Joan Petersilia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160864
- eISBN:
- 9780199943395
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160864.003.0011
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter expresses a cautious optimism that the focus on parole and prisoner reentry is here to stay and that reentry will serve as the major conceptual framework for organizing criminal justice ...
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This chapter expresses a cautious optimism that the focus on parole and prisoner reentry is here to stay and that reentry will serve as the major conceptual framework for organizing criminal justice policy for many years to come. There are also substantial challenges ahead. Most significant in this regard are the rising crime rate and the slowing of the U.S. economy. Either or both of these factors could derail reentry progress. The discussion suggests continued advances in parole and prisoner reentry not only because it will be good for prisoners returning home, but because it will ultimately be good for their children, their neighbors, and the community at large. Given the increasing magnitude of the expected prison exodus over the next decade, focusing on prisoner reintegration may be the best hope for keeping crime rates down as nearly 700,000 inmates a year leave prison to return home.Less
This chapter expresses a cautious optimism that the focus on parole and prisoner reentry is here to stay and that reentry will serve as the major conceptual framework for organizing criminal justice policy for many years to come. There are also substantial challenges ahead. Most significant in this regard are the rising crime rate and the slowing of the U.S. economy. Either or both of these factors could derail reentry progress. The discussion suggests continued advances in parole and prisoner reentry not only because it will be good for prisoners returning home, but because it will ultimately be good for their children, their neighbors, and the community at large. Given the increasing magnitude of the expected prison exodus over the next decade, focusing on prisoner reintegration may be the best hope for keeping crime rates down as nearly 700,000 inmates a year leave prison to return home.
Joan Petersilia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160864
- eISBN:
- 9780199943395
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160864.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This book assembles and analyzes the relevant information pertaining to prisoner reentry: the systems, people, programs, and prospects for implementing a more effective and just system. This chapter ...
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This book assembles and analyzes the relevant information pertaining to prisoner reentry: the systems, people, programs, and prospects for implementing a more effective and just system. This chapter summarizes the data and develops major themes and policy recommendations. No one believes that the current prison and parole system is working. Recent public opinion polls show an increasing dissatisfaction with the purely punitive approach to criminal justice. Data suggest that having to earn and demonstrate readiness for release and being supervised postprison may have some deterrent or rehabilitation benefits—particularly for the most dangerous offenders. Effective programs include therapeutic communities for drug addicts and substance abuse programs with aftercare for alcoholics and drug addicts; cognitive behavioral programs for sex offenders; and adult basic education, vocational education, and prison industries for the general prison population.Less
This book assembles and analyzes the relevant information pertaining to prisoner reentry: the systems, people, programs, and prospects for implementing a more effective and just system. This chapter summarizes the data and develops major themes and policy recommendations. No one believes that the current prison and parole system is working. Recent public opinion polls show an increasing dissatisfaction with the purely punitive approach to criminal justice. Data suggest that having to earn and demonstrate readiness for release and being supervised postprison may have some deterrent or rehabilitation benefits—particularly for the most dangerous offenders. Effective programs include therapeutic communities for drug addicts and substance abuse programs with aftercare for alcoholics and drug addicts; cognitive behavioral programs for sex offenders; and adult basic education, vocational education, and prison industries for the general prison population.
Joan Petersilia
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195160864
- eISBN:
- 9780199943395
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195160864.003.0008
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter focuses on the current and potential roles that victims might play in managing prisoner reentry. It discusses the legal rights of victims to be notified of a parolee's release and to ...
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This chapter focuses on the current and potential roles that victims might play in managing prisoner reentry. It discusses the legal rights of victims to be notified of a parolee's release and to testify at parole hearings. It also discusses the crucial role they might play in enhancing community safety and offender rehabilitation.Less
This chapter focuses on the current and potential roles that victims might play in managing prisoner reentry. It discusses the legal rights of victims to be notified of a parolee's release and to testify at parole hearings. It also discusses the crucial role they might play in enhancing community safety and offender rehabilitation.
Susan Turner and Joan Petersilia
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195384642
- eISBN:
- 9780199914609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384642.003.0055
- Subject:
- Psychology, Forensic Psychology
This chapter focuses on prisoner reentry and/or community supervision on parole. Besides discussing the applicability of Risk-Need-Responsivity principles to the parole context, it also draws ...
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This chapter focuses on prisoner reentry and/or community supervision on parole. Besides discussing the applicability of Risk-Need-Responsivity principles to the parole context, it also draws attention to the benefits of so-called ecological models of crime reduction.Less
This chapter focuses on prisoner reentry and/or community supervision on parole. Besides discussing the applicability of Risk-Need-Responsivity principles to the parole context, it also draws attention to the benefits of so-called ecological models of crime reduction.
Keesha M. Middlemass
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780814724392
- eISBN:
- 9780814760185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724392.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
In this chapter, former prisoners’ narratives are used to explore what it means to serve time in the “total institution” of prison, the prison experience and its connection to prisoner reentry, and ...
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In this chapter, former prisoners’ narratives are used to explore what it means to serve time in the “total institution” of prison, the prison experience and its connection to prisoner reentry, and what it means to be a convicted felon in society. Society expects prisoners reentering society to succeed by getting a job and not returning to a life of crime, but many fail, yet scholars rarely incorporate felons’ voices into the analysis to understand why. This chapter argues that there are many contradictions embedded in the reentry process, that there is little public support and social capital, and that participants find out that reentering society is harder than they anticipated. Relying on first-person accounts, the chapter exposes why it is so hard to reenter by exploring participants’ experience of living under the oppressive penal chain attached to a felony conviction. Readers are introduced to a unique perspective on serving time in prison and reentering society as a felon.Less
In this chapter, former prisoners’ narratives are used to explore what it means to serve time in the “total institution” of prison, the prison experience and its connection to prisoner reentry, and what it means to be a convicted felon in society. Society expects prisoners reentering society to succeed by getting a job and not returning to a life of crime, but many fail, yet scholars rarely incorporate felons’ voices into the analysis to understand why. This chapter argues that there are many contradictions embedded in the reentry process, that there is little public support and social capital, and that participants find out that reentering society is harder than they anticipated. Relying on first-person accounts, the chapter exposes why it is so hard to reenter by exploring participants’ experience of living under the oppressive penal chain attached to a felony conviction. Readers are introduced to a unique perspective on serving time in prison and reentering society as a felon.
Keesha M. Middlemass
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780814724392
- eISBN:
- 9780814760185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724392.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter introduces readers to the world of prisoner reentry and a felony conviction, and describes the research context. Drawing on first-person narratives, the chapter describes the lived ...
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This chapter introduces readers to the world of prisoner reentry and a felony conviction, and describes the research context. Drawing on first-person narratives, the chapter describes the lived experiences of convicted felons reacclimating to society in order to communicate the concept of social disability. A felony conviction and prisoner reentry straddle multiple disciplinary perspectives; therefore, an interdisciplinary framework is established to link history, politics, race, and public policies to convey the layered reality of a felony and its distinct socially disabling consequences. Weaving together racialized policies, such as the War on Drugs, with details about the sheer number of felons living in numerous communities across the country, this chapter lays the foundation for the book by describing who is locked up and who reenters society. Additionally, main concepts are introduced to emphasize the underlying argument that a felony conviction is a socially disabling construct that is based on punitive tough-on-crime policies.Less
This chapter introduces readers to the world of prisoner reentry and a felony conviction, and describes the research context. Drawing on first-person narratives, the chapter describes the lived experiences of convicted felons reacclimating to society in order to communicate the concept of social disability. A felony conviction and prisoner reentry straddle multiple disciplinary perspectives; therefore, an interdisciplinary framework is established to link history, politics, race, and public policies to convey the layered reality of a felony and its distinct socially disabling consequences. Weaving together racialized policies, such as the War on Drugs, with details about the sheer number of felons living in numerous communities across the country, this chapter lays the foundation for the book by describing who is locked up and who reenters society. Additionally, main concepts are introduced to emphasize the underlying argument that a felony conviction is a socially disabling construct that is based on punitive tough-on-crime policies.
Barb Toews and M. Kay Harris
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195394641
- eISBN:
- 9780199863365
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195394641.003.0006
- Subject:
- Social Work, Communities and Organizations
This chapter argues that the effects of incarceration and prisoners' reentry into the greater community intersects with social work through its concentration on criminal justice. Incarceration and ...
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This chapter argues that the effects of incarceration and prisoners' reentry into the greater community intersects with social work through its concentration on criminal justice. Incarceration and reentry issues are also significant for social work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. A number of restorative justice processes used within the criminal justice and penal system are reviewed here. A case study is presented which focuses on a unique event: incarcerated men watching a live theatrical performance of a series of vignettes dramatizing victims' experiences with crime and its aftermath. The case study demonstrates the transformative nature of art, shows the necessity for preparation and debriefing for restorative processes, and provides a model for bringing together unlikely partners, such as a prison advocacy organization, victim services, and the state Department of Corrections, around the issues of accountability, repair, and dialogue.Less
This chapter argues that the effects of incarceration and prisoners' reentry into the greater community intersects with social work through its concentration on criminal justice. Incarceration and reentry issues are also significant for social work at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. A number of restorative justice processes used within the criminal justice and penal system are reviewed here. A case study is presented which focuses on a unique event: incarcerated men watching a live theatrical performance of a series of vignettes dramatizing victims' experiences with crime and its aftermath. The case study demonstrates the transformative nature of art, shows the necessity for preparation and debriefing for restorative processes, and provides a model for bringing together unlikely partners, such as a prison advocacy organization, victim services, and the state Department of Corrections, around the issues of accountability, repair, and dialogue.
Keesha M. Middlemass
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780814724392
- eISBN:
- 9780814760185
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814724392.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
Convicted and Condemned is a critical assessment of how a felony conviction operates as an integral part of prisoner reentry. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework and ethnographic data, the book ...
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Convicted and Condemned is a critical assessment of how a felony conviction operates as an integral part of prisoner reentry. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework and ethnographic data, the book advances knowledge about the connection among politics, racial animosity, history, public policies, and a felony conviction, which is rooted in historical notions of infamy and the political system of white supremacy. By applying social disability theory to the way a felony conviction functions outside of the criminal justice system, this book explores the evolution of a felony conviction, the common understanding of it, and the way it became shorthand for criminality and deviance specifically linked to black skin. On the basis of social practices, politicians took the common understanding of a felony conviction and extended its function beyond the boundaries of the criminal justice system so that a felony conviction is now embedded in policies that deny felons access to public housing, educational grants, and employment opportunities. Unique ethnographic and interview data reveal that because felons no longer can be physically exiled to faraway lands, a form of internal exile is performed when a felony conviction intersects with public policies, resulting in contemporary outlaws. The book argues that the punitive discourse around a felony conviction allows for the extension of the carceral state beyond the penitentiary to create socially disabled felons, and that the understanding of who and what a felon is shapes societal actions, reinforces the color line, and is a contributing factor undermining felons’ ability to reenter society successfully.Less
Convicted and Condemned is a critical assessment of how a felony conviction operates as an integral part of prisoner reentry. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework and ethnographic data, the book advances knowledge about the connection among politics, racial animosity, history, public policies, and a felony conviction, which is rooted in historical notions of infamy and the political system of white supremacy. By applying social disability theory to the way a felony conviction functions outside of the criminal justice system, this book explores the evolution of a felony conviction, the common understanding of it, and the way it became shorthand for criminality and deviance specifically linked to black skin. On the basis of social practices, politicians took the common understanding of a felony conviction and extended its function beyond the boundaries of the criminal justice system so that a felony conviction is now embedded in policies that deny felons access to public housing, educational grants, and employment opportunities. Unique ethnographic and interview data reveal that because felons no longer can be physically exiled to faraway lands, a form of internal exile is performed when a felony conviction intersects with public policies, resulting in contemporary outlaws. The book argues that the punitive discourse around a felony conviction allows for the extension of the carceral state beyond the penitentiary to create socially disabled felons, and that the understanding of who and what a felon is shapes societal actions, reinforces the color line, and is a contributing factor undermining felons’ ability to reenter society successfully.
David J. Harding, Jeffrey D. Morenoff, and Jessica J. B. Wyse
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780226607504
- eISBN:
- 9780226607788
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226607788.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This book examines the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals as they return to society, situating their experiences within the broader framework of US poverty and inequality. It considers the ...
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This book examines the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals as they return to society, situating their experiences within the broader framework of US poverty and inequality. It considers the challenges these individuals face in securing stable employment, housing, transportation, and their struggles with stigma, parole supervision, mental health, and drug and alcohol addictions. The book argues that successful reintegration depends not only, or even primarily, on individuals’ traits and proclivities when they entered prison, but also on the family, neighborhood, and institutional contexts they encounter after prison and on the social roles, identities, and reentry narratives they construct for themselves after release, thereby moving beyond recidivism by examining reintegration more broadly. A central conclusion is that, in the current era of mass incarceration and racial exclusion, there is a profound mismatch between the resources available to the formerly incarcerated with which to rebuild their lives and the institutions and contexts in which they find themselves embedded after release, including high poverty neighborhoods, instant and cheap background checks, a brutal labor market for low-skill workers, and a highly punitive criminal justice system. Improving their prospects will require shifting resources from costly imprisonment toward educational and rehabilitation programs, supporting prisoners and their families during the critical period immediately after release, and removing formal barriers to reintegration in the housing and labor markets.Less
This book examines the lives of formerly incarcerated individuals as they return to society, situating their experiences within the broader framework of US poverty and inequality. It considers the challenges these individuals face in securing stable employment, housing, transportation, and their struggles with stigma, parole supervision, mental health, and drug and alcohol addictions. The book argues that successful reintegration depends not only, or even primarily, on individuals’ traits and proclivities when they entered prison, but also on the family, neighborhood, and institutional contexts they encounter after prison and on the social roles, identities, and reentry narratives they construct for themselves after release, thereby moving beyond recidivism by examining reintegration more broadly. A central conclusion is that, in the current era of mass incarceration and racial exclusion, there is a profound mismatch between the resources available to the formerly incarcerated with which to rebuild their lives and the institutions and contexts in which they find themselves embedded after release, including high poverty neighborhoods, instant and cheap background checks, a brutal labor market for low-skill workers, and a highly punitive criminal justice system. Improving their prospects will require shifting resources from costly imprisonment toward educational and rehabilitation programs, supporting prisoners and their families during the critical period immediately after release, and removing formal barriers to reintegration in the housing and labor markets.
Lila Kazemian
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199917938
- eISBN:
- 9780199950430
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199917938.003.0017
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
This chapter summarizes current knowledge about desistance, the study of which has moved from event to process analyses based on a combination of social and cognitive factors. It argues that future ...
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This chapter summarizes current knowledge about desistance, the study of which has moved from event to process analyses based on a combination of social and cognitive factors. It argues that future research needs to integrate better several criminal career parameters, including desistance in frequency, seriousness, and versatility, and involve multiple outcomes such as improvements in mental and physical health and substance use. It also favors a better integration of desistance research with prisoner reentry programs and resiliency research.Less
This chapter summarizes current knowledge about desistance, the study of which has moved from event to process analyses based on a combination of social and cognitive factors. It argues that future research needs to integrate better several criminal career parameters, including desistance in frequency, seriousness, and versatility, and involve multiple outcomes such as improvements in mental and physical health and substance use. It also favors a better integration of desistance research with prisoner reentry programs and resiliency research.
Patrick Lopez-Aguado
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780520288584
- eISBN:
- 9780520963450
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520288584.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter looks at how carceral affiliations come to connect the prison and high-incarceration neighborhoods. For incarcerated residents, affiliations serve as important ties to home and as ...
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This chapter looks at how carceral affiliations come to connect the prison and high-incarceration neighborhoods. For incarcerated residents, affiliations serve as important ties to home and as sources of support in unpredictable settings. When these community members return home with little formal or material reentry support, many hold on to these identities—both because they may supply the only help that parolees do find and because these residents can never be certain that they will not be locked up again. At the same time, local youth learn about these affiliations from previously or currently imprisoned friends, relatives, and neighbors, informing how they imagine they will need to survive their own potential experiences with incarceration. This not only proliferates carceral affiliations in local spaces but also contributes to an understanding of poor black and Latina/o neighborhoods as pathological that many young residents internalize.Less
This chapter looks at how carceral affiliations come to connect the prison and high-incarceration neighborhoods. For incarcerated residents, affiliations serve as important ties to home and as sources of support in unpredictable settings. When these community members return home with little formal or material reentry support, many hold on to these identities—both because they may supply the only help that parolees do find and because these residents can never be certain that they will not be locked up again. At the same time, local youth learn about these affiliations from previously or currently imprisoned friends, relatives, and neighbors, informing how they imagine they will need to survive their own potential experiences with incarceration. This not only proliferates carceral affiliations in local spaces but also contributes to an understanding of poor black and Latina/o neighborhoods as pathological that many young residents internalize.
