentence, but also limiting thoughts of the outside world and minimising contact with family. Others positioned their prison sentence as transformative in order to be able to construct a progressive narrative and make sense of a desired future of desistance. However, the men on license after release generally struggled to maintain a projected upward trajectory and only felt able to desist by isolating themselves, thereby avoiding further trouble. The thesis concludes that long-term prison sentences could be rendered more meaningful through greater individual input and a dialogue about questions of purpose and meaning, possibly initiated by community criminal justice social workers. In order to promote desistance, it is important that those who are released have better chances to secure an alternative identity for themselves so that they can move into a new stage of their lives, rather than withdrawing from the world in order to desist.

Prisoner reentry is becomingly increasingly recognised as a significant societal problem. Almost all prisoners will be released will reenter the community and many will reoffend. Internationally, imprisonment rates continue to rise, compounding the challenge to the criminal justice system that the current system of incarceration and reentry creates. Gaps remain in our understanding of the reentry process and the challenges faced by released prisoners. Previous reentry research has tended to focus on specific issues such as accommodation or employment or have used prisoner interviews as the data source. The gaps in reentry literature are compounded by conflicting definitions of 'successful' reentry. Research was undertaken to examine the definition of 'successful reentry' and to determine the most important variables deemed to affect successful prisoner reentry. Semi structured interviews were conducted with twenty-four stakeholders with a variety of roles in prisoner reentry in Western Australia. Additional data was collected from published government reports, policy documents, research reports and academic literature. The interview findings determined that accommodation, employment, social networks and education and treatment programs were deemed to have the most significant impact on prisoner reentry. One of the most significant findings to emerge is the significance of social networks. This study has found evidence that the value of social networks has been neglected in reentry policy. One of the core issues examined throughout this process was the definition of 'successful reentry'. The term 'successful reentry' requires clarification, alongside elucidation of related goals and measurements. Measures of reentry 'success' need to be developed further or ameliorated by additional criterion as successful reentry is a more complex problem than existing recidivism measures can address. This thesis challenges the existing understanding of the needs of prisoners reentering the community and suggests strategies for improving the reentry process and related outcomes. Future reentry policy needs to give greater weight to the value of social networks and establish mechanisms to facilitate the development and maintenance of these networks, which will in turn, assist prisoners to secure accommodation and employment opportunities.