NCJ Number
63513
Date Published
1976
Length
129 pages
Annotation
DATA ON A SAMPLE OF 216 INMATES WHO WERE INCARCERATED IN DENMARK'S PRISONS IN 1968 AND 1969 WERE ANALYZED TO DETERMINE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN PRISONIZATION AND RECIDIVISM.
Abstract
DATA WERE GATHERED BOTH FROM THE CENTRAL REGISTER AND FROM RECORDS AT KRAGSKOHEVDE, AN OPEN PRISON WITH A CAPACITY OF ABOUT 200. THE SUBJECTS HAD COMMITTED MOSTLY PROPERTY OFFENSES AND WERE MOSTLY MALE. MORE THAN HALF WERE BETWEEN 20 AND 30 YEARS OF AGE AT THE TIME THEY WERE INCARCERATED AND MOST HAD NO SKILLS OR SOURCE OF INCOME. MOST WERE SENTENCED TO 1 TO 12 MONTHS IN PRISON. THE SUBJECTS WERE FOLLOWED IN THEIR ACTIVITIES FOR A 2-2.5 YEAR PERIOD SUBSEQUENT TO THEIR RELEASE. SEVERAL VARIABLES WERE USED AS DESCRIPTORS OF THE SUBJECTS' PREINCARCERATION SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT TO ENABLE COMPARISON WITH THEIR POSTRELEASE ADJUSTMENT. THESE VARIABLES INCLUDED HOME LIFE, SCHOOL CAREER, LOCATION DURING CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE, AND HISTORY AND CONSEQUENCES OF DELINQUENCY. MEASURES OF PRISONIZATION WERE DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS AND OTHER NEGATIVE INCIDENTS DURING THE INMATES' INCARCERATION, METHOD OF RELEASE, SOCIAL AND LAW ABIDING BEHAVIOR AS DESCRIBED AT TIME OF RELEASE AND REFLECTED IN SPECIAL DIVISION, WORK AND RECREATION ASSIGNMENTS WHILE IN PRISON. ALL SUBJECTS WERE CATEGORIZED INTO FOUR LEVELS OF PRISONIZATION: WORST, BEST GROUP, MIDDLE GROUP, AND OUTSIDER GROUP (TRANSFER OR RELEASE OR RELEASE WITH NO CITATIONS FOR DISCIPLINE). STATISTICS ON RECIDIVISM FOR ALL 216 SUBJECTS WERE COLLECTED FROM THE CENTRAL REGISTER AND INCLUDED LENGTH OF PERIOD BETWEEN RELEASE AND RECIDIVIST OFFENSE, TYPE OF OFFENSE, AND TYPE OF SENTENCE. BESIDES VARIABLES USED TO CONSTRUCT THESE THREE MAIN DIMENSIONS, RESEARCHERS ADDED DATA ON A FEW VARIABLES SUCH AS AGE, EMPLOYMENT, ALCOHOL USE, PRESENT SENTENCE IF ANY, AND CIVIL STATUS. FINDINGS INDICATED A CORRELATION BETWEEN PRISONIZATION AND LATER ABILITY TO AVOID RECIDIVISM. NEARLY HALF (48.3 PERCENT) OF THE SUBJECTS ASSIGNED TO THE BEST GROUP DID NOT RECIDIVATE. ANOTHER INFLUENCE ON POSTRELEASE SOCIALIZATION WAS UPBRINGING. A TOTAL OF 37.2 PERCENT OF ALL SUBJECTS WHOSE UPBRINGING WAS CLASSIFIED AS POOR HAD LOW SOCIALIZATION SCORES. IN ADDITION, THE OPEN PRISON, KRAGSKOHEVDE, HAD FEWER RECIDIVISTS ON THE AVERAGE THAN THE CLOSED PRISONS WITH MORE AUTHORITARIAN CLIMATES. FURTHER CONCLUSIONS, THE STUDY DATA AND METHODOLOGY, AND 38 REFERENCES ARE PRESENTED.