Centralised and embedded in-house social work in Swiss prisons

Social workers’ roles in prisons may vary between and even within countries. This contribution elaborates on the particularity of two in-house social work settings in Swiss prisons with regard to their tasks and roles. The first one conceives social work as a more or less independent social service unit that assists prisoners with personal, social and financial affairs. They either conduct interventions at the request of the person in need or proactively approach incarcerated persons with regard to post-prison rehabilitation. In the second setting, social workers are situated and have offices in the cell units. By sharing everyday life with incarcerated persons, they are closer to their emotional well-being and needs while also being forced to contribute to the constraining context explicitly – for instance, seeing the cells opened in the morning and locked again in the evening. These organisational differences also relate to questions about social workers’ positioning and professional identity in correctional facilities.