NCJ Number
73942
Date Published
1980
Length
100 pages
Annotation
The paper describes the Community Involvement Group (CIG) program at the James River Correctional Center in Virginia, analyzes the effect of CIG membership on the inmates, and assesses the outside community's reactions to the group.
Abstract
CIG is an inmate-initiated group devoted to working with the community both inside and outside the prison walls in such activities as institutional sports tournaments, clean-up campaigns, and juvenile awareness programs. The Correctional Institutions Environment Scale (CIES) and the Rotter's Locus of Control were administered to a group of 22 CIG members and a matched control group of 21 inmates. CIG members scored higher on seven of the nine CIES scales and were shown, on the Rotter's scale, to be internally-oriented than the non-CIG inmates. A t-test showed a significant difference in the Involvement Scale a and a near significant difference on the Personal Problem Orientation and the Staff Control Scales. CIG members perceived themselves as more involved in the daily functioning of the institution, as having more social interactions with the residents, as taking more initiative in participating with others, and as developing a sense of group spirit beyond that being achieved by their non-CIG counterparts. CIG members also felt that they were more encouraged to be aware of their personal problems and feelings than were non-CIG members. To assess the community's attitude about CIG, a survey was mailed to 42 individuals representing professional staff from a variety of public and private agencies served by CIG over the past 7 years. The survey instrument contained 33 statements with Likert-type responses covering areas dealing with inmate self-worth, the effect on the James River Correctional Center, juvenile rap sessions, the need for expansion, and education of the public. The survey results suggested that community users have positive feelings about the work of the Community Involvement Group. The CIG Constitution and By-Laws, the CIG juvenile sessions format, the CIG survey and responses, and the CIG members' background variables are included in the 10 appendixes. Eight references and nine tables are included.