• We researched in a variety of geographical settings, holding both sentenced and remand prisoners and covering all prison categories:

• • five English prisons

• • four Swiss prisons

• • one French prison

• Our research sample included all four security categories used in England (A, B, C, D); and to ease comparison, we used the same security categories in Switzerland and France, although we are aware that the equivalencies are not exact.

• According to the UK government (Ministry of Justice, 2021), male prisons are organised into four categories:

Category A

These are high security prisons. They house male prisoners who, if they were to escape, pose the greatest threat to the public, the police or national security.

Category B

These prisons are either local or training prisons. Local prisons house prisoners who are taken directly from court in the local area (sentenced or on remand), and training prisons hold long-term and high security prisoners.

Category C

These prisons are training and resettlement prisons; most prisoners are located in a Category C. They provide prisoners with the opportunity to develop their own skills so they can find work and resettle back into the community on release.

Category D – open prisons

These prisons have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work or education or for other resettlement purposes. Open prisons only house prisoners who have been risk assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions.