Westminster Criminology students visits prison education projects in Brazil and Argentina

The trip, which was funded by the Quintin Hogg Trust (QHT), was arranged in connection with Convict Criminology (CC) schemes, initiated by Dr Aresti and Dr Darke, to support current prisoners in higher education through an academic mentoring scheme, and prison-based education programmes at HMP Pentonville, HMP Grendon and HMP Coldingley. The aim of the visits was to develop and tighten relations with similar prison education projects in Latin America, including with the State University of Maranhão (UEMA) and the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, and the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

During the trip the Westminster group was able to take part in prison tours in São Luis, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, learn about the history and organisational structure of the prisons, talk to inmates and prison officers, deliver lectures on their experiences studying with prisoners in the UK, and discuss research with academics and students working on CC projects at partner universities.

The students and academics were also invited to visit the Tribunal de Justiça do Maranhão, and the Integrated Centre for Penal Alternatives and Social Inclusion in São Luis to meet highly respected judges and legal professionals.

Reflecting on the latter, student Ella Walsh said: “This was an eye-opening experience, learning about all the initiatives and processes in place for semi-open and open prisoners, post-release prisoners and prisoners on community supervision.”

Talking about one of the university visits, student Navtan Paul said: “Visiting the University in São Paulo has been extremely enlightening and a life-changing experience, one that is far away from the knowledge attained through books.” 

In Buenos Aires, Westminster students and academics took part in the first ever international conference on prison higher education, organised by Bard Prison Initiative (BPI) and the University of San Martín. The three-day event, titled Abrir La Carcel, hosted educators and alumni from more than 25 universities across the globe to share and discuss a range of prison education projects by respective universities. Dr Aresti and Dr Darke presented with Criminology students Ella Walsh and Katharina Ammerer.

The group also visited two other prisons in Buenos Aries. Student Sedick Abdul-Rahman said: “[Devoto] prison is home to approximately 2000 prisoners, but what struck me was the multifaceted education centre within the facility. What was fascinating is that the centre is self-run by the prisoners with the support of other professionals who come to teach. The prison guards are not allowed into this space, and this gives them a sense of autonomy and independence. In all, my visit to this centre was an eye-opening experience. It served as a reminder of how powerful education is.”

Reflecting on the trip, Dr Darke said: “After more than ten years teaching Global Criminology, researching Latin American prisons, and working on the internationalisation of the Convict Criminology perspective, it was a fantastic and inspirational experience to take students on this tour.”

The Convict Criminology at Westminster group has initiated or joined several international prison project collaborations, including with universities in Milan, Paris, Madrid and Bologna. Thanks to the programme, Westminster also signed Memorandums of Understanding with the University of Buenos Aires, the University of São Paulo, and is currently exploring further partnership with the State University of Maranhão. 

Learn more about the trip and read the student reflections at the Convict Criminology at Westminster LinkedIn page.