From the Streets to Prison and Back: An Examination of Continuity of Behaviors among Offenders

Abstract

ABSTRACT Behavioral continuity has been supported by the offending, prison misconduct, and recidivism literature; however, the linear path from offending in the community, to prison, and in the community again has not been fully tested. Data on individuals under parole supervision in the City of Philadelphia were used to test offending continuity across periods of incarceration and within the community. Using binary regression, we tested whether type of controlling offense (i.e. the offense resulting in the current term of incarceration) predicted the odds of engaging in different types of prison/institutional misconduct. Additionally, we examined if individuals with specific types of institutional misconduct had higher odds of reincarceration. Furthermore, path analysis modeling was used to test for mediation across this relationship. Analyses revealed that those with controlling property offenses had lower odds of misconduct, whereas those with violent offenses had higher odds of engaging in violent misconduct. Second, likelihood of reincarceration varied by controlling offense type. When compared to other offenses, those with property offenses had higher odds of reincarceration, whereas those with violent offenses had lower odds of reincarceration. Third, of those with violent controlling offenses, those who had a record of violent institutional misconduct had lower odds of recidivism. These findings partially support continuity of offending; however, highlight the potential for incarceration to interrupt habitual offending behaviors.