<p>The research comprises an exploratory study of the challenges that offenders face upon release and which contribute to recidivism in the Department of Correctional Services (DCS). The West Coast Medium &lsquo / A&rsquo / Correctional Centre in the Western Cape has been selected as the case study area. Although offenders attend various rehabilitation programmes inside the prison, it has become apparent that upon their release this rehabilitation is not sustained. The qualitative methodology used for this research included semi-structured interviews in order to gather information on the challenges that contribute to recidivism. Offenders, parolees, family members, the Head of Social Reintegration, a social worker, a representative of NICRO, the Chairperson of the Atlantis Community Police Forum, and a spokesperson for SAPS Atlantis were interviewed in order to gather the relevant information. The general findings of the research demonstrate that the adverse socio-economic conditions confronting the offenders after their release from prison are the main barriers to their successful rehabilitation and reintegration into society. The problem is further compounded by the high incidence of criminal activities within the community environment, the influence of gangsterism, peer pressure and substance abuse. Together, these conditions lead to the re-committing of crime, the re-incarceration of former offenders and, ultimately, to a pattern of recidivism.</p>

The overall aim of this thesis was to explore patterns of antisocial behaviour, mental health and recidivism among Swedish young offenders in community-based rehabilitative programmes (n=189). Study I explored the character and severity of self-reported behavioural problems prior to programme participation.  Four distinct subgroups were identified: subgroup (SG) 1 (n=60), boys exhibiting adolescent delinquency; SG 2 (n=65), boys exhibi­ting pronounced adolescent delinquency; SG 3 (n=48), boys exhibiting pronounced adolescent delinquency as well as criminality including violence; SG 4 (n=16), boys exhibiting pronounced adolescent delinquency as well as criminality including violence and drug-related crimes. Study II investigated the mental health of the participants, by means of the Strengths and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ). When relating SDQ-scores to the previously identified subgroups, SG 1 with the least prominent history of antisocial behaviour was found to resemble a normative sample, while the subgroups with more extensive histories of antisocial behaviour had significantly elevated scores on the hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problem scales. Study III investigated recidivism in criminality in the 18-months following programme start, finding that 60% of the participants had been registered as suspected of new crimes. SG 3 and 4 with the most extensive histories of antisocial behaviour were responsible for a significantly larger part of recidivism than expected. By contrast, SG 1, reporting the least antisocial behaviour in their past, was responsible for a significantly smaller part of the recidivism. This was true for all crimes as well as crimes of violence specifically, confirming the subgroups identified based on the self-reports. The results are related to developmental theories of antisocial behaviour and to contemporary research on risk assessment. Implications for the practice of rehabilitation of convicted young offenders are discussed. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: In press Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Submitted.

The purpose of this study is to from a client point of view study the release process. The first issue is which positive and negative aspects on the release situations that are revealed trough the interviews. The second issue is which changes that are needed to improve the conditions for the release work to be crime preventive. The study has been performed by means of qualitative interviews with clients, and one person with a long professional experience of treatment of offenders. The results show that the release work has generally not been successful. This is, according to the clients, due to a lack of cooperation between the client and the authorities. The clients also mean that their own motivation is the base for change, but that they may need help to mobilize the motivation. The next step is to se to that the soberness and the motivation obtained during the time in prison is not destroyed shortly after release. This is a significant risk that has been described both in previous research and by the interviewees. It is a paradox to from one day as institutionalised to the next day as released be expected to take responsibility for all aspects of life. The release process is not finished when the prisoner leaves the prison. The subsequent release work needs to be improved. A possibility that came up during the interviews is to set up a post-release system in the form of apartments owned by the local authorities. Crime is a symptom of both social system problems and personal problems. However, both the previous research and the result of this study show a tendency that the client’s will to change often meets hinders caused by the social systems. It is on the social system level that improvements in the first place are needed. / Syftet med studien är att ur klientperspektiv studera frigivningssituationen. Första frågeställningen är vilka positiva och/eller negativa omständigheter som kommer fram om frigivningsarbetet. Den andra frågeställningen är vad som behöver förändras för att skapa bättre förutsättningar för att frigivningsarbetet ska förebygga återfall i brott. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av kvalitativa intervjuer med klienter samt en person med lång yrkeserfarenhet inom kriminalvården. Resultatet visar att frigivningsarbetet inte fungerat tillfredsställande. Detta har enligt klienterna sin grund i bristande samverkan mellan klient, Kriminalvård och övriga samhällsaktörer. Klienterna menar även att deras egen vilja är grunden för förändring men att det kan behövas hjälp att väcka den. Nästa steg är att se till att den nykterhet och vilja som uppnåtts under anstaltstiden inte raseras direkt efter frigivningen. Detta är en reell risk som har beskrivits både i intervjusvaren och i tidigare forskning. Det innebär en paradox att ena dagen vara institutionaliserad intagen till att som frigiven förväntas ta ansvar för sitt liv på alla plan. Frigivningsprocessen är inte avslutad i och med att klienten lämnar anstalten. Det frigivningsarbete som kvarstår behöver förbättras. Ett förslag som presenteras i intervjusvaren är inrättandet av ett mellansystem i form av kommunalägt boende. Kriminalitet är ett symtom på samhällsproblem likväl som det har individuella orsaker. I den tidigare forskningen och i intervjusvaren framtonar dock en bild av hur klientens vilja till förändring hindras av den ram samhällssystemet skapar. Det är i första hand på samhällsnivån som förbättringar behövs.

It is no secret that over the last several decades, prison populations have grown exponentially due to an increasingly “tough on crime” policy stance and war on drugs. Although male offending populations continue to make up the majority of prison inmates nationwide, the fastest growing prison population has actually been female offenders, many who are locked up for nonviolent offenses like drug possession and larceny. Until recently, female offenders have been treated as an afterthought to male-dominated prison statistics. However, further research shows that female offending patterns are starkly different from their male counterparts, and women are contributing to higher recidivism rates because of their unmet needs prior to, during, and after incarceration. Therefore, this paper argues that state and federal governments must institute gender-responsive policies in order to combat stubbornly high recidivism rates through reentry alternatives, especially halfway houses.

Questo lavoro si pone come obiettivo la verifica del legame esistente tra esperienza di carcerazione e rischio di recidiva. Il punto di partenza è costituito dall'esame delle teorie della pena a partire dal contributo della sociologia. L'approdo teorico di questa analisi è la rilevazione delle ambivalenze e dei nodi irrisolti dell'agire punitivo, che trovano piena esplicazione nella forma di penalità per eccellenza dell'epoca moderna: il carcere. Di quest'ultimo vengono esaminati gli esiti criminogeni e le finalità che contrastano con gli obiettivi risocializzanti dell'agire punitivo. Da questa riflessione scaturisce la convinzione, comune a molti sociologi, che esista un legame tra carcere e recidiva. La ricerca empirica intende verificare l'esistenza di questo legame, attraverso la ricostruzione del punto di vista del soggetto deviante. Mediante la realizzazione di interviste in profondità a un gruppo di 18 tra detenuti (11) ed ex detenuti (7) si è cercato di comprendere se e in che modo l'esperienza detentiva incoraggi l'interiorizzazione di un sé deviante e la rappresentazione di un futuro irrimediabilmente compromesso in chiave criminale. Le nostre conclusioni possono essere riassunte in due punti principali: (1) vi è uno stretto legame tra carcerazione e recidiva (2) non vi sono differenze significative tra carcerati ed ex carcerati per quanto riguarda il modo in cui descrivono e interpretano le loro esperienze e il legame di queste con la recidiva. / This research aims to examine the association between incarceration and recidivism. The starting point is an exam of the main penal theories in a sociological perspective, which resulted in discovering and highlighting the ambivalence of the main penal practice of our time, imprisonment. We then examine the criminogenic outcome of imprisonment, which is a clear denial of its resocialization purposes. From this analysis we claim the existence of a direct association between imprisonment in a correctional institution and recidivism. The empirical research aims to verify this association, from the point of view of a representative sample of inmates and former inmates. To do this, we carried out 18 interviews with 11 inmates and 7 former inmates. Our goal was understanding whether and how imprisonment promotes the creation of a deviant personality and the representation of a future still stuck in crime. Our conclusions may be summarized in two main points: (1) there is a strong association between incarceration and recidivism and (2) there aren't noticeable differences between inmates and former inmates in terms of how they describe and read their experiences and their association with recidivism.

This research investigates and documents the nature of the challenges faced by men upon their release from federal incarceration in the Province of Saskatchewan. Due to the high number of Aboriginal peoples incarcerated in Saskatchewan, this research necessarily investigates the differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ex-prisoners. A qualitative approach is employed in order to understand post-incarceration from the perspectives of those who have experienced what it is like to return to the community after prison and those who work with men making this transition. This thesis fastidiously describes parole board hearings, the difficulties related to integrating into society as perceived by ex-prisoners, and the role of the service providers and agencies in Saskatoon that assist former inmates. It is shown that there are certain difficulties common among ex-prisoners, such as finding employment and housing and accessing appropriate support resources. The particular difficulties of Aboriginal ex-prisoners are highlighted, revealing that the difficulties experienced by all ex-prisoners appear to be amplified for Aboriginal ex-prisoners. Racism and the overall disadvantaged position of Aboriginal peoples in Canada are identified as significant barriers to Aboriginal ex-prisoners attempting to integrate into the community.

The utility of crime desistance research for community management and rehabilitation of offenders is evident; however this field of research is relatively recent. Theoretical research on crime desistance has varied over the years, although generally the field has been divided between perspectives focusing on either social or psychological causes. In addition, much of the research is plagued with methodological problems, such as an abundance of retrospective studies and unrepresentative offender samples. The present study proposes a framework of crime desistance that integrates the social and psychological perspectives and is compatible with current views on offender rehabilitation. This framework entitled, the Positive Self Change (PSC) framework, generally states that crime occurs and is maintained when basic psychological needs are not being satisfied. When deprived needs causing crime are satisfied in an optimal manner, autonomous motivation to desist and reductions in crime-related factors will follow, resulting in crime desistance. The goal of the study is to develop and provide some support for this framework of crime desistance and compare it to the currently dominating theory of crime desistance, the revised age-graded informal social control (AGISC) theory. Two studies were conducted utilizing a multimethod approach. The first quantitative study prospectively tested whether aspects of the PSC framework are supported by determining whether the framework can predict crime desistance in 60 released offenders after a 7-year follow-up and compare it to the currently dominating explanation of crime desistance. The second study is a prospective case study of 3 federal offenders during their first few months of release from federal incarceration. Results provide support for the development of the PSC framework. Protective strategies, motivation and criminogenic risk factors significantly predicted crime desistance after 7 years. In addition, the PSC framework significantly added to the prediction of the AGISC theory for 2 of the 4 crime desistance outcome measures. Study 2 also provided some support and explanation to the findings of study 1. The final section presents a discussion of the overall conclusions, implications of the results, limitations and future directions.

Research has found support for the effectiveness of procedural justice, specifically perceived fairness, in gaining compliance from people with respect to the police and the courts (Sunshine & Tyler, 2003; Tyler, 1984; Tyler, 2001). Further, research has examined the effectiveness in jail-based residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) programs in reducing recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems (Bahr, Harris, Strobell, & Taylor, 2012; Eisenberg & Fabelo, 1996; Hiller, Knight, & Simpson, 1999). However, research has yet to test whether procedural justice can impact recidivism for offenders with substance abuse problems and multiple incarcerations. The major focus of this Master’s thesis was to examine whether 78 participants in the 90-day jail-based RSAT program known as Starting Treatment and Recovery Today (START) were less likely to be rearrested after release from jail if they felt they were treated fairly by the jail staff. Bivariate analyses were conducted on survey data and official criminal records. The findings suggest that perceived fairness of the jail staff was not related to post-program recidivism. Moreover, the results indicate that offenders with more extensive criminal histories were more likely to recidivate. Recommendations for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

This research investigates and documents the nature of the challenges faced by men upon their release from federal incarceration in the Province of Saskatchewan. Due to the high number of Aboriginal peoples incarcerated in Saskatchewan, this research necessarily investigates the differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ex-prisoners. A qualitative approach is employed in order to understand post-incarceration from the perspectives of those who have experienced what it is like to return to the community after prison and those who work with men making this transition. This thesis fastidiously describes parole board hearings, the difficulties related to integrating into society as perceived by ex-prisoners, and the role of the service providers and agencies in Saskatoon that assist former inmates. It is shown that there are certain difficulties common among ex-prisoners, such as finding employment and housing and accessing appropriate support resources. The particular difficulties of Aboriginal ex-prisoners are highlighted, revealing that the difficulties experienced by all ex-prisoners appear to be amplified for Aboriginal ex-prisoners. Racism and the overall disadvantaged position of Aboriginal peoples in Canada are identified as significant barriers to Aboriginal ex-prisoners attempting to integrate into the community.

The paper constructs recidivism prediction models for women drug prisoners, using the 10 factors evaluated in "drug recidivism risk assessment form" by correctional institutions and the 18 factors studied in the literature. With the new recidivism prediction model, I hope to help improving the prediction accuracy of women drug prisoners¡¦ recidivism. The sample in the paper includes 1,029 drug prisoners released from Kaohsiung Women's Prison between 2008 and 2011. All criminal records are traced until the end of 2011. Two sets of potential risk factors of recidivism are considered in the paper. The first set only contains the factors in the evaluation form, and the second set includes all relevant factors. Using Logistic Regression Analysis and Survival Analysis, the effects of potential risk factors on recidivism are examined. I also predict the probability and the time interval of recidivism. Using the Logistic regression model with the risk factors only in the evaluation form, 58.4% of recidivism can be correctly predicted. While extending the set of potential risk factors, the screening rate of recidivism can be enhanced to 73.3%. The median forecast results are far superior to the average forecast in Survival Analysis. With the potential risk factors in the evaluation form, the difference of predicted recidivism date and the actual date is less than 60 days and less than 180 days in 2.5% and 9.6% of sample respectively. With all relevant risk factors, prediction, the share of sample whose difference of predicted recidivism date and the actual date is less than 60 days and less than 180 days are significantly improved to 10.2% and 27.3% respectively.