NCJ Number
209948
Journal
Punishment & Society Volume: 7 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2005 Pages: 201-215
Date Published
April 2005
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article examines some of the main aspects of the prison furlough program in Greece and presents key research questions.
Abstract
Prison furlough refers to the release of prisoners/inmates on a temporary license or home leave, and was first introduced in Greece by Greek penal legislation. After its implementation, prison furlough received significant criticism by the media with statements of prisoner abuse of furloughs. This article focuses on the first and most frequently applied of the three types of furlough provided by the Greek Correctional Code. The study measured and evaluated the extent to which furloughed inmates at a prison violated the condition of returning to the establishment on time, assessed the issue of failures to return to prison at all, and explained why non-Greeks were granted furloughs to a substantially smaller degree than Greeks. Participants in the study included: 47 non-Greek and 115 Greek prisoners. The findings from this 4-month research study can be regarded as positive. Failures to return to prison on time were very rare, while failures to return at all seemed to be under control. Further analysis is recommended, however the study concludes by focusing on vacuums and inconsistencies of the Greek correctional legislation. Tables and references