Development of Resocialization Process for Recidivists in the Social Readaptation Center of Biedkowo - Report of Studies (From Troisieme seminaire regional du CICC en Europe centrale, 1976, V 1 - Les mesures post-penales, P 62-84, Alice Parizeau, ed. - See NCJ-70486)

• NCJ Number: 70489
• Author(s): S Walczak; M Porowski; A Balandynowicz
• Date Published: 1977
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: French
• Country: Canada

Annotation

The effectiveness of the social readaptation center in Biekowo, Poland, is evaluated.

Abstract

The study, conducted in 1976, uses samples of 100 recidivists placed in the Biekowo center. The subjects are predominantly workers over 30 years old with only primary education and a fairly high divorce rate (about 50 percent). About 81 percent of the subjects became involved in criminal activities between the ages of 15 and 30, and all have been convicted more than once of property offenses. Only 21.8 percent of the subjects had engaged in useful work during their prison stay and only about one-third took advantage of educational opportunities. Seventy-seven of the subjects have been punished for disobeying rules. All complain especially about lack of contact with other persons during imprisonment. Many were placed in the center by penitentiary courts after protective custody proved a failure. Work is the chief resocialization technique used. Most of the sample subjects report working to improve conditions of their stay in the center and find that the work makes their stay less painful. However, 70 percent wish to change the type of work they are doing after release. Most are compensated for their work. Disciplinary punishments are common in the sample, especially for alcoholic beverage sales and consumption; such punishments are strongly resented by residents. About 87 percent of the subjects have outside contacts. Social education is available to inhabitants but recreational opportunities are minimal. Subjects complain of their lack of influence in recreative and administrative decisions. Thirty-nine of the subjects find no difference between the center and prison, while 61 percent note differences in the degree of freedom and the wage levels. Study findings suggest that the organization of the center and the work method of resocialization strongly resemble the structure and techniques of prisons. Therapeutic educational programs are replaced by disciplinary punishments, just as in the prison setting. Furthermore, subjects are frequently placed in the center already during the course of court proceedings, suggesting recognition of the ineffectiveness of protective supervision. In general, the present resocialization model does not favor social integration but instead encourages further isolation from developmental stimulus. Notes and tables are supplied.