Reintegration Of Offenders Research Articles

Community Reintegration of Repeat Female Offenders in County Jails

Repeat female offenders’ community transitions following incarceration, and their subsequent return to jail were investigated. Specifically examined were needs at release and whether unmet needs, personal history and post-discharge factors were associated with time out. Interviews were conducted with 160 jailed women. Hierarchical regression was used to examine factors associated with time out. Women present myriad needs at release that often go unmet; transportation and employment appear most salient. Time out was positively related to age, employment, and mental health treatment, and negatively associated with sexual violence. Coordinated efforts between jails and community-based providers are needed for women’s successful reentry.

Correlates Of Recidivism Among Released Prisoners: A Study of Kakamega County, Kenya

Released prisoners in Kenya have a 75% likelihood of committing another crime and a 50% probability of going to jail two years after their discharge from prison custody. From the trend of recidivism in Kenya, there are a staggeringly high number of offenders being incarcerated and eventually released back to the community, and the high risk of re-arrest and re-incarceration is a concern for policymakers, criminologists and correctional managers. This study examined the influence of offender characteristics, offender reintegration and community perception and attitude regarding recidivism in Kakamega County, Kenya. The study adopted a survey research design. Findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between offender characteristics and recidivism. In addition, offender reintegration and community perception and attitude towards offenders greatly influence recidivism. From the study, it is recommended that the government provide correctional officers with the required resources to use the actuarial risk assessment model. The model is applied to the released offenders to predict the future probability of recidivism. In addition, it is recommended that the government and the various correctional stakeholders come up with an integrated approach that specifically targets successful re-entry of offenders upon release from prison. Finally, it is recommended that the government develop programmes targeting awareness of the community members to desist from stigmatising ex-offenders. Key terms: Correlates, Recidivism, Prisoners, Kenya DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/109-07 Publication date: May 31 st 2021

Thinking about offender social reintegration: A case study of one NGO programme in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Successful social reintegration is critical if we are to reduce recidivism and crime in general. This voice of people article presents a background case for why effective offender reintegration services are key in South Africa, and the Eastern Cape in particular, through an example of the Offender Reintegration programme rendered by the National Institute of Crime Prevention and Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO). Apart from the paucity of literature on offender reintegration, very few voices from people working directly with these former offenders are ever heard. Therefore, this article seeks to address this gap by contributing to the body of knowledge on offender social reintegration.

Njihova priča - od kreativnog pisanja osuđenica do restorativnog pozorišnog performansa

Traditional reaction to crime is inefficient and experts are searching for innovative methods of social rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. Restorative justice - an approach that respects interests of all the subjects affected by criminal offence, including victims, offenders and community - is becoming increasingly widespread as an addition to classical, formal judicial processes and punishments. Restorative process is efficient due to its powerful transformative mechanisms based upon dialogue, mediation, negotiation, reconciliation, forgiveness, symbolic rituals, reintegrative shaming, community support and control. Restorative elements emerge in various forms, including innovative programmes of work with prisoners, focused on social rehabilitation and reintegration, in order to prevent re-offending. Some of them implement therapeutic effects of art, as a means to help prisoners to: overcome deprivations, express emotions, heal past trauma, (re)establish healthy relationships, enhance empathy, strengthen self-confidence, rebuild positive identity and reintegrate in the community. On the grounds of Boal's "theatre of the oppressed", various forms of socially engaged theatrical genres evolved, including applied theatre, surpassing the borders of classical theatre and getting closer to performance. Theatre within the prison walls being one of them, we took the example of the theatre performance "Her Story", written and performed by prisoners from Correctional Institution for Women in Požarevac, Serbia. Completed through creative writing workshops and played in this penal institution, it is an example of applied theatre based upon art therapy with strong restorative effects. The points of intersection between restorative process and this theatre performance, make it stand out among other forms of applied theatre, providing it with particularly strong transformative effects. Following the case study of "Her Story", the authors of this paper have suggested further application of similar programmes and their promotion within the community, as an effective method of crime suppression through healing powers of art in synergy with restorative elements.

Facilitating Successful Reentry Among Justice-involved Veterans: The Role of Veteran and Offender Identity.

Reentry courts facilitate successful offender reintegration into the community following release from incarceration, and many justice-involved veterans may benefit from such services given their elevated risk for deleterious outcomes postrelease. However, effectively engaging court participants is a crucial foundation to achieve the goals of recidivism reduction and global psychosocial improvement. This conceptual article presents an overview of factors that may interfere with a veteran's engagement in reentry court through the lens of both veteran and offender identity. Recommendations for reentry court personnel based on justice-involved veterans' experiences, identity, and unique needs are presented. Careful consideration of these factors and associated practice adaptations may facilitate rapport between reentry court personnel and veteran participants, foster engagement, and ultimately improve outcomes among this unique, at-risk population.

THE ROLE OF TATTOOS IN PRISON COMMUNITY

With their roots set deep in the tradition of many different cultures, carrying the mark of social stigma throughout the early ages of modern prison systems development, and finally, becoming fashion accessories inseparable from modern pop culture, tattoos obtain a rather specific meaning if made behind the prison walls. There are several reasons for that: their symbolism, the roles they have inside the prison community, their relation to criminal behaviour, their impact on offender’s re-socialization and re-offending as well as the health risks they cause. Having in mind the worldwide presence of this phenomenon and its local manifestations, the authors of this paper analyse its socio-genesis, taxonomy, functions and consequences as well as potential responses aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of prison tattoos on the life, health and reintegration of offenders.

Attitudes towards offenders with intellectual disability

Purpose Public attitudes are considered influential in the successful reintegration of offenders into society after release, however research into attitudes towards offenders with intellectual disability (ID) has received little attention. The purpose of this study is firstly to see if people hold differing attitudes towards the reintegration of offenders with ID compared to those without ID and secondly, to investigate whether this difference in attitude is because of differing implicit theories of intelligence (TOI). The effects of familiarity with ID were also measured. Design/methodology/approach In total, 200 participants read crime vignettes depicting crimes committed by offenders with and without ID and completed Dweck’s “TOI” scale. Findings Participants were found to have greater entity views of intelligence towards ID yet displayed more positive attitudes towards their reintegration than offenders without ID. The influence of demographics was mixed. It would appear attitudes towards offenders with ID are not as negative as initially thought. Research limitations/implications Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of desistance and community integration. Practical implications While some care must be taken when interpreting the results, this study demonstrates positive results regarding the reintegration of offenders with ID. Attitudes may be changing for the better towards those with disabilities, which is positive in terms of the government and National Health Service (NHS) objectives to reintegrate people with ID successfully back into the community. Although limited in number, it is noted that community forensic mental health teams have been effective in managing offender risk and providing good quality care (Dinani,et al.,2010; Benton and Roy, 2008). They can provide more person-centred and specialist treatments options and have links with other community services, probation and the police (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014). Social implications Community care is thought to lead to more timely treatments with more accessible support teams and services that those with ID would struggle to access in prison (Bradley, 2009). It can also lead to greater well-being and support as individuals are in a less restrictive environment and are closer to their social networks, acting as a protective factor against further reoffending (Benton & Roy, 2008; Bradley, 2009). Furthermore, it has been indicated significant financial savings would be achieved for the criminal justice system by reducing inpatient care and increasing community services and sentences, in addition to reducing the demand on prison spaces (Bradley, 2009; Benton & Roy, 2008). Originality/value To date, very few studies have used TOI to examine attitudes towards offenders, with none examining attitudes towards offenders with ID.

The Radicalization of Young Jihadi Convicted of Membership of Terrorist Organization in Spain: Analyzing the Pieces of the Puzzle

This article analyses the radicalization of all of the five young offenders -aged between fourteen and eighteen years- who have been convicted in Spain between 2004 and 2019 of membership of a jihadist terrorist organization. It is based on: a) unprecedented access to the assessments of these youths produced by the Agency for the Reeducation and Reintegration of Young Offenders in the regional Government of Madrid; b) personal semi-structured interviews with the staff at this Agency responsible for their psycho-socio and educational intervention during their custodial measures; and c) judicial reports related to their cases. The article assesses the main features of the radicalization processes of these minors following a three-dimensional analysis at the micro, meso and macro level. It provides empirical evidence to test the validity of the main hypotheses on the causality of radicalization.

Assessing attitudes toward juveniles and adults adjudicated for sexual offenses in Canada: does offender age matter?

ABSTRACT Over the past several decades, societal responses to juvenile crime has evolved from harsh sentences (including death) to more lenient punishments in congruence with our greater understanding of adolescent development. However, some groups of young offenders, such as those convicted of sexual offenses, appear to have fallen victim to a more punitive zeitgeist, where the mitigating effect of age may be diminished. In a 3 × (2) design, participants were randomly assigned to one of three vignette conditions and completed several measures regarding both juveniles and adults adjudicated for sexual offenses, including attitudes, moral outrage, and recommendations for sentence length and registration. Results indicated that adjudicated juveniles are viewed more favourably than their adult counterparts, although both received relatively long sentences. Further, over 90% of participants endorsed some form of registration for juvenile offenders. Implications for offender reintegration and public policy are discussed below.

Birth of Violent Criminal Behavior and the Social Liability: A Qualitative Investigation in Bangladesh

It has become notorious concern that the society is nurturing all criminals but it is factual that societies have the liability of her every affiliate. The main objective of the study is to identify how entire society has become responsible for creating the scope of violent crimes in Bangladesh. This paper also identifies the changing pattern of criminal behavior and examines how social institutions become liable in creating violent incident as well as uncovered the challenges of social reintegration of violent offenders in Bangladesh. This study is qualitative in nature that follows secondary data analysis method where thematic analysis is used. This study finds that violent crime changes in more violent pattern in Bangladesh. Besides, the scope of violent criminal behavior lies not only in violence in family, educational institutions, community of violent criminals but also disputing impact of justice system. Besides, this study also indicates that violent offenders are confronted by a vast range of socio-economic challenges that causes obstacles to their social integration in society. Keywords : Violent Criminal Behavior, Social Liability, Social Reintegration. DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/95-10 Publication date: March 31 st 2020

How Does Punishment Affect Reintegration of Former Offenders? Evidence from Iraq

How does variation in the severity of punishment affect public opinion toward the reintegration of former nonviolent offenders? We study this question in the context of Iraq, where the United States has been heavily involved in the design and development of criminal justice institutions since overthrowing Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship in 2003. Building upon extensive fieldwork and interviews in Iraq, we designed a survey experiment—a method developed in the social sciences but not yet widely used by legal scholars—that randomly varied the severity of sentences in hypothetical scenarios of nonviolent Islamic State “collaborators” (e.g. cleaners, cooks, and wives of fighters) to estimate the causal effects of punishment on attitudes toward reintegration. We find that a long prison sentence (15 years) does not increase the likelihood of participants’ willingness to allow the reintegration of former offenders, but a noncarceral punishment (community service) has a small but statistically significant positive effect. Our most striking finding is that noncarceral and community-based justice mechanisms can significantly increase the likelihood of successful reintegration after punishment. Fifteen percent of respondents who were initially opposed to the return of former offenders into their communities said that they would be willing to change their judgment and support reintegration if they were asked to do so by a tribal or religious leader, or if the offender completes a noncarceral rehabilitation program. These findings suggest that noncarceral, restorative, and community-based justice mechanisms may be equally or even more effective than long-term incarceration for achieving the objectives of rehabilitation and eventual reintegration of former nonviolent offenders. Our study also advances the field of comparative empirical legal scholarship by providing an innovative experimental research design that can be replicated by scholars studying other contexts including the United States to help answer important questions about the causal effects of criminal justice policies.

The Eye of a Needle: Temporary Prison Leave in Ukraine

Although temporary prison leave humanises custodial punishment, offsets its negative effects, and prepares prisoners for (re)integration into wider society, its use proves to be controversial and uneven across jurisdictions. Since the collapse of the USSR, the former Soviet countries have been pursuing different criminal justice policies, liberalising some penal practices whilst retaining many punitive Soviet legacies. Through analysis of the legal provisions regulating temporary prison leave and official statistics in Ukraine, I demonstrate the apparent strain between the official policies and practice. Whilst legally available, temporary leave for prisoners in closed prisons is almost never granted in this Eastern European country. I argue that for Ukraine to reconcile the official rhetoric of rehabilitation and social reintegration of offenders and actual implementation of penal policies, the country must reverse the underlying requirements governing temporary prison leave and expand its use.

Comparaison franco-canadienne du développement des Cercles de soutien et de responsabilité (CSR) pour la prévention du risque de récidive des délinquants sexuels

Les Cercles de Soutien et de Responsabilité (CSR), nés il y a 24 ans à Hamilton au Canada pour répondre à l'inquiétude du public provoquée par le retour des délinquants sexuels dans la société après leur libération, se développent partout dans le monde. Ils proposent l’accompagnement de l’agresseur dans sa réinsertion sociale. Efficaces dans les pays étrangers, ces dispositifs se développent lentement en France. L’objectif de cet article est de tenter d’expliquer les freins à l’implantation des CSR en France au regard des difficultés rencontrées lors des expériences françaises passées et actuelles, mais aussi des différences interculturelles entre la France et le Canada.

Fostering Openness to Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Criminals into Society in a Fearful World: The Moderating Role of Regulatory Focus

ABSTRACT Many scholars advocate the benefits of rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders to curtail crime and recidivism. Yet, discussions about criminal justice tend to reinforce the belief that crime is rife, amplifying fears around crime and promoting right-wing authoritarianism – the belief that people who do not obey authorities should be punished severely. Consequently, many citizens would like to maintain traditional punishment rather than shift the discourse to rehabilitation and reintegration. Governments may thus be reluctant to prioritize rehabilitation and reintegration. This study explored the possibility that interventions that inspire people to prioritize future aspirations over immediate duties, called a promotion regulatory focus, might diminish the extent to which fear of crime is related to both right-wing authoritarianism and attitudes toward rehabilitation, reintegration, and punishment. In this study, 207 participants completed an online questionnaire. As structural equation models revealed, right-wing authoritarianism mediated the positive association between fear of crime and punitive attitudes. Yet, if individuals prioritized immediate duties over future aspirations, fear of crime was not as likely to culminate in unfavorable attitudes to rehabilitation and reintegration. Accordingly, reward structures that honor progress to a greater extent than perhaps they punish shortfalls might foster more favorable attitudes to rehabilitation and reintegration.

Reforming the Purposes of Sentencing to Affirm African Values in Namibia

AbstractThis article considers the current sentencing purposes in Namibia. It discusses the legislator's failure to articulate these purposes, leaving this to the judiciary, and identifies the dangers that arise from this legislative lacuna. It establishes that current sentencing purposes are fundamentally premised upon a retributivist philosophy, transplanted into Namibia during the colonial period. The article thus advocates for sentencing reform, aimed at restoring a paradigm based on African values. It does so by analysing African indigenous justice systems, using Ubuntu as an Afrocentric value. The article establishes how Ubuntu is contemporarily mirrored by restorative notions of justice that prioritize victims, offenders and the community, thereby asserting sentencing purposes that promote reconciliation, reparation and offender re-integration. In juxtaposing this with other sentencing purposes, the article critiques comparable jurisdictions that have recently incorporated restorative justice and proposes a set of draft sentencing purposes in the appendix.

Re-integratie van ex-justitiabelen als speerpunt voor een herstelgerichte reclasseringspraktijk

In this article the development of a restorative justice probation practice is discussed from the perspective of the restorative justice principle of the inclusive community and the contribution of probation volunteers to the reintegration of (ex-)offenders through specific restorative justice intervention strategies. It is shown that in penal policy of the past decades the penal welfare-model and the aim of reintegration of ex-offenders has been overshadowed by a more utilitarian, punitive and management logic of criminal justice. As a result, the reintegration and social inclusion of ex-offenders has become a rather neglected area and, in the current liberal-democratic state, offenders face social conditions in which it is very hard to turn their life around. In addition it is suggested that both in mainstream and in restorative justice interventions, achievement of the goal of reintegration is often problematic or absent. Moreover, this lack of opportunities for connection may undermine and reduce the effects of interventions, including those with a restorative justice approach. Probation services that use specific restorative justice intervention strategies guided by both professionals and probation volunteers might contribute to a more active, inclusive role of the community and society in the reintegration of ex-offenders.

Community practitioners supporting young men with borderline intellectual functioning in the criminal justice system: capability for voice and agency

This article is based on findings from a recent study of community practitioners working in re-entry and reintegration support services in South East Queensland, Australia, which examined the role and influence of these practitioners on young men with mild intellectual impairment or borderline intellectual functioning who were involved in the criminal justice system. The article reflects upon practitioners’ agentic influence and capability for voice across the community services sectors and proposes the extent to which practitioners believed this affected the options available to vulnerable young men with borderline intellectual functioning in the community. The article draws on data collected from the qualitative study, which included interviews with community practitioners and observations of practitioner–client sessions. These data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The analytical strategy applied Sen’s capability framework within which to interpret the capabilities of practitioners. Practitioners were drawn from funded community organisations providing offender reintegration services, a homelessness service, and a volunteer community group working with ex-prisoners. Findings suggest that reintegration of vulnerable young men with borderline intellectual functioning requires community practitioners to exercise capability for voice and agency in ways that build relational environments. Interaction between re-entry and reintegration services and the broader community services sector can create practical opportunities for support within the reach of young men with borderline intellectual functioning towards community reintegration.

Third-party Views of Incarceration: Justice, Desistance, and Offender Reintegration

One potential reason for punishing criminal offenders is so that third parties will become willing to socially reintegrate the offenders after their punishments have been completed. Another reason is simply to satisfy third-party desires that appropriate punishments be issued. In an experimental study, conducted with undergraduate students in South Africa, it was found that increasing the length of incarceration had a causal effect on increasing both reintegration willingness and punishment appropriateness, but the effect on reintegration willingness was substantially smaller. Also, two intermediary punishment goals were tested as mediators: the perceived likelihood of criminal desistance, and the perceived attainment of punitive justice. For the relationship between length of incarceration and reintegration willingness, desistance acted as a mediator but punitive justice did not. The findings indicate that, in order to increase reintegration willingness, policies need to increase the perceived likelihood of desistance rather than the perceived attainment of punitive justice.

Why Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders Are Important From a Council of Europe Perspective

Why Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders Are Important From a Council of Europe Perspective

Segregated Worlds? The Level of Overlap Between Dutch Offenders’ Criminal and Core Discussion Networks

We examine the level of overlap between offenders’ criminal networks (i.e., those with whom they discuss criminal activities and exchange criminal knowledge and skills) and offenders’ core discussion networks (i.e., those with whom they discuss important personal matters). We formulate four hypotheses based on social capital and focus theory. Empirical data from 1,904 Dutch pretrial detainees reveal that one third of the criminal network members also function as core discussion partners and that half of the criminal network members know at least one core discussion partner. This implies that offenders do not completely separate their criminal network from their core discussion network. Multilevel analyses show that this network overlap is larger if criminal network members live close to the offender and/or if they share multiple social settings. Our findings have implications for policies regarding the prevention of recidivism and the reintegration of offenders into society.