Finnish Prisoners Research Articles

Mothers in prison: between the public institution and private family relations

This paper explores the practices concerning family relations as described by women inmates in Finnish prisons. The aim is to study how family relations are experienced as family practices in relation to institutional interference on the basis of qualitative interview data (n = 17). The study demonstrates that the prison stay of a family member means an exceptional institutional intrusion in the family's everyday life. A prison's task is to organize a sentence. At the same time, the institution modifies the practices of being a family by allowing or restricting the relations between family members. Consequently, this can be seen as a question of governing the family relations by appraising and standardizing the family. The study demonstrates, firstly, that there is a need to acknowledge and explore the diversity of family relations on the practical level and, secondly, that a wider perspective of family relations in an institutional context can be captured by combining the concepts of institutional and family practices.

Children Residing in Prison With Their Parents: An Example of Institutional Invisibility

This article presents the results of a study carried out in Finland on the position of children who accompany their parent to prison. The study consists of document analyses and staff and inmate interviews in the two Finnish prisons with special units for children. The results highlight the lack of information on children residing in prisons as well as the lack of guidelines for practice illustrated by the term “institutional invisibility.” The term “institutional invisibility” informs about the vagueness of the prison practices in relation to children and their parents.

Negative life events and self-control as correlates of self-assessed re-offending probability among Finnish prisoners

This article examines the correlates of self-assessed re-offending probability (SARP) in a sample of Finnish short-term prisoners. The research focuses on the role of factors related to social control when individual self-control is held constant, and explores how selected prison activities relate to SARP. The associations between social control and re-offending probability manifest some erosion when self-control and criminality are factored in, a finding that replicates prior studies. However, several variables capturing a person’s ties to social control institutions remained robust correlates of SARP. Having many siblings, living in a nuclear family during childhood, parental supervision during childhood and youth, and avoiding negative events in adulthood appear to reduce the number of offences projected to the future. In prison, work participation, participation in alcohol abuse treatment, and remorse for past crimes are associated with reduced SARP. We draw on cross-sectional data combining a quantitative survey ( N = 351) and qualitative interviews ( N = 37).

Alexithymia among finnish male prisoners

Alexithymia among finnish male prisoners

Sotavankina Neuvostoliitossa. Suomalaiset NKVD:n leireissä talvi- ja jatkosodan aikana by Dmitri Frolov (review)

REVIEWS 565 Marxism-Leninismenabled Stalin to develop political assessmentsthat, however shoddy, reinforcedhis ruthlessnessin consolidatinghis own power. The cost of acknowledgingerrorwas apparentlytoo greatfor him to pay. Nonetheless it is hard to see how a more capable intellect could have made much difference.The Wehrmacht,having crushedthe equallywell-equippedFrench and thrown the Britishinto the sea, was not going to be deterred by a Red Army with inferior equipment and training whose military doctrines were those of a Civil War which had ended twentyyearsbefore. Fortunatelyfor the Soviet Union and for the rest of Europe Hitler'scognitive dissonance proved to be even greaterthan that sufferedby Stalin. London A. H. WALKER Frolov, Dmitri. Sotavankina Neuvostoliitossa. Suomalaiset NKJVD:n leireassa talvi-ja jatkosodan aikana.Bibliotheca Historica, 9I. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki, 2004. 280 pp. Illustrations.Tables. Notes. Appendices. English summary.Bibliography.Index. ?29.00 (paperback). DMITRI FROLOVis a Russianhistorianbased in Finlandwhose doctoral dissertation tackles,as the titlesuggests,the experienceof Finnishprisonersof war in the Soviet Union duringand afterthe Second WorldWar. This book makesa welcome addition to the researchliterature,particularlybecause it deals with the subject on the basis of an extensive survey of Russian archival material. Frolov's work in documenting both the organization and administrative practicesof Sovietprisoner-of-war-camps is commendable and, at points, even groundbreaking. His heavy reliance on Soviet sourcesdoes, however, create some problems. Frolov begins by surveying the official Soviet legal norms concerning the treatment of prisoners of war. He argues that the Soviet Union, while not subscribingto the internationalagreements on the treatment of prisoners of war, neverthelessdrew up a comparablelegislationof its own. Frolovgoes on to claim that, through the decrees of the Soviet government, some 'prisoner rights recognized by the world community were [...] enhanced towards greaterrespect for human rights'(p. 72, all translationsmine - OS). Here, as elsewhere, Frolov does not attempt to further analyse the obvious problem, namely the discrepancies, ever present in the Soviet state, between official norms and reality.All he does is to occasionallynote that the normswere not or could not alwaysbe adhered to. However, in a workgroundedso firmlyon Soviet official sources, a more thorough discussion of the worth of these sourcesas evidence would be necessary.As the Russianproverbgoes, 'bumaga is a bumaga, praktika ispraktika'. The book would undoubtedly have benefited from a more comparative approach, in which the Soviet material would have been made to stand systematically alongside the testimonies of Finnish prisoners of war. Not surprisingly,such reminiscencesusuallytell of a realityfar less complimentary to the Workers'and Peasants' State than the official version extracted from norms for prisonerrations or specificationsfor their medical care. 566 SEER, 84, 3, JULY 2006 Frolov has, nevertheless,unearthed importantnew informationconcerning the wartime actions of Soviet partisansin Finnish territory.To this day, the wanton cruelties of the partisans against the civilian population, including the destruction of whole villages and their inhabitants, remain a source of bitterness. The Soviet Union never admitted any wrongdoing, and presentday Russia has adopted the same unflinching line. Occasional demands for clarificationor war crimes charges against the survivingmembers of partisan groups known to have taken part in atrocitieshave met with official silence. Frolov convincingly documents some of the atrocities,but evidentlyfeels that he has to balance this disclosure by appealing to Soviet reports of cruelties committed by the Finns against Soviet prisonersof war (p. 132). This is beside the point. While there is no arguing againstthe fact that Finnishtroops were also guiltyof cruel, unjustand calloustreatmentof theircaptives,the methodical depravities of the partisans against civilians make this kind of tu quoquecomparison superfluous.Thus, Frolov's ultimate conclusion that both 'sides did not always follow [the principles ofl the Geneva agreement, but instead occasionally treated captives cruelly and even killed them' (p. I38), seems carefulto the point of timidity. Frolov'stext is translatedfrom a Russian original,and footnotes to Russian sourcesand literatureare given, as a rule, in Cyrillic.However, the translation often betrayslinguisticusagesalien to Finnish.It is the dutyof the translatorto check the terminologyand, if necessary,suggestalternativesmore in line with the targetlanguage. Perhapsthe most unhappy choice of termsin this sense is the use of the Soviet 'Great PatrioticWar' throughoutthe text. Frolov can be partly excused by the palpable difficultiesthe consistent naming of the wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union...

Mental disorders in prison populations aged 15-21: national register study of two cohorts in Finland

Juvenile delinquency is linked to psychiatric morbidity.1 w1-w9We were interested in temporal changes in psychiatric morbidity in offenders. Criminal policy in many Western countries emphasises the need for alternative methods...

A comparison between on-site immunoassay drug-testing devices and laboratory results

The aim with this study was to evaluate the accuracy of several on-site testing devices on the market. A part of this study is included in the European Union’s (EU’s) roadside testing assessment project (ROSITA). An other request for this kind of study came from the Finnish prison department in the Ministry of Justice. The evaluation was performed on both urine assays and oral fluid assays. The on-site test results were compared with laboratory results (gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS)). The samples were tested on amphetamines (AMP), cannabinoids (THC), opiates (OPI) and cocaine metabolites (COC). Some of the tests also included a metamphetamine (MET) and a benzodiazepine (BZO) test. Both positive and negative samples were tested. A total of 800 persons and eight on-site devices for urine and two for oral fluid testing were included in this study. Good results were obtained for the urine on-site devices, with accuracies of 93–99% for amphetamines, 97–99% for cannabinoids, 94–98% for opiates and 90–98% for benzodiazepines. However, differences in the ease of performance and interpretation of test result were observed. It was possible to detect amphetamines and opiates in oral fluid by the used on-site devices, but the benzodiazepines and cannabinoids did not fulfil the needs of sensitivity.

The Fall of the Finnish Prison Population

At the beginning of the 1950s, the prisoner rate in Finland was four times higher than in the other Nordic countries and among the highest in Europe. However, the steady decrease that started soon after the Second World War has continued, and in the beginning of the 1990s Finland reached the Nordic level. The paper discusses some backgound factors behind this ''success story''. In addition, the paper examines the relation of prisoner rates and recorded crime. A comparison between the Nordic countries reveals that the major crime trends have been practically similar despite striking differpractices ences in the use of imprisonment. As concluded in the paper, the decrease in the prison population is one of the major victories of Finnish crime policy.

Drug abuse of Finnish male prisoners in 1995

The purpose of the present research was to estimate the extent and variety of abuse of illegal drugs, use and misuse of hypnotics and sedatives and anabolic steroids in the Finnish prison population. The study was undertaken during October–November 1995 at four prisons, three of which were closed institutions and one an open prison; one of the three closed institutions was a juvenile prison. There was a total of 707 inmates in the prisons selected for the study. Questionnaires were given personally to all prisoners in the open prison and in the young prisoners' division in the juvenile prison, but in two large central prisons only some divisions were selected for the study. The questionnaires were completed by 354 prisoners; 75 prisoners refused to respond. A total of 27.7% of subjects reported taking illegal drugs while in their current prison and 70.1% had sometimes used them. Of those who were drug-free before their first imprisonment, 21.7% began using drugs in prison. At present hypnotics and sedatives were reported as in use by 41.8% of subjects, one-third as prescribed drugs and about 10% illicitly. A total of 3.7% of subjects reported taking anabolic steroids in the current prison. Cannabis and amphetamine were the most common illegal drugs reported. Intravenous drug use was reported by 19.2% of the respondents at some point in their lives, and 10.7% of prisoners had injected drugs in their current prison. Use of illegal drugs and misuse of drugs were significantly higher among young prisoners (≤25 years of age).

The mortality of released Finnish prisoners; a 7 year follow-up study of the WATTU project

Objective. The aim was to compare the mortality of released prisoners and the general population. Method. The study forms a part of the Health Survey of Finnish Prisoners (the WATTU Project). A sample ( N=903), representing all Finnish male prisoners, underwent a thorough health survey in 1985. A 7 year follow-up study was performed by means of gathering register data (deaths, hospital care, diseases leading to working incapacity). A population-based age-selected control group was formed for comparison. Results. During the follow-up, 13.2% of the sample died (natural deaths 5.2%, accidental deaths 4.1%, suicides 2.0%), whereas the corresponding figure in the control group was 3.4%. Overmortality among released prisoners, when compared to the general population, was also found in different death categories. Conclusion. The high somatic and psychiatric morbidity and mortality due to prisoner suicide, when imprisoned, has been reported in many earlier studies. This is probably the first study to confirm the high mortality in different death categories of a representative sample of released prisoners compared to a control group representing the general population. It is important to try to help released prisoners to get a new grip on normal life, especially if they also have somatic or mental health problems. More effort should be made to improve the collaboration between different health care systems.

Psychiatric morbidity among Finnish prisoners with special reference to socio-demographic factors: results of the Health Survey of Finnish Prisoners (Wattu Project)

The present study is part of the Health Survey of Finnish Prisoners (Wattu Project). The project dealt with a sample of 1099 Finnish prisoners, of which 82% participated in the study. Because of the representativeness of the sample the results can be generalized to all Finnish prisoners. The methods used consisted of questionnaires, interviews, a clinical examination by prison physicians and gathering of register data. The total prevalence rate of psychiatric cases was 56%. This is much higher than the rate for the Finnish population in general. The high number of mental disorders was due to alcoholism (43%) and personality disorders (18%). These disorders became even more prevalent as the number of prison sentences increased. There was no difference between the prisoners and the general population in the prevalence of psychoses and neuroses. Alcoholism is the most important mental disorder in Finnish prisoners, while drug abuse is rarely found among them in comparison to prisoners in many other countries.

Psychiatric disorders and homicide recidivism.

There are no firm epidemiologic data concerning psychiatric disorders associated with homicide recidivism. The authors studied all homicide recidivists who were incarcerated in Finnish prisons or high-security hospitals and had committed their last offense during the 3-year period July 1, 1988-June 30, 1991. All recidivists (13 subjects) could be considered to suffer from either severe alcoholism combined with personality disorder (N = 11, 85%) or from schizophrenia (N = 2, 15%).

Mental health of finnish prisoners: Results of a survey

Abstract The article deals with the previous use of psychiatric health services and self-perceived mental health in Finnish prisoners. It forms part of the health survey of Finnish prisoners (the WATTU project). The project dealt with a sample of 1,099 Finnish prisoners. An analysis of cases not included showed that the results can be generalized to all Finnish prisoners. Psychiatric outpatient services had been used previously by almost 75% of the women and just over 50% of the men (p < 0.05). Psychiatric hospital inpatient care had been received by 23% of the men and 30% of the women. Physician-prescribed medication for a nervous disorder was being received currently by 24% of the women and 9% of the men (p < 0.01). Clearly treatment services had been utilized more commonly by prisoners than by the general population. Likewise mental symptoms were experienced more commonly by prisoners.

Conditions of Confinement within Security Prisons: Scandinavia and California

Within the past three decades, the Scandinavian countries have acquired an international reputation for the development of innovative and humane prisons. Most of the favorable attention from journalists and social scientists has centered upon the socalled “model prisons,” which are typically smaller, newer, and “open.” However, the majority of Scandinavian prisoners are still incarcerated in the larger, older, locked prisons that are rather traditional in design and function. One might question whether these traditional prisons are, in fact, superior to American state prisons and whether they would meet emerging U.S. standards for conditions of confinement. This investigation surveyed the nature of prison programs, staffing ratios, living conditions, and visiting conditions within 16 “closed” or secure prisons, including 4 each from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and California. On most measures, the conditions of confinement were most severe in California prisons, much less severe in Finnish prisons, and least severe in Norwegian and Swedish prisons.