NCJ Number
96244
Date Published
1983
Length
80 pages
Annotation
This guide to community involvement with prisons discusses British statutory and traditional forms of citizen contact with inmates and briefly describes specific British citizen-inmate projects initiated by the community and by prisons.
Abstract
Benefits to the prison of increased community involvement include better citizen understanding of prisons and an expansion of the resources a prison has at its disposal by brinqinq in teachers, leisure activities, work, aftercare facilities, and counselors. Ways in which prisoners benefit from community involvement include reduction in inmates' sense of alienation from the community, inmates' having the opportunity to do something positive for the community, inmates' having outlets for energy, and inmates' having contact with nonoffenders. Community service by prisoners can be a valuable resource, and it makes the community feel it is helping the prisoner to change. Statutory and traditional forms of contact between citizens and inmates include the prison visitor, the board of visitors, voluntary associates, and the local review committees. Projects initiated by the community involve arts, coordinating and advisory aqencies, counseling, qroups for change, leisure, preparation for release, prisoner and family aid, and victim support services. Projects initiated by the prisons include arts, community service by prisoners, education, information exchange, sports and competitions, victim projects, and prison visiting programs. Questions suggested by the many and varied contacts between prison and community are listed.