Attitudes Of Prisoners Research Articles

Faces of security. Radicalization of prisoners as a challenge for the future of security of the Polish penitentiary institutions

An issue that is essential to contemporary society is the question of state security and personal safety of the citizens. Therefore, the state has to deal with one of the most important threats, i.e. radicalization. The phenomenon of home-grown radicalism is known in Western European countries. The phenomenon of radicalization should not be identified solely with contemporary domestic Islamic terrorism. Radicalism is not limited to one ideology. The question about the process of acquiring extremist beliefs is one of the most important for political scientists, political psychologists, sociologists and criminologists. Wanting to deal with the etiology of the decision about a terrorist attack, the focus should be on the moment when potential terrorists start and undergo the process of radicalization. The article aims to signal the problem of radicalization in Polish penitentiary units. The authors do not provide the knowledge necessary to counteract this phenomenon in penitentiary units. However, they point to the definition problems, the theoretical model of radicalization, the place of radicalization in the European Union's policy. They also present the penitentiary unit as a place susceptible to radicalization. They formulate general remarks on combating radicalization among prisoners. They inform that the Prison Service should not be left alone in counteracting the radicalization of prisoners. It is an element of the state security system. It also cooperates with other entities in the rehabilitation of prisoners. The authors acknowledge that the way to prevent the negative effects of the radicalization process of prisoners is first of all training personnel in this field. It is also the fundamental issue to isolate prisoners who are a source of danger. In this area, the authors suggest that if the radical attitudes of prisoners are intensified, it is worth considering introducing legislative solutions facilitating faster and adequate operation of prison staff in such cases.

Развитие института пожизненного заключения в Республике Беларусь: криминологический и уголовно-исполнительный аспекты

The article is devoted to the issues related to the execution and serving of a life sentence, using the example of the Republic of Belarus. The criminological characteristics of convicts’ personality are given, and separate proposals are made to optimize the correctional process. The authors note that the practice of punishment execution in the Republic of Belarus is generally similar to many foreign countries. Taking into account the questionnaire compiled by the authors, the characteristics of socio-demographic, moral-psychological, criminal-legal and social-role properties of convicts sentenced to life imprisonment were determined. Thus, the age of convicted persons is from 26 to 58 years. The largest number of people is of working age. Convicts, as a rule, have a low educational level. Most of the respondents are unmarried or divorced. Most convicts do not have children. The majority of them maintain socially useful relationships with relatives. The convicts have a positive attitude to matters of faith. A quarter of them did not work anywhere before the sentencing. Most of the convicts do not have chronic diseases. At the same time, 7.4% of respondents identified themselves as having mental behavioral disorders. For a significant part of the respondents, the served sentence is the first criminal record. The psychological attitude of prisoners to the committed crimes shows that in most cases they repent of what they did and blame only themselves for what happened. A large number of convicts draw attention to themselves, because they put the lack of perspective in the foreground. Taking into account the criminological characteristics, it is concluded that a person sentenced to life imprisonment is an atypical person, in respect of whom it is advisable to apply, along with established forms and methods of correctional influence, a special technique focused on overcoming a specific psychological mood and aimed at achieving the goals of criminal responsibility.

The attitudes of prisoners towards participation in restorative justice procedures

The attitudes of prisoners towards participation in restorative justice procedures

The reflection of the punishment practice of heterodoxy in the subculture of prisons of the past centuries

The article presents the attitude of prisoners of the past centuries in Russia to punishment, their fate, which they represented in the form of song creation and various metaphorical images. These images have passed through time and are associated with the perception of the prison as a special space. Therefore the authors use already described examples how a prison could look at the end of the Middle Ages.

Financial Payments for Participating in Research while Incarcerated: Attitudes of Prisoners

AbstractThe practice of paying prisoners to for their participation in research has long been debated, and the controversy is reflected in the differing policies in the U.S. prison systems. Empirical study of financial payments to inmates who enroll in research has focused on whether this practice is coercive. In this study, we examined whether monetary incentives have the potential to be unduly influential among fifty HIV‐positive prisoners. The majority of prisoners surveyed believed that inmates should receive some compensation for their involvement in research and disagreed with statements suggesting that the offer of payment constitutes undue influence. However, a sense of potentially being susceptible to undue influence was significantly higher among participants who had spent a longer time in prison and had less education. Overall, our findings suggest that most prisoners feel that they would be able to make a decision about research enrollment that is not solely based on an offer of monetary payment.

Cadangan Bantuan Zakat Asnaf Al-Riqab Terhadap Banduan Melalui Latihan Vokasional di Penjara: Kajian di Penjara Wanita Kajang, Selangor

The prison recovery programs involving vocational training program is expected to change the attitude of prisoners towards a more positive and encourage them to become entrepreneurs. Therefore, this study suggests zakat capital support by Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) to prisoners through vocational training programs in prisons and also to ex-convicts who wish to become an entrepreneurs after getting out of prison. Hence this study will examine to what extent this has changed the attitude of the prisoner after undergoing training in prisons and allow them to receive zakah contribution and continuous monitoring to be a good entrepreneur after coming out of prison. The study focused on inmates in two types of vocational workshops namely (1) Bengkel Amanah (skilled inmates) and (2) Bengkel Perusahaan (training inmates) in prison. The data was based on 68 respondents which represent the total number of 152 participants in vocational section from Penjara Wanita Kajang including the views from a prison officer from Vocational and Industrial Section. Data were analysed using factor analysis to establish the construct and analysis of variance. The study found a significant positive changes in attitude within the prisoners, and majority of respondents from Bengkel Amanah is keen to start their own businesses with the help of zakat capital support, and expects continuous guidance from the LZS. This study is expected to be helpful to the LZS in diversifying the forms of distribution of Zakat and indirectly expect the blessing of charity towards the process of educating the soul of this group become more useful, trustworthy, responsible and able to survive while adapting to society. Some implications are discussed in this study.
 Keywords: Al-Riqab, Changes of prisoners’s attitude, zakah contribution
 Abstrak 
 Program pemulihan di penjara yang melibatkan program vokasional dijangka dapat mengubah sikap banduan ke arah yang lebih positif dan menarik minat mereka untuk menjadi usahawan. Oleh itu, kajian ini mencadangkan bantuan modal zakat oleh Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) kepada banduan melalui program latihan vokasional di penjara dan juga kepada bekas banduan yang berminat menjadi usahawan setelah keluar daripada penjara. Justeru kajian ini akan mengkaji sejauh manakah banduan ini telah berubah sikap setelah menjalani latihan di penjara dan memungkinkan mereka mendapat bantuan modal zakat dan pemantauan secara berterusan untuk menjadi usahawan yang baik setelah dibebaskan. Kajian memfokuskan kepada banduan dalam dua jenis bengkel vokasional iaitu (1) bengkel amanah (banduan mahir) dan (2) bengkel perusahaan (banduan pelatih) di penjara. Data kajian berdasarkan responden seramai 68 responden yang mewakili 152 orang jumlah keseluruhan peserta bengkel vokasional dari Penjara Wanita Kajang Selangor termasuklah pandangan daripada seorang pegawai penjara di Seksyen Vokasional dan Industri. Data dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan analisis faktor untuk membentuk beberapa konstruk serta analisis varian. Hasil kajian mendapati wujud perubahan sikap yang positif di dalam diri tahanan dan kajian juga mendapati majoriti responden daripada bengkel Amanah amat berminat untuk membuka perniagaan sendiri dengan bantuan modal zakat dan mengharapkan bimbingan berterusan daripada pihak LZS. Kajian ini dilihat amat bermanfaat kepada LZS di dalam mempelbagaikan bentuk pengagihan dana zakat dan secara tidak langsung mengharapkan keberkatan zakat terhadap proses mendidik jiwa golongan ini menjadi insan yang lebih berguna, amanah dan bertanggungjawab serta dapat meneruskan kehidupan disamping menyesuaikan diri dengan masyarakat. Beberapa implikasi kajian turut dibincangkan dalam kajian ini.
 Kata Kunci: Asnaf al-riqab, Perubahan sikap banduan, bantuan modal zakat

Working Behind Bars: Employed Prisoners' Perception of Professional Training and Employment in Prison

The research is aimed at examining the perceptions and attitudes of prisoners employed in enterprises in prison vis-à-vis employment and deriving conclusions regarding the impact of employment on the lives of prisoners in prison and its contribution to advancing their rehabilitation. Doing time is generally a painful experience, both physically and mentally, and often adversely influences prisoners’ life after release. Programs and activities have been developed in prisons in many countries, including Israel, to mitigate these impacts and at the same time reduce recidivism following release. A key such program is employment in enterprises within the prison walls, including training of prisoners in a variety of professions. In the framework of the present qualitative research 20 prisoners employed in enterprises in Israeli prisons were interviewed, and these aired their perceptions regarding employment and its effects. Three main themes and 18 sub-themes defining the attitudes of the prisoners to the issue emerged from the interviews. The first two themes are: employment provides benefits and alleviates the pains of imprisonment; and employment helps prisoners’ rehabilitation. The third theme emerging from the statements of an isolated number of prisoners is: employment is an act of exploitation on the part of the Prison Service and serves no useful purpose. The overall conclusion of the study is that employment in enterprises in prison is generally perceived by the prisoners as positive and contributory, in terms of both reducing the damage caused by imprisonment and raising the likelihood of the prisoner being rehabilitated through employment following his release.

Prisoner intentions to participate in an electronic monitoring scheme: an application of the theory of planned behaviour

PurposeThere is a need to address the implications of offender electronic monitoring (EM) within Ireland. Thus this research examined prisoner EM participation intentions through an application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991).Design/methodology/approachA male sample (n=101) from two Dublin prisons completed a TPB survey anonymously.FindingsThe moderately favourable prisoner attitudes suggested positive orientations towards participation in EM but did suggest some perceived difficulties. Subjective norms had a strong positive influence on intentions.Research limitations/implicationsPrisoner intentions were generally positive towards EM participation. This bodes well for future EM schemes in Ireland. It is also essential to gather other perspectives relevant to the prison system, when implementing EM.Originality/valueThe TPB offers an effective approach to understanding prisoner's EM intentions. More specifically, the TPB pinpointed the prisoners’ favourable intentions towards participating in an EM scheme by highlighting the influence of positive attitudes towards EM and their strong belief that significant others shared these positive attitudes.

Constructing and Performing Sexualities in the Penitentiaries

Prison sex research has primarily focused on overt sexual behaviors, while prisoner attitudes regarding sexuality have received considerably less attention. Moreover, little is known about the implications of such attitudes for prisoner behaviors. Applying a social constructionist framework, the present study explores how sexuality is negotiated and performed during incarceration, and situates these behaviors within the context of dominant attitudes in all-male prison environments. To this end, in-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted with male parolees from Canadian federal penitentiaries. The results suggest that heteronormativity and homophobia are pervasive in prisoner cultures and are reflected in how sexuality is discursively constructed and acted out by incarcerated men. Implications of the current findings and directions for future research are discussed.

When Opportunity Matters: Comparing the Risk‐Taking Attitudes of Prisoners and Recently Released Ex‐Prisoners

Risk-taking tendencies and environmental opportunities to commit crime are two key features in understanding criminal behavior. Upon release from prison, ex-prisoners have a much greater opportunity to engage in risky activity and to commit criminal acts. We hypothesized that ex-prisoners would exhibit greater risk-taking tendencies compared to prisoners who have fewer opportunities to engage in risky activity and who are monitored constantly by prison authorities. Using cumulative prospect theory to compare the risky choices of prisoners and ex-prisoners our study revealed that ex-prisoners who were within 16 weeks of their prison release made riskier choices than prisoners. Our data indicate that previous studies comparing prisoners behind bars with nonoffenders may have underestimated the risk-taking tendencies of offenders. The present findings emphasize the central role played by risk-taking attitudes in criminal offending and highlight a need to examine offenders after release from prison.

The Decline in Sexual Assaults in Men’s Prisons in New South Wales: A “systems” Approach

Male prison rape and sexual assaults remains a serious and sensitive issue in many countries. Human rights groups claim that sexual assaults among male prisoners have reached pandemic proportions and need to be stopped. Researchers for many years have studied the causes of male sexual assault in prison and offered numerous recommendations on its prevention. Few, however, have presented evidence for a decline in male prisoner sexual assaults and investigated the reasons for the decline. This article provides evidence from population-based surveys of a steady decrease in male prisoner sexual assaults in New South Wales (NSW) between 1996 and 2009. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with former and current inmates, and using a "systems" approach they discuss the complexity of sexual assaults in prison, incorporating a multiplicity of perspectives. In particular, they bring together different sources of data and discuss this in relation to changes in power structures and control in a modern prison, the attitudes of older and younger prisoners, the concept of "duty of care," introduction of prison drug programs, and prisoner attitudes toward gender and sexuality. In anthropology, the term "system" is used widely for describing sociocultural phenomena of a given society in a holistic manner without reducing the complexity of a given community.

Attitudes towards sex: a comparison of prisoners and the general community

National population surveys of attitudes towards sexual issues typically exclude prisoners and little is known about their attitudes compared with the community. Using computer-assisted telephone interviews, we compared a representative sample of 2289 prisoners (men=1960, women=329), aged 18-59 years, from two Australian states against a national community sample of 6755 participants (men=3333, women=3421). Overall, prisoners were slightly more conservative in their attitudes towards sex than the community. They were more likely than the community to agree with the statement that abortion is wrong (men: adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.8-3.9; women: AOR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.4) and that male homosexuality is wrong (men: AOR=2.6, 95% CI: 2.2-3.1; women: AOR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.3); these differences were more pronounced for men than women. The attitudes of prisoners and the community varied with age. Attitudinal differences between prisoners and the community tended to be larger than the differences between women and men (agree that abortion is wrong: prisoners, AOR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.4-0.7; community, AOR=0.8, 95% CI: 0.7-0.9; agree that male homosexuality is wrong: prisoners, AOR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.3-0.5; community, AOR=0.6, 95% CI: 0.5-0.7). Prisoners have either similar or less accepting attitudes towards sex than the general population. These attitudes contrast with the higher engagement in risk behaviours reported by prisoners.

Prison staff and women prisoner's views on self‐harm; their implications for service delivery and development: A qualitative study

Rates of self-harm are high among women in prison in the UK. This is the first study to compare the views and attitudes of prison staff and women prisoners and to look at the effects of these attitudes on prisoner/staff relationships. To explore understanding of self-harm among women prisoners, prison officers and health-care staff and how their perceptions might influence service provision and development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women prisoners who self-harm and with staff at a women's prison. Data were analysed thematically. Prison officers often attributed motives to self-harm such as 'manipulation' and 'attention-seeking', whereas descriptions by women prisoners, prison governors and health-care staff suggested explanations in affect regulation or self-punishment. Differences between prison officers and other staff working in the prison in their understanding of self-harm by women prisoners may lie in training differences, but there may be other explanations such as self-protection/coping strategies. More training and support for officers may result in improved staff-prisoner relationships and thus, safer service provision.

L’exercice pharmaceutique hospitalier en milieu carcéral

Since 1994, hospital pharmaceutical teams have been in charge of pharmaceutical tasks in "unités de consultation et de soins ambulatoires" (UCSA), which are hospital consulting care units in French prisons. In 2008, pharmaceutical team in Parisian prisons received 6500 prescriptions and prepared 85,000 nominative bags containing drugs. Prisoners were 1.3% to receive treatments against HIV, 8.2% cardiovascular drugs, 7.2% opioid substitution treatments, and 52.9% psychoactive drugs, including 39.3% hypnotics, 40.5% anxiolytics, 11.3% antidepressants and 12.2% neuroleptics. In prison, the dichotomy between somatic and mental care is marked, attitudes of prisoners about their medicines are complex (important claims, embezzlement, etc.) and it is difficult for law defendants to maintain treatment confidentiality and to prepare prison outing in terms of health. To attenuate the heterogeneity of drug distribution systems in French prisons, we propose pharmaceutical analysis of prescriptions and nominative dispensation, computerization in UCSA in coordination with hospitals, a better contribution of prison medical and pharmaceutical staff in hospital "drug committees" and the redaction of pharmaceutical guidelines. Acting in concert with multidisciplinary medical staff in UCSA, pharmaceutical teams have to develop epidemiological studies to improve knowledge in prisoner's health and also prevention and health care in prison.

Developing an attitude towards bullying scale for prisoners: structural analyses across adult men, young adults and women prisoners

Few studies have attempted to explore attitudes towards bullying among prisoners, despite acknowledgement that attitudes may play an important role. To evaluate the structure of a new attitudinal scale, the Prison Bullying Scale (PBS), with adult men and women in prison and with young male prisoners. That attitudes would be represented as a multidimensional construct and that the PBS structure would be replicated across confirmatory samples. The PBS was developed and confirmed across four independent studies using item parceling and confirmatory factor analysis: Study I comprised 412 adult male prisoners; Study II, 306 adult male prisoners; Study III, 171 male young offenders; and Study IV, 148 adult women prisoners. Attitudes were represented as a multidimensional construct comprising seven core factors. The exploratory analysis was confirmed in adult male samples, with some confirmation among young offenders and adult women. The fit for young offenders was adequate and improved by factor covariance. The fit for women was the poorest overall. The study notes the importance of developing ecologically valid measures and statistically testing these measures prior to their clinical or research use. The development of the PBS holds value both as an assessment and as a research measure and remains the only ecologically validated measure in existence to assess prisoner attitudes towards bullying.

Formal and informal systems in prison

Main question of modern penological theory and penitentiary practise is finding deeper social sense through general goal, which we define as resocialization of prisoners and creating conditions for successful life after leaving prison. Success of resocialization depends also on attitude of prisoners to formal system and following the rules and principles of that system. Opposite to formal system which is based on prison staff and normative system (Law of carrying out of a sentence and Book of regulations for house rules), exists informal system which is based on prisoners and their mutual relationships, as well as on prisoner's codex, and which has negative influence to resocilazation process. Attitude of prisoners to formal system during serving a sentence represents very significant indicator of prisoner's readiness for return to community and acceptance of society norms.

Returning Home: Preliminary Findings from a Pilot Study of Soon-to-be-Released Prisoners in Maryland

In 2001, researchers at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., launched a pilot study in the state of Maryland for a four-state, longitudinal research project examining prisoner reentry. The first stage of the pilot involved self-administered surveys with 324 prisoners in the 30 to 90 days prior to their expected release. These surveys presented many research challenges, including designing a self-administered instrument that would be accessible to the prison population, developing appropriate sampling and recruiting methods, and conducting research in a prison setting. This paper describes the research procedures that were employed to obtain this baseline data and presents some preliminary findings from our survey of soon-to-be-released prisoners. The results presented include descriptive information on prisoner demographics, criminal histories, substance use, and family relationships, as well as correlation analyses of prisoner attitudes and expectations for life after release. Implications of these preliminary findings and recommendations to researchers interested in conducting similar research are also discussed.

Manipulable mores: an Analysis of Prisoner Attitudes to Rape

Manipulable mores: an Analysis of Prisoner Attitudes to Rape

The Effectiveness of a Shock Incarceration Program and a Minimum Security Prison in Changing Attitudes toward Drugs

Shock incarceration programs, or boot camp prisons, have been advocated as one means to deal with the recent massive influx of drug offenders into the criminal justice system. The study compares the attitudes of prisoners ( N = 103) in a minimum security facility and inmates ( N = 267) in a prison boot camp toward alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs (measured by acceptability scales) over a 6-month period. The findings reveal that shock incarceration appears to be an effective program in changing attitudes toward the use of alcohol but has little impact on attitudes toward illicit drug use. It also appears that an inmate's history of alcohol and drug use has a greater influence on attitudinal change than does prison setting.

Work Attitudes Among Israeli Heroin Addicts

Abstract This study is an attempt to test a status model of heroin addiction. It is hypothesized that the level of service/treatment (i.e., prison or community-based treatment) will be associated with the work attitudes of heroin addicts obtained from self-report data. For analysis purposes, 312 heroin and non-heroin addicts were studied. The findings show that the work-related attitudes of prisoners are more basic (in terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs) than those in a community-based treatment program or those of a non-drug using control group. Also, community-based addicts were found to have a more “basic” work orientation when compared to the control group. From a conceptual perspective, the status model used in this study presents a promising approach for explaining differences among heroin and non-heroin addicts as well as providing a framework for vocational habilitation/rehabilitation training.