Removed From the Community: Prisoners and the Probation Service (From Probation and the Community, P 83-99, 1987, John Harding, ed. -- See NCJ-116499)

• NCJ Number: 116504
• Author(s): T Raban
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 17 pages
• Sale Source: Tavistock Publications/Methuen, Inc
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Communities provide contexts in which people establish roles and a sense of identity -- a context that is removed by imprisonment.

Abstract

Prisoners become institutional property, and the person is confirmed only through the distorting mirror of the prison world. Thus, prisons may erode or sever inmates' ties with the community and may undermine the very skills needed to survive after release. There is a need for both Prison and Probation Service to take steps to minimize the damage caused by incarceration in the interests of both the inmate and the community. In prison, the institution should be responsible for the day-to-day welfare of inmates, assistance in helping inmates maintain and develop skills needed upon release, and ensuring that there are effective channels of communication between inmates and their families, friends, and community agencies. In the community, the probation officer should work toward sustaining and developing community links and confirming the inmate's individuality. Finally, the two services should cooperatively work to ensure that the community dimension is represented in the prison during times of review, allocation, assessment for home leave and hostel selection, and prior to release; and to aid in the identification of community resources in such as areas as welfare rights, accommodations, domestic matters, and training. 30 references.