NCJ Number
221421
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: November/December 2007 Pages: 8-11,13
Date Published
November 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Twenty-three years after his first study, the author presents findings on the status of initial participants in Israel's Kibbutz Resocialization Program, whose goal is to rehabilitate repeat offenders after their release from incarceration by placing them in the kibbutz, a democratic socialist collective.
Abstract
The reoffending rate of the 110 participants enrolled in the Kibbutz Resocialization Program from 1983 to 1998 was significantly lower than that of the general population of released Israeli inmates. The reoffending rate of program participants 5 to 18 years postprogram release was 22.7 percent. This figure contrasts with the 77 percent reoffending rate reported by Hassin (1989) and that of 60 percent reported by Cohen, Eden, and Lazar (1991). Their data were based on a 5-year followup of a representative sample of released Israeli inmates. The relative success of this ongoing program, which rehabilitates repeat offenders on a small budget using nonprofessionals, offers hope that there is a cost-effective rehabilitative environment that can either shorten prison terms or be an alternative to imprisonment. In order to be eligible for enrollment in the Kibbutz Resocialization Program, offenders must be less than 30 years old; single without children; not convicted of sex offenses, premeditated murder, or security offenses; not currently addicted to drugs; recommended by a social worker based on behavior in prison; and approved for release from prison into the program by the program coordinator and the parole board. Offenders sign a contract that requires them to adopt the kibbutz way of life, which is founded on work, equality, mutual help, and social responsibility. They pledge to accept the guidance of their adoptive family, whom they met while still in prison. Offenders must agree not to visit past friends or close family members. They cannot leave the kibbutz without permission from their adoptive families. 4 tables and 20 references