The Influence of Prison Staff on Inmate Conditions: A Multilevel Approach to Staff and Inmate Surveys

The current study connects survey data of inmates and correctional staff in the Dutch prison system in order to describe and explain the impact of staff orientation and staff working conditions on perceived prison circumstances of inmates. Importation and deprivation theory are combined to test an integrated model to explain perceived prison conditions. By surveying staff (N = 1750) and inmates (N = 4673) independently within the same period of time and by afterwards pairing the results on the level of the housing unit (N = 173) using multilevel techniques, it is found that inmates′ perceptions of the prison conditions vary considerably between housing units. It is also found that staff’s perceptions of prison conditions show congruency with those of inmates. Another important finding is that in housing units where the orientation of staff towards inmates is relatively supportive, inmates perceive their circumstances as more positive. Conclusions and directions for further research are provided.     

Understanding the links between perceived prison conditions and prison staff

In the Dutch prison system, motivational treatment is seen as one of the key contributors to a dignified and humane prison climate, stimulating inmates to assume personal responsibility and to change their lives. Staff are seen as the crucial factor to attaining this goal. The assumption is that the staff’s work situation has an impact on how inmates are treated. How inmates are treated in turn influences how they perceive prison conditions. In this study, we will examine the correlations between work situation, treatment styles and perceived prison conditions by means of a multilevel linear regression. The results show that a good work situation for prison staff is a precondition for practicing an active approach to inmates. In addition, inmates are more satisfied with the prison conditions if the various treatment styles are thoroughly applied. A balance between providing support and structure for inmates appears to be very important. Motivational treatment proves to be significantly correlated to the inmates’ satisfaction regarding prison conditions.     

Offenders as victims: post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder among male prisoners

Background: Comorbid substance use disorder(s) and post-traumatic stress disorder (SUD-PTSD) is common among prisoners and linked to an increased risk of criminal recidivism; however, little is known about the characteristics of prisoners with this comorbidity. Aim: This study provides a preliminary examination of the clinical and criminal profile of male inmates with symptoms of SUD-PTSD, and examines whether this profile differs according to whether a person has experienced a trauma while in prison. Methods: Thirty male inmates from two correctional centres in Sydney, Australia, were recruited and assessed using a structured interview. Results: The sample reported extensive criminal, substance use and trauma histories. A history of substance dependence was almost universal (90%) and 56.7% met diagnostic criteria for PTSD with the remainder experiencing sub-threshold symptoms. Forty-three per cent reported a traumatic event while in prison. Those who had experienced trauma in prison, compared to those who had not, were more likely to nominate heroin as their main drug of concern and to be receiving drug treatment in prison. There was also a trend toward inmates who had experienced a trauma in prison being more likely than inmates who had no prison trauma to have experienced a physical assault. Conclusion: Male prisoners with SUD-PTSD are a high-needs group yet treatment responses are poor. Further research examining treatment options for this comorbidity may improve prisoner well-being and reduce recidivism.     

Men and women in the same prison: interpersonal needs and psychological health of prison inmates

The purpose of this study was to investigate the gender differences in the state of interpersonal needs and psychological health of male and female prison inmates who live in the same prison. The authors conducted in-person interviews with 118 male and 70 female inmates. The results show that women present a better interpersonal state and psychological health than do men. For both genders, the consequences of fulfilling or not fulfilling interpersonal needs-specifically, social loneliness and sexual satisfaction-are associated with psychological health. These findings suggest the importance of the state of prison inmates' interpersonal needs in promoting psychological health in the context of the prison, where these needs are generally difficult to be met. Making contacts possible between male and female inmates who are in the same prison might help them to better fulfill some of their interpersonal needs, especially those related to their sexual lives.     

Refusers, dropouts, and completers: measuring sex offender treatment efficacy

A sex offender program delivered in a medium-security prison followed 109 treatment completers and 37 noncompleters for 2 years after release. Noncompleters, those who refused treatment or dropped out, had 6 times the rate of sexual and violent reoffending relative to completers. Among those who completed the program, however, positive evaluations of treatment change, such as quality of disclosure and enhanced victim empathy, found in posttreatment assessments did not correlate with recidivism. Furthermore, completers did not differ in their rates of recidivism from pretreatment rates predicted by the Static 99, an actuarial measure of anticipated sexual and violent recidivism. We conclude that the program did not influence propensities for sexual and violent recidivism but rather served as a prolonged screening instrument for sex offenders whose failure to comply with treatment attendance predicted higher rates of recidivism.     

Does Inmate Behavior Affect Post-Release Offending? Investigating the Misconduct-Recidivism Relationship among Youth and Adults

Recent scholarship has highlighted the potential implications of in-prison experiences for prisoner reentry and, in particular, recidivism. Few penological or reentry studies, however, have examined the relationship between one experience that may be especially consequential, inmate misconduct, and recidivism. The goal of this study is to address this gap in the literature by employing a matching design that estimates the effect of inmate misconduct on reoffending, using data on a release cohort of Florida prisoners. The results indicate that inmates who engage in misconduct, violent misconduct in particular, are more likely to recidivate. Consistent with prior scholarship, we find that this relationship holds only for adult inmates. These findings underscore the importance of prison experiences for understanding recidivism, examining youthful and adult inmate populations separately, and devising policies that reduce misconduct.     

Prisonization and accounts of gun carrying

This study examined inmate perceptions about the reasons other people carry guns. The sample consisted of seventy-three inmates who were incarcerated for gun-related violent crimes in Colorado. While most inmates said that people carry guns for self-protection and/or power, their accounts varied according to the number of years incarcerated. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses suggest that inmates incarcerated for long periods of time are likely to believe that others carry guns to feel powerful. In contrast, the results also indicate that inmates incarcerated for short periods of time are likely to believe that others carry guns for protection. These findings are consistent with theories about prison socialization. As inmates become immersed in the prison culture, they are also likely to change their perceptions about why others carry guns.     

Imprisonment and co-offending: results from a 10-year follow-up study

A recurring question in criminological research is whether prisoners meet new accomplices in prison. This article’s objective is to study co-offending among individuals who have served prison sentences. The frequency of co-offending among individuals who have been in the same prison at the same time will be examined. If gender, age, type of prison, offence type and prior experience of co-offending are significant for this type of co-offending will also be examined. The study population comprised all inmates released from a Swedish prison during a half year in 2001–2002 (n = 3.930). The follow-up period is 10 years. The results show that only 3% of those who have been in the same prison at the same time are suspected of committing offences together subsequent to release. The likelihood of being suspected of committing an offence together following the conclusion of a joint stay in the same prison is higher for those released from a closed prison who are aged 31–40, and who had committed large proportion of their offences together with others prior to the relevant prison sentence. The results suggest that the concept of criminal capital is not important for future co-offending after a joint stay in prison.     

Rating the prison boss: Examining supervision among prison health care staff

Health care staff are instrumental in prisons given their roles in aiding security and the growing demand for medical services among prisoners. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to this prison staff subpopulation. This study examined perceptions of supervision among 424 prison health care staff in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Participants felt that prison supervisors were most effective in clarifying expectations and least effective in giving feedback for performance, involving staff in planning, and extending job autonomy. Using hierarchical linear models (HLM), some unique findings emerged. Efficacy in dealing with inmates was the strongest predictor variable: health care staff who felt more positive and effective with inmates had more favorable feelings toward supervision. Staff working in high- and medium-security prisons had more positive feelings toward supervision than those in minimum security, and younger staff had more favorable attitudes toward supervisors than older staff. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

Prisoners' perception of informing to the authorities: an analysis in terms of functional moral judgment

A series of functional measurement experiment show that prisoners modulate their moral judgments of violations of their in-group regulations. The participants were 67 women and 80 men, sentenced for at least three years for murder, robbery, drug-traffic or white collar offenses. Each was asked, individually, to imagine a series of incidents where incriminating information on in-group or out-group inmates is delivered to the prison authorities or to an ingroup source and to rate the deserved denigration of the informer, who was characterized as a leader or not and as a drug-addict or not who had a prison-leave or not. An assignment of approximately equal weight for social status, drug use and prison leave was found, beyond gender and type of offense. In line with the hypothesis of judgmental modularity, informing to an out-group source was judged much more severely than informing to in-group arbiter and than informing on an out-group inmate.     

Inmates’ Experiences with Prison Visitation

Prison visitation is an important tool used to strengthen inmates’ social ties and incentivize good behavior in prison. Nevertheless, prison visits do not always go well for inmates, and we know little about why that is. Accordingly, in the current study we examined inmates’ varied experiences with prison visitation. We used data collected from 228 visited inmates who reported on 701 of their adult visitors, and identified whether visits typically made inmates feel guilty, stressed, sad, loved, comforted, and/or supported, and if inmates often argued with their visitors. Results from multilevel models indicated marked variability in inmates’ experiences with visitation, shaped by: who visits, how often they visit, inmates’ pre-prison behaviors, prison life, and demographic factors. These findings suggest that resources for conflict resolution may be needed during visitation, and that family-centric correctional interventions that recognize the variation we have uncovered here might hold promise in maximizing the effectiveness of visitation.     

Youth In Prisons and Training Schools: Perceptions and Consequences of the Treatment-Custody Dichotomy

Transfer (or waiver) of juveniles to criminal court is one of the most extreme responses to serious youth crime. Although many states have recently revised their transfer statutes, and the number of juveniles prosecuted as adults increases each year, little research has been conducted to assess the correctional experiences of delinquent youth convicted in criminal court and sentenced to adult prison. Evaluations of such experiences are important to policymakers and juvenile justice officials who are considering juvenile transfers as a strategy for securing longer and harsher confinement for offenders. Based on interviews with 59 chronic juvenile offenders placed in state training schools, and 81 comparable youths sentenced to adult correctional facilities, this article presents a comparison of offenders' perceptions of their correctional experiences. Juveniles incarcerated in training schools give more positive evaluations of treatment and training programs, general services, and institutional personnel than do those youths in prison. Juveniles housed in institutions which emphasize security over treatment — i.e., prisons — are more often victimized during their confinement than youths in the treatment-oriented training schools. Once placed in prisons, adolescent inmates are more likely to be victims of prison violence and crime from both inmates and staff. These research results suggest some paradoxical effects of the treatment-custody distinction implicit in judicial waiver practices. The differential socialization into crime and violence for youths in adult prisons may increase the risks of having these types of behavior repeated by transferred youths once released.     

Effects of a Dog-Assisted Intervention Assessed by Salivary Cortisol Concentrations in Inmates of a Japanese Prison

Physiological effects of a dog-assisted, stress management and communication training program conducted in a prison were investigated by assessing salivary cortisol concentrations of prison inmates before and after the sessions. The program was conducted with groups of inmates with psychiatric and/or developmental disorders. In the program, male inmates interacted with trained pet dogs and their volunteer handlers. Inmates evaluated their mood states before and after each session by using a questionnaire. Moreover, handlers evaluated the quality of the interaction with inmates after each session. Results indicated that the inmates’ cortisol values in most cases decreased following their participation in the sessions. The inmates who demonstrated stress reduction by decreasing cortisol values were diagnosed only psychiatric disorders, were aware of their mood improvement, and were evaluated by the handlers as having interacted well during the sessions. This indicated the validity of psychiatrists’ diagnoses, inmates’ self-evaluation, and handlers’ evaluation of inmates. Also, inmates who experienced a medium mood without mood changes had decreased cortisol values. It is suggested that these results are useful for predicting and selecting inmates who are expected to obtain effects by participating in the program. Moreover, it is suggested that providing feedback to inmates about changes in their salivary cortisol levels could help them better understand their psychophysical state, which could result in more effective stress management.     

Why black prisoners seldom try to escape from American penal institutions: A humanistic perspective

Black inmates attempt to escape prison much less frequently than do white inmates. Empirical research attempting to delineate reasons for the differential escape rate of blacks to whites is almost nonexistent. The purpose of the present paper is to examine this difference from a humanistic approach by examining another subculture (European Jews who were victims of the Holocaust) where historical incanceration pattenrs and cultural ethos historically anticipates those of black inmates. Thishistorical culture of blacks in America is also explored in order to further understand why black inmates seldom try to escape from prison.     

Two factors in development of work release: size and location of prisons

Among the important recent trends in corrections is the remarkable spread of work release among the state prison systems. Forty-one states have authorized such a program. This development is assessed in terms of two of the factors affecting the potentiality of work release—the number of prison units and their geographical location relative to the state's job market. The highest work-release participation rate was recorded in 1971 by those prison systems with many units well distributed about their respective state. The lowest rate was that of the systems with a large share of total inmates concentrated in giant or large prisons. The various housing strategies are defined; the use of several community centers is found to be associated with the highest work-release participation for each type of prison system. Prospects for further expansion of work release are discussed.     

Therapeutic communities and prison management: an examination of the effects of operating an in-prison therapeutic community on levels of institutional disorder

There is a growing emphasis in corrections on the treatment of inmates with drug problems. The typical method of evaluating drug treatment programs is to examine how the treatment affects the inmate in terms of relapse and recidivism. This study examines the institutional consequences of operating a therapeutic community located in a medium/high-security male institution. The effect on management is examined from a perspective of institutional disorder. Disorders, from less severe inmate rule violations to more serious assaults, and rates of grievance filing are examined within the treatment unit and compared with rates in the general population. The inmate's perception of the environment, whether in treatment or non-treatment, is also examined. Findings indicate that in-prison therapeutic communities have lower levels of disorder than nontreatment housing units and tend to produce more positive perceptions of the living environment among the inmates living there. The impact of these findings for prison management is discussed.     

Solitary Confinement as Punishment: Examining In-Prison Sanctioning Disparities

Drawing on prior sentencing and prison scholarship, this study examines the use of solitary confinement as a form of punishment. Specifically, it assesses whether, given a prison infraction, minority inmates—and young, male, minority inmates in particular—are more likely to be placed in solitary and to be placed in it for longer durations. Multilevel regression analyses of state prison data suggest little support for the hypothesis that minority males, or young minority, males, are sanctioned more harshly than other inmates. The analyses identify, however, that males are more likely than females to be placed in solitary as a form of disciplinary punishment and that younger females are more likely to be placed in it than older females. The findings highlight that age and sex may interact to influence punishment decisions and raise questions about the precise roles of race and ethnicity in affecting punishment decisions. Implications of the findings for theory, research, and policy are discussed.     

Traumatic Event Exposure and Behavioral Health Disorders among Incarcerated Females Self-Referred to Treatment

At least half of the women inside prison have mental health problems, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional abuse during their formative years and often in adulthood, and have addiction problems. Only a minority of these women receive treatment for their behavioral health problems associated with trauma while incarcerated, even though these problems are risk factors for returning to prison after release. This study focuses on the traumatic experiences and behavioral health problems of a group of female inmates who volunteered in August 2009, to be screened for admission into an integrated trauma-reentry program implemented at an adult female correctional facility. Of the 278 women who self-referred for screening, 196 preliminarily met the time eligibility criterion of residing at the prison for eight to 24 more months. Half of these women (n?=?97) were actually time-eligible for screening and agreed to be screened. Of this sample of treatment-seeking soon-to-be-released female prisoners, the vast majority (93%) reported significant and complex histories of traumatic event exposure and high rates of either posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or sub-threshold PTSD, past alcohol and other substance abuse or dependence, other axis I psychiatric disorders, and subjective distress. Identifying trauma exposure histories and associated behavioral health problems within this population and providing effective interventions holds potential promise for preparing incarcerated women to manage their post-release lives in ways that will keep them safe, healthy, and in the community.     

Sexual and violent recidivism by offender type and actuarial risk: reoffending rates for rapists,child molesters and mixed-victim offenders

Abstract

The current study examines sexual and violent reoffence rates for a sample of 2474 sexual offenders over an average of 15 years following release from prison. Reoffence rates are reported as a function of the offenders' victim type and level of risk as assessed by the Automated Sexual Recidivism Scale, a computer scored measure of relevant historical risk factors. Observed sexual recidivism rates for offenders with child victims, adult victims, and mixed victims were quite similar. Results indicate that offenders with exclusively female child victims not only showed a lower rate of sexual reoffending, but that the reoffence rates were relatively low across all levels of actuarial risk. In contrast, those with male child victims and adult victims showed a pronounced escalation of reoffence rates as actuarial risk increased. Results also indicated that adult victim offenders are less consistent in the victim type of their reoffences, with 37% sexually reoffending against child victims. Finally, combined rates of sexual and violent reoffending were particularly high for those with adult victim sexual offence histories. Risk assessment and public policy implications are discussed.     

Educational Intentions Among Prison Inmates

The aim of the study was to examine the impact of geographical and cultural affiliation and learning problems on prison inmates' intentions to embark on education above their obtained level of education. Younger inmates, inmates who had reading or writing problems and inmates with less geographical and cultural affiliation to Norway were significantly more likely to report that they wished to start upper secondary school than older inmates, inmates who had no reading or writing problems and inmates with a strong affiliation to Norway. Likewise, younger inmates, inmates who had a non-Norwegian affiliation and inmates who had no problems with arithmetic or mathematics were significantly more likely than others to say that they wished to embark on university studies or other higher education.