Book Chapter•
Prisoner resettlement in Spain : good practices for early-released prisoners and prisoners lost in transition that fully serve their sentence
01 Jan 2019-pp 313-327
TL;DR: The Spanish Constitution states that prison sentences should be aimed at rehabilitation and resettlement as discussed by the authors, and according to this principle, the Spanish prison rules provide a progressive system of enforcement of prison sentences that promotes supervised early release as a way to facilitate reintegration in the community.
Abstract: The Spanish Constitution establishes that prison sentences should be aimed at rehabilitation and resettlement. According to this principle, the Spanish prison rules provide a progressive system of enforcement of prison sentences that promotes supervised early release as a way to facilitate reintegration in the community. The process of reintegration should start in prison –where criminogenic needs should be tackled– and continue in the community, addressing financial, family and job settlement issues. This ideal system seems to work effectively with prisoners that are early released. These prisoners benefited from the professional supervision of the probation system and from the help of third sector organizations that work in partnership with the penitentiary system. However, there is an important shortcoming of the Spanish system, because a relevant part of prisoners are only released after having served the full sentence and therefore are excluded from this transitional return to the community.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the criteria used in order to determine if a leave is granted, the wide discretion that psychologists in particular enjoy, and why this procedure might be experienced by the prisoner as unfair.
Abstract: This paper explains the institution of prison leave in Spain. Firstly, I will briefly describe the regulations governing prison leave and provide data on its use in Spain. I will point out that although half the prison population benefits from a prison leave, a main problem is that it is granted at a very late stage of the sentence, and that immigrants have a very low probability of obtaing it. Secondly, I will explain the criteria used in order to determine if a leave is granted, the wide discretion that psychologists in particular enjoy, and why this procedure might be experienced by the prisoner as unfair. Thirdly, I will describe the mixed system that allows both Prison Boards and Judges to make decisions about leave and how this often produces confusing results for prisoners. For instance, a positive prison report being followed by a negative judicial response due to the wide discretion that judicial authorities also enjoy. Finally, I draw some tentative conclusions about how a lack of clear criteria and procedure in relation to prison leave might also affect legitimacy in prison.
10 citations
Cites background from "Prisoner resettlement in Spain : go..."
...From this data it can be confirmed that the key element of the Spanish system of early release begins with a prison leave (Cid and Ibàñez 2019)....
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...This is a problem, because it avoids progression to open prison and to conditional release, so ultimately about 70% of the prisoners serve all their sentence in a medium security prison (Cid and Ibàñez 2019)....
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01 Feb 2021
TL;DR: Marta Marti et al. as mentioned in this paper described the Catalan open prison model, characterized by the fact that prisoners serve the sentence in full semi-liberty; that is, by day they work and spend time with their families or doing other activities, but return to prison to sleep.
Abstract: Open prisons are low-security penitentiary institutions in which life conditions are less strict than in closed prisons, and where prisoners have more contact with the outside world Despite sharing important features, some variations can be found in the model of open prisons in different countries This article describes the Catalan open prison model, characterized by the fact that prisoners serve the sentence in full semi-liberty; that is, by day they work and spend time with their families or doing other activities, but return to prison to sleep As a contribution to the comparative study of open prisons, I describe here how Catalan open prisons are run and discuss the concept of ‘openness’ with reference, above all, to the open prisons that exist in Scandinavian countries This work shows that the degree of openness of open prisons varies considerably between different countries – therefore approaching community penalties or closed prisons in a greater or lesser extent – and suggests that the role that open prisons are granted in each penal system is part of the explanation1
1)Marta Marti holds a PhD in Law (Criminology) Currently, she is working as an external consultant for the International Committee of the Red Cross in El Salvador and she is member of the Research Group in Criminology and Criminal Justice System of Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain) This article is based on her PhD dissertation, ‘One foot in and one foot out: serving a prison sentence in an open prison’, which was accepted in November 2018 in Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Spain) The full version of the dissertation (in Spanish) can be found on the following link: https://repositoriupfedu/handle/10230/36320 This article is part of the project ‘Ejecucion y supervision de la pena: calidad de la intervencion, legitimidad y reincidencia’ (DER2015-64403-P), funded by the Spanish Government
AbstractAbne faengsler har et lavere control-niveau end lukkede faengsler og indsatte i abne faengsler har mere kontakt til verden uden for faengslet Trods mange ligheder findes der ogsa en del forskelle imellem abne faengsler i forskellige lande I denneartikel praesenteres abne faengsler i Catalonien Disse er kendetegnet ved at de indsatte rent faktisk nyder delvis frihed Det indebaerer, at de i dagtimerne gar pa arbejde uden for faengslet eller tilbringer tid sammen med deres familie eller er beskaeftiget pa anden made i lokalomradet Om aftenen vender de tilbage til faengslet og tilbringer natten der I artiklen sammenlignes de catalanske abne faengsler med abne faengsler i Skandinavien Sammenligningen viser, at der er store forskelle i graden af abenhed i abne faengsler, nogle steder ligger de taettere pa samfunds-straffe og andre steder langt taettere pa lukkede faengsler Der argumenteres for, at en del af forklaringen her pa er, hvilken rolle i det samlede nationale straffesystem de abne faengsler har i forskellige lande
6 citations
TL;DR: In response to the pandemic that started in early 2020, prison systems around the world have adopted various strategies to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In response to the pandemic that started in early 2020, prison systems around the world have adopted various strategies to prevent the spread of Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). In Spain, the m...
3 citations
29 Apr 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a discussion with James B. Jacobs, author of the classic study on the sociology of prisons Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society, and examine the validity of his work 40 years later.
Abstract: espanolEste texto pertenece a una mesa redonda que ofrece un debate con James B. Jacobs, autor del clasico de la sociologia de las prisiones Stateville: The penitentiary in mass society, sobre la vigencia de su obra cuarenta anos despues. Este comentario presenta una reflexion acerca de las razones que han podido llevar al surgimiento de las prisiones privadas, confrontando argumentos que defienden su surgimiento por razones pragmaticas con otros que las situan como producto de la expansion hacia el castigo de la ideologia neoliberal. Por ultimo, se realiza una breve reflexion acerca de la posibilidad de que en el futuro este tipo de instituciones lleguen al contexto espanol. EnglishThis text forms part of a round table discussion with James B. Jacobs, author of the classic study on the sociology of prisons Stateville: The Penitentiary in Mass Society, and examines the validity of his work 40 years later. The commentary presents some thoughts on the reasons that have led to the emergence of private prisons. Arguments that defend privately operated penal facilities for pragmatic reasons are contrasted against those that view them as a product of an expanding neoliberal ideology towards punishment. Finally, a brief reflection is made about the possibility of introducing this kind of institutions in Spanish in the near future. catalaAquest text pertany a una taula rodona que ofereix un debat amb James B. Jacobs, autor del classic de la sociologia de les presons Stateville: The penitentiary in mass society, sobre la vigencia de la seva obra quaranta anys despres. Aquest comentari presenta una reflexio sobre les raons que han pogut portar al sorgiment de les presons privades, confrontant arguments que en defensen el sorgiment per raons pragmatiques amb uns altres que les situen com a producte de l'expansio cap al castig de la ideologia neoliberal. Finalment, es fa una breu reflexio sobre la possibilitat que en el futur aquest tipus d'institucions arribin al context espanyol.
13 May 2021
TL;DR: In this article, a survey of people that have experienced imprisonment in Catalonia reveals a more positive fulfilment of the principles of normalization and reintegration in comparison with previous literature, concerning both principles there are some aspects of concern that require implementing new policies.
Abstract: espanolEuropa ha construido una politica criminal humanitaria por lo que respecta al encarcelamiento a partir de tres principios basicos: limitacion del uso de la prision, normalizacion de la vida en la carcel y reinsercion como principal objetivo de la privacion de libertad. Consecuentemente, parece relevante analizar si los diferentes sistemas penitenciarios europeos se acercan a este ideal. Partiendo de la existencia de una pluralidad de fuentes que nos acercan a la realidad del encarcelamiento, este trabajo se basa principalmente en una encuesta realizada a una muestra representativa de personas que experimentaron el encarcelamiento en Cataluna. La investigacion pone de relieve un avance positivo en los principios de normalizacion y reinsercion con respecto a anteriores estudios. Sin embargo, en ambos principios se aprecian aspectos preocupantes que requieren la implementacion de nuevas politicas. EnglishEurope has built a humanitarian criminal policy regarding imprisonment under three basic principles: limitation of the use of prison, normalization of prison life and reintegration as the main aim of the deprivation of freedom. Therefore, it seems relevant to assess whether European penitentiary systems fulfil this ideal. Moving from the repertory of sources that describe the reality of imprisonment, this paper is based mainly on a survey of a representative sample of people that have experienced imprisonment in Catalonia. The paper reveals a more positive fulfilment of the principles of normalization and reintegration in comparison with previous literature. However, concerning both principles there are some aspects of concern that require implementing new policies.
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, a series of propositions that form the foundation for the "social support paradigm" of the study of crime and control are presented. But they have not been identified explicitly as a concept capable of organizing theory and research in criminology.
Abstract: Although “social support” is present as a theme in many criminological writings, it has not been identified explicitly as a concept capable of organizing theory and research in criminology. Drawing on existing criminological and related writings, this address derives a series of propositions that form the foundation, in a preliminary way, for the “social support paradigm” of the study of crime and control. The overriding contention is that whether social support is delivered through government social programs, communities, social networks, families, interpersonal relations, or agents of the criminal justice system, it reduces criminal involvement. Further, I contend that insofar as the social support paradigm proves to be “Good Criminology”—establishing that nonsupportive policies and conditions are criminogenic—it can provide grounds for creating a more supportive, “Good Society.”
666 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify the interpersonal factors that explain narratives of desistance among offenders who have been sentenced to prison and study a purposeful age-graded sample of men convicted of acquisitive crimes.
Abstract: The objective of this article is to identify the interpersonal factors that explain narratives of desistance among offenders who have been sentenced to prison. Through narrative interviews, we have studied a purposeful age-graded sample of men convicted of acquisitive crimes. Although the results confirm the leading research of Laub and Sampson (2003) about the importance of social bonds as a change catalyst, they also suggest that changes in narratives may depend not only on participation in new social institutions but also on the new meaning that institutions present during the criminal career of offenders, such as family relationships, may acquire in adulthood.
83 citations
"Prisoner resettlement in Spain : go..." refers background in this paper
...Fourth, given the involvement of the family in the resettlement process, the lack of external social support will also make early release more difficult (Cid and Martí, 2012; Capdevila, 2013)....
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...Although the evidence is limited, we have quantitative (Luque, Ferrer and Capdevila, 2005) and qualitative (Cid and Martí, 2012; 2015) research that suggest an impact of this model on recidivism and desistance....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the transition from prison to employment and the relationship between post-release employment and recidivism using discrete time survival models, conditioning upon both pre-release characteristics and postrelease time-varying covariates (employment, educational enrollment and participation in labor market programs).
Abstract: Investigate the transition from prison to employment and the relationship between post-release employment and recidivism. We use a sample of every person released from Norwegian prisons in 2003 (N = 7,476), and they are followed through 2006 with monthly measures. We estimate the time to recidivism using discrete time survival models, conditioning upon both pre-release characteristics and post-release time-varying covariates (employment, educational enrollment and participation in labor market programs). The majority of former inmates were employed at some point in our data window, but it took approximately 30 months for 30% of them to become employed. The hazard of recidivism is substantially lower (0.12, p < .001) when former inmates are employed compared with unemployed, although observable individual characteristics can account for a large share of this association (0.50, p < .001, after adjustment). The negative association between employment and recidivism remains when controlling for other post-release statuses. Although post-release employment periods are associated with a lower risk of recidivism for all categories of principal offence, the magnitude of the association varies. The association is smaller for those receiving social benefits. The findings are consistent with theories suggesting that employment reduces the risk of recidivism.
71 citations
"Prisoner resettlement in Spain : go..." refers result in this paper
...In agreement with international literature that supports job settlement as a way to prevent recidivism (Uggen, 2000; Skardhamar and Telle, 2012), a recent evaluation on this programme in Spain has shown that the participation in the programme increases the possibilities of job settlement (Alós et…...
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...In agreement with international literature that supports job settlement as a way to prevent recidivism (Uggen, 2000; Skardhamar and Telle, 2012), a recent evaluation on this programme in Spain has shown that the participation in the programme increases the possibilities of job settlement (Alós et al....
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01 Jan 2010
TL;DR: The European Dimension to the Release of Sentenced Prisoners, John R. Spencer and Dirk van Zyl Smit Part 2: Country Perspectives 3. Austria, Karin Bruckmuller and Veronika Hofinger 4. Belgium, Sonja Snacken, Kristel Beyens and Marie-Aude Beernaert 5. England and Wales, Nicola Padfield 6. Finland, Tapio Lappi-Seppala 7. France, Kim Reuflet 8. Germany, Frieder Dunkel and Ineke Pruin 9. Greece
Abstract: Part 1 1. Introduction, Nicola Padfield, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Frieder Dunkel 2. The European Dimension to the Release of Sentenced Prisoners, John R. Spencer and Dirk van Zyl Smit Part 2: Country Perspectives 3. Austria, Karin Bruckmuller and Veronika Hofinger 4. Belgium, Sonja Snacken, Kristel Beyens and Marie-Aude Beernaert 5. England and Wales, Nicola Padfield 6. Finland, Tapio Lappi-Seppala 7. France, Kim Reuflet 8. Germany, Frieder Dunkel and Ineke Pruin 9. Greece, Leonidas K. Cheliotis with the Assistance of Ioannis Papageorgiou 10. Ireland, Thomas O'Malley 11. Italy, Alessandra Gualazzi and Chiara Mancuso 12. The Netherlands, Martin Moerings 13. Scotland, Douglas Thomson 14. Slovenia, Katja Sugman Stubbs and Matjaz Ambroz 15. Spain, Jose Cid and Beatriz Tebar Part 3: Converging Themes 16. Concluding Thoughts, Nicola Padfield, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Frieder Dunkel
45 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the results of a study that links information from the prison system with information from Spanish Social Security System in order to study the employability of former inmat...
Abstract: This paper presents the results of a study that links information from the prison system with information from the Spanish Social Security System in order to study the employability of former inmat...
26 citations
"Prisoner resettlement in Spain : go..." refers background in this paper
...…with international literature that supports job settlement as a way to prevent recidivism (Uggen, 2000; Skardhamar and Telle, 2012), a recent evaluation on this programme in Spain has shown that the participation in the programme increases the possibilities of job settlement (Alós et al., 2015)....
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...A recent evaluation has shown that this system is effective in granting resettlement (Alós et al., 2015)....
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