The Setting The Captives Free Program (STCFP) is a spiritually based transformational entrepreneurial program whose goal is to help returning citizens discover, through God, a greater self-worth and purpose after prison. Using the theology of the Imago Dei, the curriculum helps them develop the three areas of the Imago Dei, the substantive, functional, and relational parts of themselves. As a means of becoming financially self-sustaining and applying their newfound freedom and post-carceral identity toward positive purposes, students are taught how to become entrepreneurs who own and operate their own small businesses. This not only reinforces their new identity but provides a practical, real-life option for economic stability and independence, with the hope of reducing recidivism one person at a time. This thesis surveys the historical and social context of mass incarceration and recidivism, establishes the theological foundations for the STCFP focusing on the Imago Dei and the Kavod (the glory of God’s divinity), and outlines the practical details of the STCFP curriculum.

In recent years, harsher sentences have been pursued in criminal offenses leading to an increase in the use of incarceration. Prisons, largely unable to keep up with this demand, have become overcrowded in most areas. In response to prison overcrowding, some jurisdictions have begun to experiment with electronically monitored house arrest. This thesis is composed of a literature review and proposed study of recidivism in electronic monitoring (EM) programs. The literature review is composed of a general review of the history of corrections, a review of literature on electronic monitoring programs and social bond theory. The history of corrections serves to partially explain the emergence of electronic monitoring programs as an outcome of the adoption and failure of other forms of intermediate sanctions. The present state of electronic monitoring, including a description of the technology incorporated in these programs, the extent to which EM programs are implemented, and their cost effectiveness are discussed. In addition, some legal implications of its use are discussed. A review of previous research indicates numerous gaps in the existing evaluation of electronic monitoring programs. Because of these gaps many research questions are not sufficiently answered by the literature review. The rate of recidivism for EM programs compared to that of other correctional programs remains unclear. The underlying factors that affect the recidivism rate for EM programs also remains unclear. In addition, the effects on the offender, the offender’s family, peer group, and employment are not identified. The two reasons responsible for the inability of previous studies to adequately assess the rate of recidivism for EM programs compared to standard probation of parole and the underlying factors predicting recidivism are the exclusion of variables pertaining to the effects of electronic monitoring on the offender as well as the lack of theory needed to understand the relationships of recidivism, and type or correctional program. Literature on social bond theory is reviewed in order to provide theory to the examination of recidivism in electronic monitoring programs. Beginning with an explanation of Hirschi’s original work (1969), the review extends to empirical literature on the social bond. Finding this literature to be strongly supportive of social bond theory, it is adopted as a structure to examine recidivism. Primarily used in the study of delinquency, social bond theory is adapted to apply to the study of adult populations and recidivism, and the possible effects of EM on the social bond is discussed. A proposed research study is then presented examining the effects of EM on social bond factors and subsequently recidivism. The relevance of control variables, including length of sentence, type of offense, and prior convictions are discussed as well as the measurement of variables related to social bond theory. A structural equation model is developed that incorporates the control variables, bond variables, program variables, and recidivism, allowing for a simultaneous estimation of their relationships, using LISREL 8. It is hypothesized that EM programs, more than standard probation and parole positively affect the social bond of an offender to his or her family, peer group, and employment. In addition, it is believed that a stronger social bond to the institutions of family, peer group, and employment results in a lower incidence of recidivism. / Master of Science

Juvenile crime and recidivism continue to be significant, costly issues in American society. Employment contributes to successful reentry and lower recidivism. However, low self concept and problems with exploring careers and identifying options may interfere with juvenile offenders’ abilities to plan for employment and successfully carry out their plan. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the vocational assessment process on enhancing juvenile offender self concept by helping them learn more about themselves, career interests, and options. Participants included 61 juvenile offenders in the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice who were predominantly male (98.4%), African-American (57.4%), and 17 years of age (52.5%); half of the participants (50.8%) had not received a prior vocational assessment. The research design was quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest with data gathered using the Multidimensional Self Concept Scale (MSCS; Bracken, 1992), Self-Directed Search Form R (SDS; Holland, Powell, & Fritzsche, 1997) and focus groups. A 2x1 within-subjects repeated measures ANOVA with pairwise comparisons for pre- and post-tests demonstrated that the process did not improve participants’ global self concept (t=.000, p>.05) but did enhance competence self concept (t[60]=-2.35, p<.05). Although there were MSCS scales significantly correlated to race, it did not significantly affect the statistical outcomes as a covariate (p > .05). Focus group responses were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes, categories, and connections using a five-step procedure. Participants demonstrated overall favorable perceptions with a major theme that the process was helpful and with feelings of enjoyment and fun. Participants liked acquiring self knowledge and career information and exploration and liked least the amount of work and duration of the process. Suggested changes were less writing, making it computer-based, and addressing specific topics concerning offenders (e.g., jobs for offenders). Study limitations include generalizability, no comparison group, testing effects, length of the process, and environmental factors. The results contribute to developing vocational assessment process interventions for youth who have been adjudicated and committed to correctional facilities. Future research will focus on following-up to determine employment status, exploring demographic differences post-intervention, and replicating the study with similar juvenile offender populations. / Ph. D.

Crimes committed by juvenile offenders are a significant concern of society. In response to this concern, the juvenile justice system addresses juvenile crimes in a developmentally appropriate manner. The goal of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders and steer them from a life of crime and toward becoming productive members of society. Yet, some juvenile offenders continue to offend. While research has explored juvenile offenders’ perceptions of juvenile delinquency, re-entry, and recidivism, less is known about how the detention center prepares juvenile offenders for re-entry. The following study explores the perceptions of detained juvenile offenders in a southeastern detention center regarding how the detention center prepares them to reenter their communities and those efforts on preventing future recidivism. This study reviews how the detention center helps juvenile offenders connect to their communities through the lens of the social bond theory and developmental assets framework. By reviewing the interviews of detained juvenile offenders, the findings of this study contribute to the research literature and encourage future work in this area.

Inclusion has been embraced in many communities as a useful strategy in addressing learner diversity. Juveniles in correctional centres are usually different and have various needs. Applying inclusion in such a setup is envisaged to address the needs of diverse learners. The study focuses on how inclusion can be used as a strategy to promote social wellness of juvenile offenders in a bid to reduce recidivism and to facilitate smooth social re-integration. The aim of the study was to investigate and explore ways in which inclusion can be used to promote social wellness among juvenile offenders. The ecosystemic theoretical framework was used as a lens to explore the impact of social systems in the development of juvenile offenders. Qualitative research design was used and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Ten juveniles and teachers were selected in a Gauteng correctional centre on the basis of availability and willingness. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and all the information concerning the study was communicated to them. They were given consent forms to complete after they had agreed to participate. Findings revealed that education at the centre promotes social wellness and had resulted in positive behavioural change among most juveniles. Relationships among juveniles and with stakeholders also improved with education received at the centre. The major challenges faced were that teachers had not received adequate training in inclusion and inadequate psycho-social support was given to inmates. It was recommended that teachers be given in-service training in inclusion and how to deal with learners with behavioural challenges. More psycho- social support should be provided and family involvement to be intensified. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

Inclusion has been embraced in many communities as a useful strategy in addressing learner diversity. Juveniles in correctional centres are usually different and have various needs. Applying inclusion in such a setup is envisaged to address the needs of diverse learners. The study focuses on how inclusion can be used as a strategy to promote social wellness of juvenile offenders in a bid to reduce recidivism and to facilitate smooth social re-integration. The aim of the study was to investigate and explore ways in which inclusion can be used to promote social wellness among juvenile offenders. The ecosystemic theoretical framework was used as a lens to explore the impact of social systems in the development of juvenile offenders. Qualitative research design was used and data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Ten juveniles and teachers were selected in a Gauteng correctional centre on the basis of availability and willingness. Participants were informed that their participation was voluntary and all the information concerning the study was communicated to them. They were given consent forms to complete after they had agreed to participate. Findings revealed that education at the centre promotes social wellness and had resulted in positive behavioural change among most juveniles. Relationships among juveniles and with stakeholders also improved with education received at the centre. The major challenges faced were that teachers had not received adequate training in inclusion and inadequate psycho-social support was given to inmates. It was recommended that teachers be given in-service training in inclusion and how to deal with learners with behavioural challenges. More psycho- social support should be provided and family involvement to be intensified. / Inclusive Education / M. Ed. (Inclusive Education)

MA (Psychology) / Department of Psychology / Recidivism refers to re-offending behaviour, and recidivists are usually individuals who were arrested repeatedly for the same or different offences. The aim of this study was to explore the psychological effects of recidivism amongst male youth in Musina. This study employed the qualitative research approach because it required elaborated information which this paradigm promotes. This research adopted an exploratory design. The participants were selected through the use of purposive and snowball sampling. Data was gathered using semi-structured face to face interviews. The researcher used a voice recorder and a note pad to record the collected data. The findings of this study indicated that peer pressure, lack of education and unemployment, substance abuse, poverty, child neglect, parenting and supervision were the most common factors contributing to recidivism. The results of this study indicated that recidivists often commit petty crimes. The participants stated that these crimes included pick-pocketing, mugging, shoplifting and house breaking. Serious crimes were not common amongst the recidivists because only few of them committed serious crimes. The participants also reported that recidivism has negative impacts on their own personal lives, their families as well as on their education.

Thesis (M Social Work)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Juvenile offenders have certain characteristics, which separate them from the law abiding young people. These characteristics, together with the subcultures inside prison in which they become socialized, can cause dysfunctional development, which in turn can lead to recidivism. To approach this client system and plan intervention according to the ecological perspective, the social worker needs to be equipped with a certain knowledge base. Firstly, knowledge is necessary about the profile of the juvenile offender. Secondly, the social worker has to understand the impact that a prison environment can have on the juvenile. Thirdly, it is also important that the worker knows how these factors can influence the intervention process and also be aware of different methods to strengthen the social functioning of the juvenile in pnson. This study endeavours to create a scientifically based framework for the development of a strategy for intervention with the juvenile offender, in order to bring about appropriate social functioning and by doing this, reduce recidivism. The research includes aspects of all three the recognized types of research, namely: exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. The profile of the juvenile offender, as well as ways in which the prison environment impacts on his development was determined by means of interviews and described in terms of the effect it might have on the intervention process. The respondents consisted of 11 ex juvenile offenders. Conclusions and recommendations were made which focussed, amongst others, on the various phases in the group work process and the development of knowledge regarding the juvenile offender. This research report can be utilized by social workers for effective intervention with juvenile offenders in prison. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Jeugoortreders het sekere karaktereienskappe wat hul van wetsgehoorsame jeugdiges onderskei. Hierdie karaktertrekke, tesame met die gevangeniskultuur waarbinne hul gesosialiseer word, veroorsaak disfunksionele ontwikkeling wat weer na residivisme kan lei. Om volgens 'n ekologiese perspektief intervensie met hierdie kliëntsisteem te benader, is dit eerstens noodsaaklik dat die maatskaplike werker die profiel van die jeugmisdadiger ken. Tweedens is dit nodig dat die werker die impak van die gevangenisomgewing op die jeugdige verstaan. Derdens is dit belangrik dat die werker weet hoe hierdie faktore op die hulpverleningsproses kan impakteer en ook bewus moet wees van verskeie metodes om die jeugdige in die gevangenis se maatskaplike funksionering te beïnvloed. Hierdie studie bevat kenmerke van al drie die erkende navorsingsdoelstellings, naamlik verkenning, beskrywing en verklaring. Die ondersoek het ten doel om 'n wetenskaplik gefundeerde raamwerk daar te stel vir die ontwikkeling van 'n intervensiestrategie ten opsigte van jeugmisdadigers in die gevangenis, ten einde funksionele maatskaplike funksionering mee te bring en sodoende residivisme te verminder. Die profiel van die jeugmisdadiger en die impak van die omgewing op sy ontwikkeling is deur middel van onderhoude bepaal en beskryf in terme van die invloed wat dit op die intervensieproses kan hê. Respondente in die navorsing het uit elf vrygelate jeugmisdadigers bestaan. Gevolgtrekkings en aanbevelings is gemaak wat onder andere gefokus het op die verskeie fases in die groepwerkproses en ontwikkeling van kennis oor die betrokke kliëntsisteem. Hierdie navorsingsverslag sal deur maatskaplike werkers benut kan word vir effektiewe hulpverlening aan jeugdiges in die gevangenis.

The sexual abuse of children is an issue that society must address with urgency and commitment, given the profoundly damaging effects and widespread occurrence of this kind of crime. Providing psychological treatment to identified offenders is an important endeavour of the criminal justice system, with the aim of reducing recidivism and thereby preventing future victims. This dissertation explores a number of areas relevant to the treatment of sexual offenders on a sample of 223 adult males who completed a prison-based programme for child sexual offenders in New Zealand. Specifically, the assessment of treatment outcome and its relationship with recidivism, risk assessment, and the influence of specific offender factors on estimates of treatment outcome and risk were investigated. Study 1 (N = 218) is an independent validation of the validity of the Violence Risk Scale: Sexual Offender Version (VRS:SO; Olver, Wong, Nicholaichuk, & Gordon, 2007), a recently developed risk assessment instrument for sexual offenders that incorporates both static and dynamic risk factors and contains protocols for the assessment of change as a result of treatment. Results indicate support for the inter-rater reliability, concurrent validity, and predictive validity of the VRS:SO with regard to sexual recidivism, with pre-treatment and post-treatment scores showing superior predictive validity relative to a widely used measure of static risk (Static-99; Hanson & Thornton, 1999) and a measure of "Deviance" based on a 4-factor battery of relevant psychometric tests (Allan, Grace, Rutherford, & Hudson, 2007). In Study 2 (N = 218), three separate methods of assessing proximal treatment outcome (representative of three categories of treatment outcome measures that have previously been applied in the literature) are applied and compared in terms of their predictive validity with regard to sexual recidivism, and the relative advantages and disadvantages of their use. These measures are: change on a battery of relevant psychometric tests administered prior to and following treatment; change across treatment on the VRS:SO; and post-treatment ratings of the attainment of treatment goals as measured by a modified version of Hogue’s (1994) Standard Goal Attainment Scaling for Sexual Offenders (SGAS). Results indicate that positive treatment outcomes as measured by all of these methods are associated with reduced sexual recidivism. SGAS scores are identified as being relatively simple and efficient to obtain, however the VRS:SO and the psychometric battery are both able to provide useful pre-treatment clinical information regarding potential treatment targets for a particular offender. Study 3 (N = 223) and Study 4 (N = 216) are explorations of the influence of particular offender characteristics on response to treatment and risk of recidivism. Of particular interest was the personality construct of psychopathy (measured using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, PCL-R; Hare, 1991), and both studies are attempted replications and extensions of previously reported interaction effects involving this construct (Heilbrun, 1979; Seto & Barbaree, 1999). The results of Study 3 indicate that there is no interaction effect between PCL-R scores and treatment outcome (as measured by the SGAS) on sexual recidivism, in contrast to an influential study by Seto and Barbaree (1999). Study 4 reports an interaction effect between PCL-R scores and intelligence on recidivism, such that higher than average IQ scores appear to moderate the well-known association between psychopathy and risk. Overall, the findings reported in this dissertation suggest the importance of considering dynamic factors as well as static factors in sex offender risk assessments, and support the premise that dynamic factors are changeable, with change being associated with changes in recidivism. The potential for certain offender characteristics to influence treatment response and risk of recidivism is highlighted, and several areas for further exploration are identified.

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