Environmental Outline of a Youth Prison in Catalogna; Five Years Evaluation (From The Future of the Juvenile Justice System, P 411-428, 1991, Josine Junger-Tas and Leonieke Boendermaker, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-133019)

• NCJ Number: 133049
• Author(s): S Redondo; M Roca; E Perez; A Sanchez; E Deumal
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 18 pages
• Sale Source: ACCO Tiensestraat 134-136
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: Belgium
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS. A paper from an international conference on the future of the juvenile justice system, May 29-31, 1989, in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands.

Annotation

This evaluation of the Barcelona Youth Penitentiary Center (Spain) which has a treatment program based in incentives for inmates to behave constructively shows that the institution is having its intended impact on the inmates.

Abstract

The institution's programs include academic education, sports activities, work, and the modification of problem behaviors. The program is divided into four classification levels through which the inmates move in a treatment progression. Inmates are motivated to progress by a system that keys goods and services to behavioral performance. Inmates are periodically assessed by a multidisciplinary team. The evaluation encompassed the first 5 years of the institution's operation. The evaluation included surveys of education and security staff, an examination of disciplinary records, inmate behavioral evaluation, and inmate interviews. Data on offending after release were also obtained. The program did produce greater inmate participation than other centers with more traditional programs. Inmate violence and misbehavior was less, and recidivism rates were also lower. Inmates that progressed to the final stage of the program had lower recidivism rates than those who remained in the lower stages until release. 10 figures and 38 references