Behavioral and Psychological Considerations in the Success of Prison Reform (From Are Prisons Any Better? Twenty Years of Correctional Reform, P 129-145, 1990, John W Murphy and Jack E Dison, eds. -- See NCJ-124361)

• NCJ Number: 124369
• Author(s): E Zamble
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Canadian prison reforms have not reduced recidivism, largely because they have not targeted crime causes that have been empirically proven.

Abstract

The Federal Canadian prison system has undergone substantial reform in the past two decades. It has changed from the rule of strict enforcement backed by physical force to the rule of law and regulation backed by administration, from a military-style organization to a civil bureaucracy. Although these changes were motivated primarily by concern to counter inmate unrest and misbehavior, crime reduction was also a goal. A review of Canadian recidivism studies over the past 20 years, however, shows the recidivism figure holding at between 40-50 percent over this period. Apparently, any prison reforms that have been achieved have not resulted in increased positive behavioral changes among inmates that translate into reduced criminal behavior after release. Effective change can come only from empirical knowledge of the behavioral and physical processes involved in the origin and maintenance of criminal behavior. Rehabilitation requires intervention in the behavioral processes in institutions. From this perspective, meaningful reform has yet to be attempted. 14 references.