Background to the Research

• There is a great deal of literature regarding the history if the IRA but little comparable analysis of loyalism exists.
• This book explores the views and perspectives of loyalist prisoners within the context of the government's criminalisation policy with regard to those involved in terrorist activities.
  

Research Approach

• Face-to-face interviews were carried out with 80 former prisoners representing loyalists, republicans and 'ordinary' criminal offenders between 1986-90.
• In-depth face-to-face interviews with 50 loyalist prisoners.
  

Main Findings

Interviews with ex-prisoners 1986-1990

• Of the ODC, 40% identified 'psychological/personality factors as important in their offending. Forty per cent of this group had been motivated by a desire for 'amusement' and 70% through 'personal gain' and 100% stated their involvement was 'criminal'. These factors had not featured in the replies of former paramilitary prisoners.
• Environmental and peer group relationships were seen as significant to all groups. However, membership of a peer group was markedly less significant for former loyalist prisoners, who were much more likely to act independently. Loyalists were more likely to consider themselves at war and regard their actions as reactive. Republicans emphasised their ideology/culture as reasons for their actions. All former paramilitaries identified their motivation as political.
• Over 90% of LC prisoners described their imprisonment as 'humane' and 100% of RC described it as being so. Just under 10% of LC prisoners stated their imprisonment was 'punitive', compared with just over 90% of LHB, 100% of RHB and ODC prisoners. No RC prisoners found it 'punitive' and no prisoner in the research felt imprisonment was rehabilitative. Only LC (just over 10%) and LHB (approximately 15%) stated imprisonment would deter them from further involvement. Conversely, just over 80% of LHB, 100% of RHB and ODC felt that prison would further incline them to paramilitary or criminal involvement.
• Just under 30% of LC felt that prison had placed a psychological strain on them, 100% of LHB and 80% of ODC felt this was so. All categories stated that prison had put a strain on their families. On hundred per cent of ODC and RHB, over 90% of LHB and 20% of RC prisoners felt imprisonment had created a tension between them and state authority and all categories of prisoner had an issue with authority in general as a result of imprisonment.
• One hundred per cent of ODC and RHB described their relationship with prison staff as 'extremely bad', just over 90% of LHB and 18% of LC prisoners described them as so. Conversely, only 9% of LC and 20% of RC prisoners described the relationship as 'good'.

Interviews with Loyalist Ex-life sentence prisoners 1996-1997

• Eighty-five per cent of the sample reported the class composition of their home environment as 'working class' or 'lower working class'. Fifteen per cent of the group reported lower-middle class or middle class home environments - all were from rural communities.
• Fifteen per cent of the sample reported a high level of criminal activity in their home environments at the time of their arrest. Men living in the urban ghettos of Belfast reported a high level of paramilitary activity, while those living in rural areas did not.
• Only 20% of the sample had any educational qualifications, and 90% were in employment. No respondent cited 'personal gain or 'gratification' as reasons for their offence, whereas all said their involvement in Paramilitarism was voluntary and they were willing participants in their offence. The entire sample stated their offences were politically motivated and reactive against republican activity.
• Thirty per cent of the group had had a member of their family killed by republicans before their offence, 90% had a friend killed and 95% a member of their home community. All of the group felt their community was under attack by republicans at the time of their arrest.
• None of the sample who had been imprisoned in compounds (humane treatment) found their experience of prison 'dehumanising' compared with 97% of those imprisoned in the H-Blocks (punitive treatment). No compound prisoner found the conditions of imprisonment 'alienating' while all those in the H-Blocks found it so.
• All H-Block prisoners described their relationship with prison officers as 'very bad/bad'; conversely all compound prisoners described their relationship as 'good/very good'.
• All prisoners felt that imprisonment had increased their political awareness and a large majority stated they became 'politicised' during imprisonment.
• The majority (almost 95%)of the sample found re-integration into the community 'very problematic/problematic with only 11% finding it 'relatively problem free'. The majority of the sample stated they would have benefited from support services during the period of re-adjustment.