Reintegration Of Offenders Research Articles

An Analysis of Certificates of Rehabilitation in the United States

ABSTRACT An impediment to offender reintegration and rehabilitation is so-called collateral consequences—restrictions imposed by state and/or federal laws that apply to people who have been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated. Some laws limit formerly incarcerated individuals’ eligibility for certain occupations and professional licensure and substantially restrict employment opportunities. In this paper, we examine bars on employment and licensure and the ways states are addressing issues that impact an individual’s ability to obtain lawful employment or licensure. We examine each state’s process related to either a restoration of civil rights or a judicial administrative certificate that enables those with a criminal record to have a significantly better chance of obtaining employment or licensure. In particular, we focus on certificates of rehabilitation (COR). These certificates provide the recipient with the right not to be denied employment or licensure solely based on their criminal record. Findings reveal that only 16 states and the District of Columbia have CORs. States with CORs vary considerably in their process for obtaining a certificate, and only one state allows for interstate reciprocity of CORs. We discuss the policy implications of these results.

Desistance-Focused Treatment and Asset-Based Programming for Juvenile Offender Reintegration: A Review of Research Evidence

Research indicates that juvenile delinquency, if not intervened earlier, could potentially lead to the youth’s future involvement with the criminal justice system as an adult. This study identifies research evidence to support the building of a desistance-focused pathway for juvenile offenders positively reentering society. It examines the “desistance” components of treatment programs and assets that help ex-offending adolescents achieve success in reintegrating back to the community. A review of research evidence summarized the empirical data from twelve studies published between 2007 and 2017. Diverse service components were found in addressing the treatment needs of young offenders, indicating that multiple services are needed to lower their recidivism rate. These diverse components were benchmarked with the 40-asset model developed by the Search Institute, providing additional support that these service components are resilience-based and desistance-focused. Both internal and external assets were emphasized in these reviewed studies. Highlighted are the holistic nature of asset-based programs and service components for helping juveniles gain internal awareness and access external resources. A balanced treatment model is recommended with an emphasis on building assets for designing a holistic plan of reintegration to help juveniles reenter society and stay crime-free.

Structuring Relief for Sex Offenders from Registration and Notification Requirements

A wide array of collateral sanctions envelops convicted sex offenders. Among the most debilitating are registration and notification requirements, which are governed by both state and federal laws. Notification statutes in particular carry with them a host of negative ramifications for the individuals affected but also impose cost on public coffers and public safety. Ex ante limitations on such restrictions would be most effective but are also largely politically unpalatable. Therefore, individual relief provisions, perhaps along the model of Model Penal Code: Sentencing, should be adopted and extended to sex offenders. Overall public safety and the reintegration of sex offenders would be served best if the United States moved away from public notification, limited registries to those convicted of sexual offenses and at high risk of committing another serious sex crime, and invested more heavily in prevention and the treatment of sex offenders.

The role of volunteer probation officers in Japan - Recent challenges and responses

The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-Custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules) emphasize the importance of community acceptance of, and participation in, successful reintegration of offenders into society. One of the practices that fosters community involvement in offender treatment is the Volunteer Probation Officer (VPO) system. VPOs are community volunteers who are appointed as part-time government officials to support the work of professional probation officers. VPOs support the work of professional probation officers by supervising and assisting offenders in the communities in which they live. VPOs are key individuals who facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders as well as the acceptance of the offender by the community. However, in line with social and cultural changes, the Japanese VPO system is facing several challenges such as weaker bonds of the community and decreasing number of VPOs. In response, the Rehabilitation Bureau of the Ministry of Justice has implemented a number of measures, including the establishment of Offender Rehabilitation Support Centers and the creation of a new compensation scheme for property damage or injury suffered by VPOs or their family members. In many countries, VPOs and other volunteers play an important role in helping offenders reintegrate into the community. Comparing and learning from the approaches of other countries are important steps to enhance the effectiveness of probation through volunteers’ activities.

Examining Criminal Justice Practitioners’ Views on Collateral Consequences Policy

With the recent emphasis on reentry and the reintegration of offenders back into society, both academics and policy makers have voiced concern over both the process of applying collateral consequences in a particular case and the expanding number of collateral restrictions, some of which are quite severe. Many of these restrictions create significant barriers to reintegration for offenders released from incarceration. While reforms have been proposed, there is a lack of research examining the perceptions of criminal justice actors about collateral consequences of conviction. As parties most familiar with the application of consequences in cases, and the burdens they place on involved parties, the present study surveyed practitioners in a large Midwestern state. The findings suggest that judges, defense attorneys, probation and parole supervisors, and prosecutors are troubled by the role of collateral consequences in offender reentry and are not opposed to repealing or reforming some of these policies. Further, there are significant differences between practitioner groups as to reforms that should be implemented within the state’s criminal justice system.

Demobilising and Disengaging Violent Extremists: Towards a New UN Framework

First and second generation programmes of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), are no longer ‘fit for purpose’ in contexts of violent extremism. Recognising this, voices from within the United Nations (UN) system have recently called for the development of a practice framework combining DDR and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE). Drawing on examples from Nigeria and Somalia, this commentary outlines six issue areas where DDR and CVE overlap, and where further operational guidance is required. These issue areas are: safe passage; the handling of seized and captured weapons; risk assessment; the use of deradicalisation programmes; the reintegration of extremist offenders; and the links between DDR and rehabilitation programmes for extremist prisoners.

LA RELEVANCIA DE LOS PROGRAMAS EDUCATIVOS Y FORMATIVOS COMO ELEMENTOS FAVORECEDORES DEL PROCESO DE REINSERCIÓN SOCIAL Y LABORAL DE LOS MENORES INFRACTORES

Abstract.THE RELEVANCE OF EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING PROGRAMS AS ELEMENTS THAT FAVOR THE PROCESS OF SOCIAL AND LABOR REINTEGRATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS.In a clear attempt to organize, manage and facilitate the process of social and labor reintegration of juvenile offenders, the societies of the moment tend to use a wide range of programs and strategies with which they try to prevent the emergence of Criminal and illicit behaviors or, in the event that they are developed, intervene to redirect them to other types of social and labor behavior that end up being widely accepted and valued by the main social and labor networks. Among these programs and strategies of prevention and intervention that have been developed and implemented, in recent years the scientific community begins to accept and recognize the enormous benefits derived from working with these smaller programs of an educational and formative nature, the most significant being the acquisition (Empathy, solidarity, tolerance, cooperation, sacrifice, self-esteem, self-control, etc.) that end up facilitating their full and effective integration into social, community and labor structures. In order to carry out good research in this field, therefore, it is essential to determine all those variables and factors that are present in this type of educational and training programs. Therefore, the present study analyzes the main works developed on the subject of study, with the intention of analyzing and describing the different factors and variables that are present in the educational and training programs, as well as the most outstanding benefits and Parabienes that can report to juvenile offenders who end up becoming habitual users of them. In this way, it is possible to delimit the point from which the successive empirical investigations and programs that try to manage the process of social reintegration and labor of the juvenile offenders will have to start.Key words: Minor offenders, educational and training programs, social and labor reinsertion, socio-community and labor environment, education, revision.Resumen.Las sociedades del momento suelen recurrir, en un claro intento de organizar, gestionar y facilitar el desarrollo del proceso de reinserción social y laboral de los menores infractores, al empleo de un amplio elenco de programas y estrategias con las que intentan prevenir la aparición de las conductas delictivas e ilícitas o, en el caso de que éstas se acaben desarrollando, intervenir para reconducirlas hacia otro tipo de conductas sociales y laborales que acaben siendo ampliamente aceptadas y valoradas por los principales entramados sociales y laborales. Entre estos programas y estrategias de prevención e intervención que se vienen desarrollando e implementando, en los últimos años la comunidad científica comienza a aceptar y a reconocer los enormes beneficios derivados de trabajar con estos menores programas de naturaleza educativa y formativa, siendo los más significativos la adquisición de un amplio abanico de valores y actitudes personales, sociales y laborales (empatía, solidaridad, tolerancia, cooperación, sacrificio, autoestima, autocontrol, etc.) que acaban facilitando su plena y efectiva integración en las estructuras sociales, comunitarias y laborales. Para realizar buenas investigaciones dentro de este ámbito, por tanto, resulta imprescindible determinar todas aquellas variables y factores que se encuentran presentes en este tipo de programas educativos y formativos. Por lo tanto, en el presente estudio se analizan los principales trabajos desarrollados sobre la temática objeto de estudio, con la intención de analizar y describir los distintos factores y variables que están presentes en los programas educativos y formativos, así como los más destacados beneficios y parabienes que pueden reportar a los menores infractores que se acaben convirtiendo en usuarios habituales de los mismos. De esta manera, es posible delimitar el punto desde el que habrán de partir las sucesivas investigaciones empíricas y programas que traten de gestionar el proceso de reinserción social y laboral de los menores infractores.Palabras clave: Menores infractores, programas educativos y formativos, reinserción social y laboral, entorno socio-comunitario y laboral, educación, revisión.

Pathways from violence: The impact of community based intervention on offender reintegration in Gugulethu

Section 36 of the Correctional Services Act describes the purpose of imprisonment as “enabling the sentenced prisoner to lead a socially responsible and crime-free life in the future.” But interviews with 48 young ex-prisoners in Gugulethu revealed a stark discrepancy between rhetoric and reality. Analysis outlined obstacles to integration, both psycho-social and material in nature, which community-level organizations were unable to fix on their own. To construct viable pathways to integration, and satisfy its legislative mandate, the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) must initiate large-scale coordination with civil society organisations.

The Financial Cost of a Criminal Conviction: Context and Consequences

Growing fiscal concerns for criminal justice agencies and punitive ideological shifts have increased the financial consequences of a conviction. The growth in legal financial obligations (LFOs), such as fees, fines, and restitution resultant from conviction has important implications for offender reentry, particularly offender reintegration and opportunities for social advancement. Utilizing data culled from in-depth qualitative interviews with a sample of persons under correctional supervision, the current research documents the nature and prevalence of LFOs for an offending population and explores how they affect post-conviction experiences. The results indicate a majority of ex-offenders experience some form of LFO including fines, supervision costs, and child-support-related fees. Overall, LFOs diminished positive opportunities for offenders by compounding precarious financial states, limiting opportunities for upward social movement, and weakening positive cognitive change. As research consistently identifies primarily adverse consequences from LFOs, policy implications are explored to mitigate negative individual and social outcomes for offenders.

“It’s hard to reenter when you’ve been locked out”: Keys to offender reintegration

ABSTRACTUsing constructivist grounded theory, we conducted 15 semistructured interviews of men and women with criminal justice backgrounds, and three focus groups to examine group level offender reentry strategies. Participants comprised 20 formerly incarcerated men and women who were incarcerated in a New York state prison or at Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex. This study revealed four keys to offender reintegration: (a) linking offenders to society; (b) institutional and community anchors; (c) social supports; and (d) personal epiphany. The keys to offender reintegration provide an opportunity to interrupt patterns of relapse, rearrest, and recidivism.

A Critical Appraisal of the Juvenile Justice System under Cameroon's 2005 Criminal Procedure Code: Emerging Challenges

The objective of this article is to examine the changes introduced by the 2005 Cameroonian Criminal Procedure Code on matters of juvenile justice, considering that before this Code, juvenile justice in Cameroon was governed by extra-national laws. In undertaking this analysis, the article highlights the evolution of the administration of juvenile justice 50 years after independence of Cameroon. It also points out the various difficulties and shortcomings in the treatment of juvenile offenders in Cameroon since the enactment of the new Criminal Procedure Code. The article reveals that the 2005 Code is an amalgamation of all hitherto existing laws in the country that pertained to juvenile justice, and that despite the considerable amount of criticism it has received, the Code is clearly an improvement of the system of juvenile justice in Cameroon, since it represents a balance of the due process rights of young people, the protection of society and the special needs of young offenders. This is so because the drafters of the Code took a broad view of the old laws on juvenile justice. Also a wide range of groups were consulted, including criminal justice professionals, children’s service organisations, victims, parents, young offenders, educators, advocacy groups and social-policy analysts. However, to address the challenges that beset the juvenile justice system of Cameroon, the strategy of the government should be focussed on three areas: the prevention of youth crime, the provision of meaningful consequences for the actions of young people, and the rehabilitation and reintegration of young offenders. Cameroonian law should seek educative solutions rather than to impose prison sentences or other repressive measures on young offenders. Special courts to deal with young offenders should be established outside the regular penal system and should be provided with resources that are adequate for and appropriate to fostering their understanding of juvenile crime.

Generatywność i jej przejawy w readaptacji społecznej skazanych

Efektywność resocjalizacji skazanych jest ściśle powiązana z procesem readaptacji społecznej, czego efektem jest pełna reintegracja społeczna przestępców. Wiąże się to z nadaniem większego znaczenia uspołecznieniu procesu resocjalizacji i zmianą paradygmatu oddziaływań, od korekcji do rozwoju i wzmacniania aktywnego uczestnictwa jednostki w tworzeniu nowej tożsamości. W ostatnich latach wyraźniej wskazuje się na potrzebę wzmacniania generatywności w procesie readaptacji społecznej. Generatywność (życiodajność), najkrócej mówiąc, to troska o przyszłe pokolenia, ale może wyrażać się również poprzez troskę o siebie i przyszłość swoją i innych. Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu ukazanie przydatności kategorii generatywności w procesie readaptacji społecznej. Teoretyczne i praktyczne aspekty wdrażania generatywności do procesu odstąpienia od przestępstwa są akcentowane. Mimo że nie wszystkie badania potwierdzają znaczenie generatywności w procesie readaptacji społecznej skazanych, autor zachęca do prowadzenia badań na gruncie polskim, których wyraźnie brakuje.

Building Recovery Capital: The Role of Faith-Based Communities in the Reintegration of Formerly Incarcerated Drug Offenders

Recovery capital is an important concept in the field of addiction studies. A person’s access to recovery capital can mean the difference between the termination of addiction and successful reintegration or ongoing criminality and drug use. Increasingly, religious institutions are playing a vital role in the provision of social services, including addiction services that provide access to recovery capital. This article begins by exploring the concept of recovery capital and its utility in the successful reintegration of offenders. It then uses a case study to show how one’s religious organization plays an important role in providing the necessary recovery capital for the desistance of drug abuse and for a successful reintegration into the community. Through in-depth interviews with several persistent adult offenders, this article demonstrates that religious organizations may play an important role in providing the recovery capital that so many persistent drug offenders are lacking.

Public health alternatives to incarceration for drug offenders.

Drug users are vastly overrepresented in prison populations. Once inside they face increased risks of acquiring infections such as HIV, hepatitis and TB, and on release they face an elevated risk of fatal overdose. Relapse and recidivism are the norm following release from prison. The implementation of evidence-based drug treatment programmes in prison is rare, yet drug treatment in prison reduces the transmission of infections, recidivism and fatal overdose on release. Recognising the negative returns associated with incarceration, many jurisdictions have begun to consider alternatives such as depenalisation of the personal use of illicit drugs, provision of treatment and social reintegration of drug offenders, and a shift in focus from supply reduction to demand and harm reduction measures in the community and in prison. Women with drug problems are twice as likely to have been imprisoned for a drug offence as incarcerated men. Similarly, HIV prevalence is higher among female inmates. Serious attention should be paid to implementation of non-custodial sentences for women, particularly during pregnancy and those with young children.

Volunteering With Sex Offenders: The Attitudes of Volunteers Toward Sex Offenders, Their Treatment, and Rehabilitation

The general public has been shown to hold negative attitudes toward sexual offenders, sex offender treatment, and the rehabilitation of sexual offenders. It appears pertinent to the success of sex offender management strategies that utilise volunteers that selected volunteers do not share these attitudes. Here, volunteers for Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), a community-based initiative supporting the reintegration of sex offenders, completed three validated psychometric measures assessing attitudes toward sex offenders in general and toward their treatment and rehabilitation. Responses were compared with a U.K. general public sample. The results showed that volunteers held more positive attitudes toward sex offenders, sex offender treatment, and sex offender rehabilitation than the U.K. general public sample. The significance of these findings is discussed alongside directions for future research.

An exploratory study of different approaches between social work practice and correctional services in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

This paper tries to explore the differences between social work and correctional services from the aspects of professional boundaries, concept, content, construct, context, approach, function, professional identity and relationship with service users. Through these, social workers will be informed what are the limitations of their service in a correctional environment, whilst for correctional officers, a better understanding of the philosophical stance of social services which may be helpful for them in discharging their dual role of law enforcer and social worker under the contemporary correctional policy stressing rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.

Associations between societal disapproval and changes in symptoms of PTSD and appetitive aggression following treatment among high-risk South African males

ABSTRACTBackground: In violent communities, social rejection as a person with victim–offender attributes is associated with more intense symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a higher propensity towards violence, i.e. appetitive aggression. Successful community reintegration encompassing adequate social acknowledgment of individuals with both a history of violence exposure and perpetration may be necessary to enhance the treatment effects of interventions addressing PTSD and aggression.Objective: In this study, the effects of treatment and post-treatment traumatic events, violent offenses, and social acknowledgment (with sub-dimensions of general disapproval, family disapproval, and recognition as a person with both a history of violence exposure and commission) on changes in PTSD symptom severity and appetitive aggression from baseline to 8-month follow-up were investigated.Method: Data were collected from 54 males recruited through a Cape Town offender reintegration programme for an intervention study targeting trauma and aggression (n = 28 treatment; n = 26 wait-list). Changes in PTSD symptom severity after treatment were assessed with the PTSD Symptom Scale-Interview, changes in appetitive aggression with the Appetitive Aggression Scale (AAS), post-treatment traumatic events with an adapted version of the Child’s Exposure to Violence Checklist, offenses with an adapted checklist from the AAS, and social acknowledgment with an adapted form of the Social Acknowledgment Questionnaire.Results: Path analyses revealed negative relationships between ongoing societal disapproval and changes in PTSD symptom severity and appetitive aggression at 8-months, controlling for age. All other variables were non-significant, except for treatment, which was associated with PTSD symptom reduction.Conclusions: As a complementary strategy to effective psychotherapeutic treatment, increased social acknowledgment may contribute significantly to the alleviation of PTSD symptoms and appetitive aggression. Psychological interventions should, therefore, not neglect the impact of societal factors on treatment effects.

Public Attitudes in Australia to the Reintegration of ex-Offenders: Testing a Belief in Redeemability (BiR) scale

We report the results of a large scale Australian survey of public attitudes to offender reintegration. A representative sample of 1215 respondents gave their views about the possibility that offenders could make a good life for themselves after having committed crime. Views expressed were significantly positive with around four out of five respondents indicating they believed reintegration was possible and should be attempted. On the basis of the responses an overall score was calculated for each respondent. Analysis of the data suggested that three factors contributed to the overall score. We named these: Human capital, Possibility of change and Agency and the rationale for these is discussed. Some demographic factors (age, gender, presence of children in the household and highest level of schooling) were significantly related to scores in one of the components. Respondents also reported whether they, or someone close to them, had been a victim of crime or had been arrested, and whether they had worked in the field of law enforcement or the field of human services. Inclusion in these categories was found to be significantly related to certain components of the overall score. These findings are discussed in the light of related surveys in other jurisdictions and we invite other researchers to use the scale and suggest improvements.

Risk Factors for Problematic Behaviors among Forensic Outpatients under the Medical Treatment and Supervision Act in Japan.

The Medical Treatment and Supervision Act (MTSA) was enacted in 2005 in Japan to promote the reintegration of clinical offenders with mental disorders into society. Under the MTSA, individuals who committed serious crimes in a state of insanity or diminished responsibility are diverted from the criminal justice system to the mental health system. Based on court decisions about MTSA-based treatment, clinical offenders have an obligation to engage in rehabilitation within their local community under the guidance of mental health professionals. However, patients under MTSA-based clinical treatments have faced various problems in the course of treatment, because of psychiatric as well as other static or dynamic factors, and sometimes have committed problematic behaviors, such as violence and medical non-compliance. Hence, this study aimed to clarify factors related to patients’ inclusion in MTSA-based outpatient treatment and additionally, their commitment of problematic behaviors, based on confidential data acquired during a four-year government survey period (National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry) from MTSA enactment (July 15, 2005) to December 31, 2009. In total, we recruited 441 clinical offenders receiving MTSA-based outpatient treatment from 158 nationwide facilities. To evaluate related factors, we collected demographic, psychiatric, forensic, clinical treatment, and social service information. Statistical analyses demonstrated that predominant profiles of patients included male gender, younger age, low school history, psychiatric diagnoses (F1, F2, and F3), and no correctional or outpatient history before MTSA-based treatment. F1 or substance use diagnosis, in particular, was increasingly correlated with other factors, such as male gender, older age, and correctional history before MTSA treatment. Among the 441 patients, 189 (43%) committed problematic behaviors in the course of the MTSA-based outpatient treatment. Risk factors for patients’ commitment of problematic behaviors comprised F1 diagnosis and inpatient history before MTSA-based treatment inclusion. In summary, reduction of overall problematic behaviors under the MTSA outpatient likely makes progress by focal attention to patients with psychiatric disorders caused by substance use and/or a past inpatient history for more severe psychiatric symptoms. This work is of ongoing and future importance in the domain of forensic community treatment, to connect risk-enhancing factors with risk management.

What Influences Public Support of Transitional Housing Facilities for Offenders During Reentry?

Transitional housing facilities for released prison inmates have existed in the United States since the early 1800s and are a promising strategy to aid offender reintegration. One recurring obstacle to the successful implementation and sustainability of these facilities is public resistance. Unfortunately, very little is known regarding what influences public support or opposition specifically for offender-based transitional housing. The current study examines how support for transitional housing centers may vary among residents of a Midwestern state based on the proximity of the facility and the types of offenders living there. The study also examines a range of possible influences on support, including community factors, family-related considerations, correctional and political views, and demographic variables. The most consistent influence on acceptance of transitional housing centers was general support for helping offenders during reentry. Other variables with more limited effects were an emphasis on services and programming over monitoring and surveillance during reentry, having a close family member imprisoned, age, and education level. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.