This book provides the first systematic study of prison governors, a hidden and
powerful, but much neglected, group of criminal justice practitioners. Its focus
is on how they carry out their task, how that has changed over time and how
their role has evolved. The author, himself a former prison governor, explains
how prison governors have changed under external pressures, and examines a
number of the factors that have been influential in changing their working
environment in particular the changing status of prisoners and the development
of the concept of prisoners rights, the increasing scrutiny of the press and
politicians, competitive elements introduced by privatization of the