NCJ Number
146539
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 32 Issue: 4 Dated: (November 1993) Pages: 271-275
Date Published
1993
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the initial results of a study that examined the potential of offenders for running small businesses and the current provision of small-business training in prisons and by probation services in the United Kingdom.
Abstract
The researchers used a combination of questionnaire surveys of inmates and ex-offenders in the community to establish the entrepreneurial potential of these groups and identify the numbers who have been or intend to become self- employed or operate their own businesses. Prison education departments and probation agencies were also surveyed to determine their provision of small-business training. The Test of General Enterprising Tendency was administered to approximately 130 offenders currently serving prison sentences in a cross-section of prison categories. To date, the sample of offenders who have completed the test is too small for a valid statistical analysis. Initial results, however, do not support the tentative hypothesis that offenders as a group have entrepreneurial attributes. Forty percent of the sample stated they had been in business for themselves, which is a higher figure than might be expected from the general population. Given the high percentage of offenders who have been self-employed, prisons and probation agencies should provide small-business training. Prisons currently give higher priority to small-business training than do probation agencies. Both institutions should upgrade and coordinate such training. 7 references