Period Of Incarceration Research Articles

Inmate Psychiatric History and Parole Release Decisions: A Research Note

The public holds a stereotyped view of mentally ill criminals as highly dangerous. If criminal justice officials share this perception, we can expect that mentally disordered offenders will be singled out for differential handling. This research investigates the role of an inmate's psychiatric history in parole release decisions. We find that inmates with a history of pre-prison psychiatric hospitalization do not uniformly experience longer periods of incarceration when compared to other similarly situated inmates. We also find that assaultive offense behavior is given greater weight in the release decisions of inmates with known mental health involvement. These findings are discussed in terms of the parole board's dual responsibility to protect society from future harm and to insure that an inmate has received the maximum benefit from incarceration.

Parents in prison: A child abuse and neglect prevention strategy

Parents in Prison is an innovative family support service housed at the Tennessee State Prison for Men. Developed in response to inmates' recognition of the need for child abuse and neglect prevention services relevant to men who are in prison, the program model has potential for becoming a major service delivery strategy. Leadership for Parents in Prison is provided by an inmate committee which receives consultation and assistance from a community advisory board and an institutional sponsor. Program components—correspondence and classroom courses. monthly events featuring community guest speakers, and family-focused social activities and projects—address family needs during incarceration and upon return to community living. These diverse components and the flexible service delivery format permit widespread inmate participation not readily available in a prison setting. Parents in Prison successes demonstrate that the period of incarceration can be used to improve parental skills and knowledge and to strengthen family relationships. They also demonstrate the viability of a family support service which relies on inmate leadership, community volunteer participation, and institutional support. The future success of this model depends on replication in other prison settings, dissemination of the program products which have been and continue to be developed, and rigorous, systematic examination of the impact that participation has on child abuse and neglect problems associated with a father's incarceration.

Attitude and Behavior Change of Correctional Clientele

AbstractFifty offenders incarcerated in a minimum security provincial institution participated in a variety of group programs with community volunteers. Inmates were randomly assigned to one of four treatment regimes or to a control group condition. The experiment subjects participated in community group discussions with either trained or untrained volunteers, and a concurrent activity, either a self‐control program or a recreational group. A test battery was administered in a pre/post fashion and follow‐up recidivism was monitored. Two‐by‐two factorial analyses of the treatment programs revealed a significant interaction between activities. Inmates who had participated in discussion groups with trained volunteers and in a self‐control program showed the most improvement on the test battery variables. This treatment effect generalized to inmates’institutional behavior, as measured by staff ratings and disciplinary offences. However, program participation was not related to postrelease success. Nonetheless, correlations between attitude change during the period of incarceration and recidivism were found. Among offenders who increased in their identification with the delinquent subculture, those who also increased in self‐esteem experienced less follow‐up success than those who decreased in self‐esteem. These results are discussed in terms of the complex relation between client characteristics, treatment, and other program services that must be considered in evaluating correctional programs.

Who cares about "juniors"?

The profession's attitude to hospital doctors badly needs bringing up to date. Thirty years ago, Simon Sparrow accepted long periods of incarceration in miserable residencies for little money, partly because it was the route to affluence and prestige as a consultant, but more because it was his natural place in society. Britain has changed since then, but time has not altered the public's view of non-consultant doctors. The patronising term junior has perpetuated a comic undergraduate image, but the reality is that these doctors deal with nearly all emergency admissions to hospital, with most outpatient follow-up consultations, and with a large part of NHS inpatient care. The proportion of doctors born overseas has now fallen to 32% and the pro? portion of women has risen to 25%. Those who manage to become consultants will finally lose their junior status at an average age of 37. The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration has just published a survey1 of work load in the grades. The latter term seems another misnomer: according to the survey over 70% of trainees' clinical work is un supervised and they spend only 3% of their time attending teaching sessions. They do, however, work hard?at least in the acute specialties.2 For example, 45% of trainee surgeons are on duty for more than 110 hours a week and 17% spend more than 80 hours actually working. What purpose is served by such a Dickensian work pattern? A trainee must spend time on call to gain experience, but sleep deprivation and excessive stress are the techniques of brainwashing rather than education. The BMA reminded3 the Review Body that consumerism, the increasing use of advanced techniques, and an aging population have all increased the consultants' work load recently, and the same applies to trainees. In 1982 the 100-hour week is more than a social anachronism: it is an unacceptable danger to patients. Recognising this, the Review Body has urgently asked doctors to discuss how trainees' excessive work loads may be reduced. There are four ways of doing this. One?reducing the standards of patient care?is unacceptable. The second is to appoint more trainees. This is unsatisfactory because career prospects in the worst-affected specialties are already grim, and to train more specialists without providing jobs at the end of training is, to say the least, illogical. The third possibility is outside help, either from a subconsultant career grade (which is rightly rejected by the profession4 whenever it is suggested) or from general practitioners, nurses,5 or paramedics6?who would probably be unable to offer sub? stantial assistance. The fourth option is that consultants should undertake some of the work traditionally done by trainees. This idea is attractive: more consultant participation in clinical care should benefit patients?who, as consumerism grows, are going to demand it anyway. It will also please the Government (which is already proposing to double consultant numbers by 1990), and it should increase consultants' job satisfaction. Trainees often hear consultants complaining about excessive administrative duties, and consultants in private practice maintain that total patient care keeps clinical skills well honed. Nevertheless, the change will be resisted by many doctors? even by trainees themselves, who cope with their sometimes intolerable work load by looking forward to the day when they can shed work on to trainees of their own. Some con? sultants will be unhappy, believing that their job is to be consulted not by patients but by less experienced colleagues, and having taken on heavy commitments to administration, college affairs, private practice?or all three. Though the Short Report7 and the Central Committee for Hospital Medical Services8 have rejected the concept, older consultants for whom routine clinical work becomes arduous or un?

"A Taste of the Bars?"

Little noticed in the current controversy surrounding sentencing philosophy and procedures are the sentencing alternatives. Hybrid sentencing alternatives are derivatives of probation and incarceration that provide the judge with the authority to sentence the offender to a brief period of incarceration followed by probation.' There are two main types of hybrids: those decided at the sentencing stage and those decided after the offender has begun to serve the sentence of incarceration. At the sentencing stage, hybrid dispositions include mixed sentences (incarceration on one count and probation on another count), split sentences (suspending all but a small portion of the sentence of incarceration and placing the offender on probation after the incarceration period), jail as a condition of probation (attaching incarceration as one of the optional conditions of probation to be served before the probation period), and periodic confinement (weekend or nighttime confinement with probation during the time spent in the community). In the post-sentencing period, there are provisions that allow the judge to change the sentence after the offender has begun to serve a sentence of incarceration (sometimes labelled shock probation, modification of sentence, judicial parole, and the like). Each of these options is not available in every state, but each state authorizes judges to combine a brief period of incarceration and probation through some mechanism.

Home Furlough Program Effects On Rates of Recidivism

In an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the furlough program as a correctional device, an analysis of rates of recidivism for individuals released from Massachusetts' state correctional institutions in the years 1973 and 1974 was conducted. The following research question was addressed: are inmates who experience one or more furloughs during the term of their incarceration less likely to be reincarcerated within one year of their eventual release from prison than are similar types of inmates who do not participate in the furlough program during the period of their incarceration? Selection factors were controlled via the use of Base Expectancy Tables. Analysis of the data indicated that the participation in the Home Furlough Program led to a significant reduction in recidivism rates. The data were interpreted as providing preliminary evidence that the use of furlough programs during the period of incarceration provides a positive reintegrative function. It was concluded that programmatic contributions to the process of societal reintegration can be effective devices for reducing the repeated criminal behavior of the prison releasee.

Self-Concept Changes Associated With Incarceration in Female Prisoners

Changes in the self-concept associated with a period of incarceration were investigated. Female prisoners in the Iowa Women's Reformatory were administered the usual admissions test battery plus a 24-item Self-Concept Scale consisting of bipolar adjectives. When the same scale was readministered following a six-month period of incarceration, general improvement in the level of self-concept was evident. Moreover, some of the changes were related to personality characteristics, as measured by the MMPI, and educational level. The admission scores on seven of the MMPI clinical scales were significantly correlated negatively to the admissions self-concept scores; however, only three clinical scales were significantly related to self-concept scores obtained after a six-month period of incarceration.

Shock Probation: a Natural Experiment on the Effect of a Short Period of Incarceration

Shock Probation: a Natural Experiment on the Effect of a Short Period of Incarceration

The Application of Self-Esteem Measures in a Correctional Setting: II. Changes in Self-Esteem during Incarceration

In an earlier study the reliability of a self-esteem measure was established for application in a correctional setting. In this study the instrument was used for repeated measurement of the level of self-esteem throughout the period of incarceration. The hy pothesis we examined was an outgrowth of the work of Wheeler, which suggests that self-esteem would increase after the initial period of institutionalization, remains fairly high during the midportion of the individual's stay, and drops to the original level as release from the institution is contemplated. Our results failed to support this hypothesis. For most inmates in our sample, self- esteem increased during the first few months but stayed high throughout the remainder of the institutional stay, including the prerelease period. Various possibilities explaining this find ing are discussed.

Do lesser pleas pay?: Accommodations in the sentencing and parole processes

One of the important questions in the discussion of plea negotiation is whether a person who has received a labeling break by exchanging a plea of guilty for a reduced charge, really benefits in terms of the sentence he receives or the time he serves. The present study analyzes differences in sentence lengths or in actual periods of incarceration according to such variables as original charge, type of plea, conviction charge, and magnitude of charge reductions. The study shows that charge reduction may have pay-offs to the extent of directly reducing the maximum sentence possible and indirectly reducing the actual amount of time served. There are indications, however, that the parole process tends to neutralize the sentence differentials associated with charge reduction. The ratio between the time served and the sentence imposed tends to get higher as the magnitude of charge reduction increases.

Institutionalization Patterns Among Civilly Committed Addicts

An examination of institutionalization patterns of 121 civilly committed addicts over a period of 58 to 80 months (approximately 5 to 6 1/2 years) shows that while some succeed in supervised outpatient status, most do not, and those who do not will probably spend a majority of their commitment within the institution during repeated readmissions. We are left with the question whether the limited success of the program justifies such long periods of incarceration.

Combined incarceration of bladder and ileum in inguinal hernias

Two cases are presented in which the small bowel and bladder became incarcerated in long-standing inguinoscrotal hernias. In the first and unique case, both small bowel and bladder became gangrenous after thirty hours of incarceration. This patient had no urinary symptoms at any time either during the twenty years of the hernia's presence or during the thirty hours of incarceration. He voided normally during the period of incarceration despite the fact that the bladder was becoming gangrenous in the hernia. The only preoperative finding suggesting bladder involvement was the 70 to 80 red blood cells noted in the urine voided thirty minutes before surgery. In the second case incarceration developed one week before admission and definite urinary symptoms were present during the period of incarceration. In this case preoperative cystography allowed a precise diagnosis of incarcerated bladder hernia to be made. A review of the literature on bladder hernias is included with particular reference to incidence, anatomy, and diagnosis. It is emphasized that diagnosis of bladder hernia is rarely made preoperatively because of the absence of symptoms. This is particularly true in strangulated hernias when the symptoms of strangulation are striking and mask any vague urinary symptoms that may be present. The diagnosis of strangulated small bowel is readily made, but the diagnosis of strangulated bladder hernia will only be made if the surgeon is aware of the possibility in the absence of urinary symptoms. Ten to fifteen per cent of all bladder hernias are first recognized as postoperative complications after injury to the bladder during surgery. It is suggested that all patients with large hernias undergo cystography prior to elective or emergency surgery. This procedure is diagnostic of bladder hernia and is simple, rapid, and safe to perform.

MMPI Pattern Changes in Female Prisoners

Some concern has been expressed that personality test results obtained shortly after admission to prison may change after the initial shock of incarceration has lessened. To check this possibil ity the MMPI was administered to fifty female prisoners shortly after admission to prison and again six months later. No signifi cant differences in test-retest scores or profiles were found, al though there was a significant reduction in the variability of the D, Hy, and Mf scales. In this female sample, the concern about the effects of the initial period of incarceration on personality test results was seen to be unfounded.

Testicular infarction and incarcerated inguinal herniae.

The complication of testicular infarction after incarcerated inguinal hernia is uncommon. It is so uncommon that the reasons for accepted surgical management of these testes, heretofore, seem unclear or poorly emphasized. Simple venous obstruction by hernia pressure anywhere from the internal inguinal ring outward starts the chain of events. Swelling of the cord and testes, venous thromboses, and hemorrhage ensue. Final arterial insufficiency from the swelling and enclosed space pressure of the tunica albuginea completes "congestive infarction." The delicate vasculature, plus the high rate of hernia incarceration, in infants must explain the almost total confinement of incidence of this condition in this age group.^{3,4,9,12,14,15} Current pediatric surgery texts advise conservative management of incarcerated hernias for 4-5 hours, but this seems illogical. There is no evidence of a safe period of incarceration regarding testicular circulation, much less incarcerated intra-abdominal viscera. The physical signs reliably predicting testicular gangrene are lacking. Even

The Prison As a Community

SITUATIONAL explanation of crime calls for a situational approach to prevention and treatment. As sociologists, we are not true to logical implications of our science if we recommend individual treatment as only solution of penal ills. If function of a prison is to protect society, convict must learn, during his period of incarceration, how to live in society. It is purpose of this paper to point out some of major obstacles which prevent present-day American penal system from performing this function and to indicate changes in administrative policy to overcome them. The concept of prison as a is guiding principle for this analysis. The prisoner comes from a and, after an average stay of two and one third years, will return to a community. If he is to be accepted as a law-abiding person on his return, he must learn in prison to play role of a citizen. He cannot learn those things that will enable him to participate as an acceptable member of outside community, if he is engaged in activities that are foreign to people on outside. If prisoner learns on inside, that to fit in with institutional routine, he must walk close to wall, this will not help him on outside. In fact, it may mark him as peculiar. We are aware of real difficulties in way of fundamental reforms. Unless there is a dramatic escape, a bloody riot, or a mass whipping, as reported recently at San Quentin, press and public are apathetic. J. Edgar Hoover's vigorous defense of machine-gun of criminology with its hatred of slimy criminals and its belief in long prison terms as only means of punishment and his pungent attacks on the creampuff school with its moo-cow sentimentalities and its faith in rehabilitation have swung pendulum of public opinion in this country in direction of a hostile attitude toward offender and away from an attitude of inquiry. It is our conviction, however, that punitive attitude has been adequately tried and found wanting. The most promising method of progress is through experimentation. Why not, for example, make a sincere attempt to save money for a higher salary level and a better quality of personnel by housing a larger proportion of carefully selected prisoners in less expensive minimum security institutions? Furthermore, why not make the prison as a community guiding concept for administration? As it is, present-day American treatment of men in prison reminds us of relations between lions and their trainer. The function of a trainer is