Correctional Services Research Articles

Shaping the techno-social landscape of corrections: How values, technology, and culture influence the design of correctional service delivery applications

Over the past decade, a variety of digital platforms have emerged to deliver core correctional services. Understanding the challenges and drivers of correctional agencies’ digitalisation helps us to understand the processes that shape these technologies and their impact on correctional environments and practices. To bridge this gap, we conducted interviews with 26 software developers and other stakeholders involved in the digitalisation of corrections, aiming to explore the challenges encountered in designing and implementing digital service delivery technologies for correctional services. Our findings shed light on some key challenges faced by software developers and other stakeholders involved in the design process, including institutional culture, justice system bureaucracy, and public perceptions. These challenges significantly influence design processes and the availability of digital products for end users. They shape the techno-social landscape of correctional agencies and contribute to the dominance or absence of certain digital platforms or artefacts.

Cognitive Accessibility of Information for Vocational Education, Support and Rehabilitation

Introduction. The article examines the problems of accessibility of professional information and intersectoral research results at three stages. Methodology and Results. At the first stage, the method of a sociological survey of disabled people (5.500 people) was used, when analyzing the results of which it was concluded that they stated the insufficient importance of education as a sphere of life (43 %) and the incomprehensibility of the information provided to them on information resources (40.2 %). The purpose of the practical second stage of the study is to develop and test the diagnosis of the availability of information for professional information (hereinafter referred to as professional information) and the need for support in obtaining advisory services for professional orientation in accessible types of work, socio–psychological, socio-pedagogical, correctional and educational services through determining the degree of cognitive safety as an objective criterion for helping people and accompanying persons with disabilities. Method: adapted questionnaire (MMSE test) as a screening tool for cognitive preservation in people of working age who applied for social services (5.915 people). The results of practical diagnostics of cognitive preservation have determined approaches to differentiating information design for the perception of information as a condition of cognitive accessibility. At the third stage, prognostic modeling of recommendations to increase the accessibility of professional information for vocational training, education and social rehabilitation, and support for the disabled was carried out. Conclusions. Taking into account functional and adaptive reserves, cognitive safety of disabled people determines the design, modeling of the subsequent design of information accessibility by levels of cognitive accessibility, which contributes to improving the quality of professional information, counseling in order to build a route of vocational education and training, including additional education or retraining.

A Right to Know? Using Access to Information as Method in Critical Criminological Research

Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests are becoming an increasingly common method of qualitative inquiry, particularly for critical criminologists in Canada who face barriers in accessing Canadian prisons to conduct research. This article explores the politics of institutional gatekeeping and highlights the ongoing policing of critical criminological knowledge, necessitating the use of ATIP as a data collection method. Two case studies describe the strategies that the authors mobilized to acquire records from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) when their applications to conduct research inside prisons were denied. The authors argue that while access to information legislation is promoted as allowing for increased accountability and transparency of the government, real transparency is a public myth. This lack of transparency is linked to the ascendancy of administrative criminology in Canada, which ultimately devalues critical research and inhibits information flows in and out of carceral spaces.

Effects of Terrorism Threat Levels Collaborating Stereotypes, Stigmatization and Prejudices on Perceived Interpersonal Social Support in The Reintegration of Ex-Detained Suspected Terrorists into The Community

This article gives important information about effects of terrorism threat levels collaborating stereotypes, stigmatization and prejudices on perceived interpersonal social support in the reintegration of ex-detained terrorism suspects into the community. The main aim of this research is to examine what effects is embedded in terrorism threat levels collaborating stereotype, stigmatization and prejudice on perceived social support in the reintegration of ex-detained suspected terrorists into the community’?. Sixty participants drawn from Kuchigoro Terrorism Internal Displaced Peoples’ Camp (TIDPC), Abuja, Nigeria were used for the study. A modified version of “Interpersonal Social Support Evaluation List: shortened version – 12 items” was used for the collection of data. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. Results indicated significant effects, F (5, 54 = 3.223, P = 0.05). This means terrorism threat levels collaborates stereotypes, stigmatization and prejudices impact on the type of interpersonal social support given to ex-detained suspected terrorists by members of the Community during their reintegration into the community. It was observed and recommended that, there is dire need of deliberate creation of terrorism education awareness and application of psychological interventions, as well as putting in place a mechanism for the resolution of interpersonal conflicts among members of the community. The study’s results imply that, the training programs of Correctional Services Personnel should include rehabilitation and reintegration skills.

CORRECTIVE AND DEVELOPMENTAL SUPPORT OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AT DIFFERENT AGE STAGES OF THEIR DEVELOPMENT

The theoretical review article describes the peculiarities of the organization of correctional and developmental support for children with intellectual disabilities. The types of institutions that provide correctional and developmental services to children with intellectual disabilities at different age periods of their development are structured. At an early age, due to the impossibility of measuring the IQ, children with organic damage to the nervous system are a special risk group. At this age stage of the development of the children of the research group, multidisciplinary correctional and developmental support is supported in the early intervention system. The possibility of receiving correctional and developmental services for preschool children with intellectual disabilities in inclusive preschool educational institutions, inclusive resource centers, and comprehensive rehabilitation centers has been identified. Similarities in the organization of the structure of correctional and developmental support for preschool and school-aged children with intellectual disabilities were observed. It was determined that the correctional and developmental support of school-age children with intellectual disabilities is carried out in the following institutions: inclusive institutions of general secondary education, inclusive resource centers, comprehensive rehabilitation centers. It was determined that the activities of inclusive resource centers and inclusive educational institutions are interdependent. Inclusive resource centers provide comprehensive diagnostic activities, provide correctional and developmental services to children with intellectual disabilities, provide methodical support for pedagogical workers of inclusive educational institutions.

Examining the Learning Style Preferences of Offenders at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Centre, South Africa

This study examined the learning style preferences of offenders at the Johannesburg Female Correctional Centre, South Africa. Followed a quantitative approach and used cross-sectional survey design. Enu-meration sampling technique was applied due to small size of the pop-ulation (n = 571). Data were collected from 402 participants, yielding to response rate of 70.40%. A Kolb Learning Style Questionnaire was used to collect data. Kolb ‘s instrument can assess learning styles and provide a valuable framework for the design and management of learn-ing activities. The results show that many offenders strongly prefer di-verging/reflector learning style. This learning style influence the of-fenders’ learning experiences to a great extent. It is recommended that the South African Department of Correctional Services should consider providing customised training programmes to build the capacity of teachers/facilitators/learning designers so that they are able to ac-commodate the diverse learning styles of offenders during the classes and/or rehabilitation programmes.

Comparison of the vertical accuracy of satellite-based correction service and the PPK GNSS method for obtaining sensor positions on a multibeam bathymetric survey

The MarineStar Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) augmentation services are widely used in bathymetric surveys to obtain the sensor position. The postprocessed kinematic (PPK) GNSS method can be used to obtain more accurate positions. Therefore, the present work aims to verify the vertical final accuracies and uncertainties of exclusive order multibeam hydrographic surveys using the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as a horizontal positioning tool through methods such MarineStar services and PPK relative positioning, with comparisons between the two methods based on the results of the hydrographic base created. We produced two surfaces with each method, representing the minimum and maximum depths of the bathymetry point cloud. A statistical analysis of the differences between the depth surfaces obtained with the two methods was carried out. When comparing the two surfaces using the PPK method, the difference was less than 10 cm at 95.1% of the points. When comparing the two surfaces to those of the MarineStar, the difference between the maximum and minimum depths was less than 10 cm at 93.1% of the points. The results suggest that using the same survey data, the products obtained with the PPK method would comply with the hydrographic standards, while the MarineStar products would not.

Playing “mental judo”: Mapping staff compassion in Canadian federal prisons

Prisons are inherently emotional environments where both staff and prisoners engage in a continuous process of emotion management while working and living in carceral spaces. This paper explores how Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) values and norms shape how predominantly nonuniformed staff manage compassion inside the prison environment. This includes when and to whom they are allowed to express compassion, when they need to hide or suppress the expression of compassion, and how expressing compassion toward prisoners can elicit feelings of disgust among some staff. We argue that, in the emotional arena that is prison, compassion is (re)configured into an individualized and compulsory emotion by way of CSC's organizational emotion culture that emphasizes punishment and control (the security-care nexus) rather than a transformative act that helps to resist the harms of incarceration and encourages healing. Compassion thus becomes a disciplinary apparatus whereby staff self-discipline as they alter their own emotional orientation toward their work, prisoners, and other staff and as a practice to collectively surveil, evaluate, and regulate one another. We contend that compassion bound to questions and practices of security stifles rehabilitation in this environment and that health and other care work must be reintegrated into community settings.

Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 on Alberta correctional workers

COVID-19 and the subsequent public health responses disrupted the routines and lives of people globally. The impact was felt by correctional workers who navigated rapidly changing public health policies and many disruptions to operations within both institutional and community correctional services. In the current study, we unpack qualitative findings emerging from an online mental health and well-being survey, during COVID-19, of 571 correctional workers employed in the Canadian province of Alberta. Results emphasize how correctional work was strained by the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating other risks and vulnerabilities for both staff and incarcerated people. Respondents highlighted impacts to their workload, routine, personal and institutional security, relationships with colleagues and incarcerated people, and their competing perspectives on the enforcement and ethics of ensuing public health measures intended to contain the spread of the virus. We discuss the empirical implications of these findings and areas for future research post pandemic.

Gender Roles in Corrections: How Gendered Expectations Impact Female Correctional Officers

Compared to other organizations within the criminal justice system, the world of corrections is hidden from public view, and therefore, quickly forgotten. However, like many of these male-dominated organizations, there are significant issues regarding gender and women's roles in the job. With the considerable lack of research regarding correctional officers within Canada and the relatively small percentage of women in the correctional workforce, it is vital to expand this topic to understand the complication of a gendered role. Research has shown gendered issues among female correctional officers and the lack of the support they may receive. With all these persistent issues, we ask ourselves, why do women continue a career path that appears to be working against them? More specifically, how does gender influence women's experience in long-term careers in corrections? To answer this, I conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with women who maintained long-term roles in Correctional Service Canada (CSC). This presentation will discuss these women's gendered experiences working within a masculine organization, how their gender affected their relationships and job expectations, and how CSC may view them.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Hepatitis B and C Virus infection Among Inmates in a Correctional Service, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Hepatitis infection has remained a reoccurring public health challenge. The seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C virus infection among inmates in Lafia correctional service, Nasarawa State, Nigeria was assessed. Blood samples of 120 inmates were screened using the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) rapid test Dip-strip and HCVAb plus rapid test strip. Socio-demographic and risk factors were analyzed using Fishers exact test binary logistics regression (p ≤ 0.05). Inmates were 29.16 % HBV and 8.3% HCV seropositive. Male inmates were 30% HBV and 8.18% HCV and females were 20% HBV and 10% HCV seropositive. Inmates ≥ 40 years and married inmates are more likely to be infected with HBV and HCV infections. Illicit drug use and incarceration above 5 years were risk factors significant for HBV and HCV prevalence. The high seroprevalence and risk factors of HBV and HCV infections among inmates needs prompt sensitization, screening and vaccination programmes.

Research of the Problems of Professional Support for Teachers in the Implementation of Inclusive Education

Professional support for teachers plays a crucial role in the implementation of inclusive education. In the study, the concept of “professional support for teachers” refers to the existence of close social ties between the administration (school principal and his deputies), colleagues, parents of children with SEN, and teachers of postgraduate pedagogical education institutions, who are the main resource for professional support. The aim of the study was to identify current problems of professional support for teachers of inclusive education in a general secondary education institution. It is established that the administration of the institution is mainly interested in the formation of additional competencies of teachers. The problems in which teachers need professional support are identified, in particular: increasing incentives to work with children with SEN; involving special educators in the provision of correctional and developmental services; providing funding for institutions to create an inclusive educational environment; conducting educational work with parents to form adequate expectations of their children; providing teachers with practical advice on minimizing unwanted behavior and modifying educational material for children with intellectual difficulties and autism spectrum disorders. It was found that the activity and motivation of parents of children with SEN to cooperate plays an exceptional role in providing support to teachers.

Offender Rehabilitation System in Hong Kong: From Traditions to Innovations

Probation in Hong Kong is part of a broader concept – a system for the rehabilitation of offenders and the prevention of reoffending. In this approach, the focus of the probation service is not on the crime itself, but on the unresolved personal and social problems that underlie criminal behavior (lack of employment, housing, drug addiction, etc.). With regard to the rehabilitation of offenders in this administrative region, there are legal regulations that have undergone several stages of improvement, a well-developed organizational system of rehabilitation and a set of proven methods of working with offenders. All this makes the Hong Kong experience interesting from the point of view of the prospects of possible borrowing. The paper considers the legal regulation, the history of formation and development of the system of rehabilitation of offenders in Hong Kong, the influence of the English experience on its formation; highlights the features of the organization of the rehabilitation system, as well as its advantages that contribute to the optimization of work processes. Probation in Hong Kong started with juvenile offenders and later extended to adults. Probation in Hong Kong is now a criminal law institution accompanying alternative sentences to imprisonment. Based on academic research, official publications of the Social Welfare Department (SWD) and the Correctional Services Department (CSD) of Hong Kong, and statistical data, the author explores specific measures of support for ex-convicts, social rehabilitation, and the effectiveness of their application. The author identifies the key points of effectiveness of the Hong Kong system of rehabilitation of offenders: well-built hierarchical organizational structure (departmentalization of the service); division of functions between the agencies supervising social welfare and correctional institutions; emphasis on the use of social work methods in the creation of rehabilitation programs; a wide range of rehabilitation programs targeting different groups of offenders; comprehensive nature of rehabilitation, involvement of family and community. In conclusion, the author’s vision of the prospects of using the Hong Kong experience in the Russian realities, coupled with the analysis of the new legislation on probation, is stated.

From awareness of correctional services to accepting ex-prisoners among the public

ABSTRACT Public acceptance of ex-prisoners is a goal for correctional services to promote, supposedly by raising public awareness of the services. This possibility necessitates the present study because of disagreement between the reason-action approach and other views. The disagreement concerns the contributions of awareness about correctional services to favoring and accepting ex-prisoners. This study employed survey data on 1,321 Chinese adults in Hong Kong to examine pathways from awareness of correctional services to favor and action for accepting ex-prisoners generally. Such examination controlled for prior acceptance reported and background characteristics. Results support the pathways and, thus, its underlying approach. Notably, awareness about correctional services contributed to favoring and accepting ex-prisoners successively. This contribution substantiates the generalization of the reason-action approach. Thee substantiation implies that public acceptance is a reasoned action reasonably promotable by raising public awareness about correctional services.

О структуре личностной ответственности курсантов образовательных организаций ФСИН России

Introduction. The article presents theoretical and empirical analysis of the problem of personal responsibility in national and foreign psychological works. The results of the study of personal responsibility of cadets of educational establishments of the Federal Penal Correction Service of Russia are described. The aim of the research was to identify the structural elements of personal responsibility of cadets of educational establishments of the Federal Penal Correction Service of Russia. The empirical study was conducted at the Academy of Law and Management of the Federal Penal Correction Service of Russia. The participants were 165 cadets representing courses 1 to 5. Each course covered 33 respondents. The scientific problem is to study the personal responsibility of cadets of the educational establishment of the Federal Penal Correction Service of Russiaand to determine its structural elements. Research methods and techniques. To determine the structural elements of personal responsibility of cadets of educational establishments of FSIN of Russia the following methods and techniques were used: “Multidimensional functional diagnostics of responsibility-110 (“OTV-110”)” (V. P. Pryadein,O. V. Mukhlynina); “A Shortened “Basic English” Version (Form C) of the 16 PF Questionnaire” (R. Kettell); “Motivation of success and fear of failure” (A. A. Rean); “Moral reliability questionnaire (MRQ)” (E. Yu.Strizhov); “Test-questionnaire of selfattitude – SAR” (V. V. Stolin, S. R. Pantileev). The research revealed: the structure of personal responsibility of cadets of educational organisations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia includes: 1) regulatory and dynamic components; 2) personal components; 3) motivational and semantic components. The regulatory and dynamic component comprises ergidity, stenicity, and internality. The personal component is made up of emotional stability, self-attitude, self-control of emotional reactions, the level of empathy, the ability to solve personal and operational difficulties. The motivational and semantic component includes sociocentricity, meaningfulness, recognition of responsibility to norms, understanding of the need to comply with norms, and the level of achievement motivation.

The End of Public/Private Partnership Prisons in the Department of Correctional Services of South Africa

South Africa has two fully privatised prisons, each housing some 3,000 prisoners. Their history has been mired in controversy from the start, and this has not improved over a period of nearly 25 years. Recent events affecting the security and integrity of the two facilities provide a useful opportunity to reflect on these private prisons as well as wider issues regarding private sector involvement in the prison system. The intersection of politics, organised labour, private sector interests, and corruption have in all likelihood rung the death knell for private prisons in South Africa.

Mental Health Needs, Substance Use, and Reincarceration: Population-Level Findings From a Released Prison Cohort

This article examines the role of mental health, substance use, and comorbidity in relation to time to reincarceration. Our study included all people released from provincial correctional facilities in British Columbia, Canada, from 2012 through 2014 ( N = 13,109). Using data from a mental health screening tool, we examined the relationship between four diagnostic groups (mental health needs alone, substance use disorders alone, co-occurring disorders, and no disorders) and time to reincarceration over a 3-year follow-up period. We found that people with co-occurring disorders and substance use disorders were at substantially elevated risk of reincarceration compared with those with no disorders or mental health needs alone. Mental health needs alone was not significantly associated with reincarceration after adjusting for covariates. Correctional, health, and social services must work synergistically to improve health and criminal justice outcomes, particularly for people with substance use and co-occurring disorders.

INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN UKRAINE

Since 2017, Ukraine has intensified the processes of reforming and developing inclusive education and creating a learning environment that meets European standards in all educational institutions. At the same time, some challenges and barriers arise while implementing the strategy and conceptual framework of inclusion, which require in-depth study and argumentation. The article aims to study the challenges, conditions, and strategies for implementing inclusive education in Ukraine. The research methodology is based on a legal analysis of international and national legislative acts that contain legal, organizational, financial, personnel, and other conditions for the implementation of inclusive education in Ukraine. The results of a survey of 304 educators at the Inclusive Resource Center of Ternopil National Pedagogical University, named after Volodymyr Hnatiuk, were used to understand the prospects for implementing inclusion in Ukraine. The results prove that Ukraine has prerequisites for the development of inclusive education. The authors have identified the following key conditions that are formed for implementing a multidisciplinary model of inclusion: legal, strategic, financial, organizational, institutional, personnel, social, and sanitary and hygienic conditions for inclusive education. The international and national legal framework regulates a wide range of issues related to the organization and implementation of inclusion in the educational environment of all types of educational institutions. However, some of them, especially those associated with the provision of correctional and rehabilitation services, require amendments and approval. For Ukraine, information, mental, institutional, and physical barriers to the development of inclusive education are typical.

Public Policy Reforms

Governments are duty-bound to carry out public policy reforms in a bid to address specific public concerns, needs, and social interests, and stir their economies on sustainable development trajectories. This is done following their constitutional mandates. Zimbabwe has implemented several policy reforms in education, health, housing, finance, agriculture, mining, energy, policing, correctional services, and transport, among others, with varied degrees of success and challenges. These reforms required varied formulation and implementation approaches depending on the objectives and prevailing circumstances. This study gives a scholarly perspective of the public policy reform, ‘Education 5.0', on primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe, given concerns about the policy from stakeholders. An interview was conducted with a convenient sample of stakeholders. An assortment of documentary evidence was also used to gather secondary data. The study concluded that most of the respondents were satisfied with the policy Education 5.0 in principle.

Experiences of quitting smoking in prisons: A qualitative study of people in custody.

Smoking prevalence among people in custody (PIC) is extremely high, and prison-based smoking cessation interventions are needed. The study explored the quitting experiences of PIC who participated in the 'Quit to Win' contest (QTW). This qualitative study, conducted from 2019 to 2021 in two Hong Kong prisons, included semi-structured individual interviews with 26 PIC (13 men and 13 women) who were participants in QTW and two correctional staff who coordinated QTW. A semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions was developed to examine multilevel factors that promote or impede smoking cessation in prisons. Maximum variation sampling was used to ensure a diverse range of social, demographic, and smoking profiles. Data were managed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Two themes were identified from the data: 1) quitting in prison: barriers and facilitators; and 2) QTW in prison: a trigger for behavior change. Barriers (i.e. stress, boredom, isolation, lack of self-autonomy, nicotine dependence and lack of cessation medication, barriers to moving to a different wing) and facilitators (i.e. concerns about health, money savings, and the smoke-free wing) that impeded or supported smoking cessation during incarceration were identified. QTW provided health education, quitting incentives, and social support that helped PIC overcome the barriers of quitting by serving as a trigger for behavior change. Notably, social visits with family were identified as key drivers of PIC's quitting success, whereas their suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic disincentivized their abstinence. This study introduced the QTW contest to prisons and provided qualitative evidence on the multilevel factors promoting or impeding smoking cessation in prison. QTW helped PIC overcome the barriers of quitting by serving as a trigger for behavior change. Future prison-based interventions should leverage social support, enhance stress-coping skills, facilitate access to pharmacotherapy, and collaborate with correctional services agencies.