New from the National Academies Press (and available to read in full online), Parole, Desistance from Crime, and Community Integration discusses the challenges faced by the 1600 or so prisoners released every day from prisons in the USA (around 600,000 per year), and the communities to which they return:
Will the releasees see parole as an opportunity to be reintegrated into society, with jobs and homes and supportive families and friends? Or will they commit new crimes or violate the terms of their parole contracts? If so, will they be returned to prison or placed under more stringent community supervision? Will the communities to which they return see them as people to be reintegrated or people to be avoided?
… In recent decades, policy makers, researchers, and program administrators have focused almost exclusively on “recidivism,” which is essentially the failure of releasees to refrain from crime or stay out of prison. In contrast, for this study the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) of the U.S. Department of Justice asked the National Research Council to focus on “desistance,” which broadly covers continued absence of criminal activity and requires reintegration into society.
Reference:
- Parole, Desistance from Crime, and Community Integration (2007) by Committee on Community Supervision and Desistance from Crime, National Research Council (summary – pdf)
Photo credit: .CK, Creative Commons License
Post a Comment