Book•
When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry
01 Jan 2003-
TL;DR: In this paper, a profile of returning prisoners is presented, along with a discussion of the changing nature of Parole Supervision and Services, and the role of the victim's role in prisoner reentry.
Abstract: Preface 1. Introduction and Overview 2. Who's Coming Home? A Profile of Returning Prisoners 3. The Origins and Evolution of Modern Parole 4. The Changing Nature of Parole Supervision and Services 5. How We Help: Preparing Inmates for Release 6. How We Hinder: Legal and Practical Barriers to Reintegration 7. Revolving Door Justice: Inmate Release and Recidivism 8. The Victim's Role in Prisoner Reentry 9. What to Do? Reforming Parole and Reentry Practices 10. Conclusions: When Punitive Policies Backfire Afterword
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined whether participation in reentry programming was associated with reduced recidivism among offenders who were no longer under criminal justice supervision and found that participants who completed their sentences in prison were invited to participate in Project ReConnect (PRC), a six-month, voluntary prisoner reentry program, which provided case management and direct monetary support to participants for up to six months.
Abstract: As higher numbers of individuals are released from prison and rejoin society, reentry programs can help former offenders reintegrate into society without continuing to engage in crime. This quasi-experimental study examined whether participation in reentry programming was associated with reduced recidivism among offenders who were no longer under criminal justice supervision. Offenders who completed their sentences in prison were invited to participate in Project Re-Connect (PRC), a six-month, voluntary prisoner reentry program. Following participants' release from prison, PRC provided case management and direct monetary support to participants for up to six months. Survival analysis was used to compare recidivism rates between 122 PRC participants and 158 eligible non-participants. Cox regression coefficients indicated that program participation and having a high school diploma or its equivalent were associated with reduced likelihood of new convictions, whereas substance abuse was associated with higher risk of subsequent convictions. The implications for social work policy and practice are discussed. KEY WORDS: case management; former offenders; prisoner reentry; program evaluation ********* The U.S. prison population has grown exponentially over the past 30 years, at great cost to taxpayers and offenders alike. Between 1980 and 2008, the prison population expanded by 475%, reaching 1,518,559 in 2008 (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010). Policy changes fueled this rapid growth, as many states adopted mandatory and determinant sentencing guidelines that resulted in more individuals serving longer prison terms. Meanwhile, stricter parole requirements returned mote ex-offenders to prison on technical parole violations (Seiter & Kadela, 2003; Zhang, Roberts, & Callanan, 2006). Parole violators who complete their sentences in prison are no longer subject to supervision once released from prison, thereby restricting society's ability to monitor and assist these individuals during reentry (Braga, Piehl, & Hureau, 2009; O'Brien, 2009; Seiter & Kadela, 2003). The number and the rate of inmates released without parole supervision have increased even over the last decade, as the number of unsupervised releases grew from 118,886 in 2000 (20.4% of all released) to 165,568 in 2008 (24.2% of all releases) (Sabol, West, & Cooper, 2009; Seiter & Kadela, 2003). Former offenders commit crimes at higher rates than the general population, so in combination with technical parole violations, many ex-offenders recidivate and return to prison within the first few years of release (Brad et al., 2009). As of 1994, more than two-thirds of state prisoners were rearrested for one or more serious crimes within three years of release. Almost half of those released returned to prison during that time frame for parole violations or new convictions (Langan & Levin, 2002). Prisoner reentry has become a critical topic as communities prepare to absorb increasing numbers of returning former offenders; 683,106 inmates were released from state or federal prisons in 2008, an increase of nearly 20% over the number released in 2000 (Petersilia, 2003; Roman & Travis, 2006; Sabol et al., 2009; Seiter & Kadda, 2003; Wilson & Davis, 2006). Reentry programs have been developed nationwide to address offender needs and smooth the transition from prison into the community. RISK FACTORS FOR REENTRY, CURRENT PRACTICE, AND EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE Several risk factors increase the likelihood that ex-offenders will return to prison on new charges. These risk factors include age, gender, race, gang membership, substance abuse, antisocial behavior, low social achievement, negative peers, length of prior criminal history, and the number of years incarcerated before release (Braga et al., 2009; Gendreau, Little, & Goggin, 1996; Huebner, Varano, & Bynum, 2007; Langan & Levin, 2002; Listwan, 2009; O'Brien, 2009; Seiter & Kadela, 2003; Wheeler & Patterson, 2008; Wilson & Davis, 2006; Yahner & Visher, 2008). …
46 citations
Cites background from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...Such restrictions exist in public and private housing, public assistance programs, education, employment, and voting (National Governors Association, 2005; Petersilia, 2003; Pogorzelski, Wolff, Pan, & BLitz, 2005; Travis, 2005)....
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...Prisoner reentry has become a critical topic as communities prepare to absorb increasing numbers of returning former offenders; 683,106 inmates were released from state or federal prisons in 2008, an increase of nearly 20% over the number released in 2000 (Petersilia, 2003; Roman & Travis, 2006; Sabol et al., 2009; Seiter & Kadela, 2003; Wilson & Davis, 2006)....
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TL;DR: The authors analyzes whether visits from community volunteers (CVs), specifically clergy and mentors, had an impact on reducing recidivism in prison visitation and found that visits from CVs are associated with reduced recidivitis.
Abstract: Research has shown that prison visitation is associated with reduced recidivism. This study analyzes whether visits from community volunteers (CVs)—specifically clergy and mentors—had an impact on ...
46 citations
Cites background from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...It should be noted, however, that the amount of recidivism reduction when compared with prisoners not receiving the same intervention tends to be rather small (Petersilia, 2003)....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify supervision effects on five types of parole violations among 79,082 individuals released from prison in California: absconding, technical violations, drug use, violent offenses, and sexual offenses.
Abstract: Recent scholarship about parole supervision indicates that higher supervision intensity is associated with an increased risk of parole violations However, parole violations can take many forms—some minor and some serious—and theory suggests that supervision intensity might have differential effects depending upon the type of violation We use “competing risks” survival models to identify supervision effects on five types of parole violations among 79,082 individuals released from prison in California: absconding, technical violations, drug use, violent offenses, and sexual offenses We find that supervision effects are strongest for absconding violations Past sexual offending also triggers significant supervision effects for technical violations, drug use violations, and violent violations We conclude that parole violation patterns are influenced by parolee behaviors, the amount of attention the state is paying to those behaviors, and official markers of criminal dangerousness that are attached to part
45 citations
Cites background or result from "When Prisoners Come Home: Parole an..."
...…extends earlier work that almost exclusively conceptualized recidivism risk as a product of offender characteristics such as demographics, criminal history, mental health, substance use, and social relationships (Feeley & Simon, 1992; Harcourt, 2007; Petersilia, 2009; Silver & Miller, 2002)....
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...This perspective extends earlier work that almost exclusively conceptualized recidivism risk as a product of offender characteristics such as demographics, criminal history, mental health, substance use, and social relationships (Feeley & Simon, 1992; Harcourt, 2007; Petersilia, 2009; Silver & Miller, 2002)....
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...These offender-level factors are central to the scholarly literature about offender behaviors, and, importantly, they are used in a variety of actuarial instruments adopted in correctional practice to make release and supervision decisions (Harcourt, 2007; Petersilia, 2009)....
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...Existing research shows that the probability of parole failure is highest immediately following release and declines over time (Petersilia, 2009; Solomon, Kachnowski, & Bhati, 2005)....
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...Our findings about the effects of personal and demographic characteristics on violation hazards reinforces findings from previous research in this area (Grattet et al., 2011; Kubrin & Stewart, 2006; Petersilia, 2009; Wilson, 2005)....
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TL;DR: The purpose of this study is to critically take stock of what is and what is not currently known about the prevalence of prison sexual violence, and highlights the direction that future research should take so that evidence-based policies concerning prisonSexual violence may be developed.
Abstract: The issue of prison violence and misconduct has been the subject of considerable academic attention, yet particularized areas of violent victimization within prisons have gone relatively unnoticed. One such area involves sexual violence in prisons. Scholars have argued that sexual violence contributes to a host of institutional and individual-level problems, yet the primary limitation of this body of literature is that it has been largely confined to methodologically questionable studies of prison rape prevalence. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to critically take stock of what is and what is not currently known about the prevalence of prison sexual violence. In doing so, it highlights the direction that future research should take so that evidence-based policies concerning prison sexual violence may be developed.
45 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: A literature review of a new and dynamic field of scholarship that maintains that this increase is a byproduct of three interrelated factors: the war on drugs, globalization, and prison building is presented in this paper.
Abstract: Although women still comprise a small percentage of the total prison population in countries in North America, Western Europe, and Latin America, their numbers have been rising in the past two decades. This article is a literature review of a new and dynamic field of scholarship that maintains that this increase is a byproduct of three interrelated factors: the war on drugs, globalization, and prison building. First, using international pressure, the United States has imposed its federalized and militarized drug war on the governments of other nations. Second, the transfer of U.S. -led neoliberal economic policies, fueled by globalization, has marginalized poor women of color in modern and developing nations. As a result, many of these women have become involved in criminalized behaviors, including drug trafficking, as a means of economic survival. In this post-September 1 1 environment, transborder crossings are closely monitored, increasing the likelihood of arrest. Third, in an effort to contain surplus populations created by economic restructuring the United States has promoted a social policy of mass incarceration. The union of these three factors results in the greater likelihood of the arrest, detainment, prosecution, and imprisonment of poor women of color. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the experiences of women in global prisons and recommends strategies to curtail women's imprisonment.
45 citations