Abstract:
At the forefront of correctional scholarship is the reestablishment of the rehabilitative ideal and the ways in which correctional departments can influence recidivism. Of importance is the interruption of rehabilitative treatment due to highly frequent movement of inmates between correctional facilities. To address this concern, the current study evaluated the predictors and recidivistic effects of program interruption due to transfer. Analyses of 42,112 inmates incarcerated in a large Midwestern state suggested that various individual level characteristics predicted experiencing a program interruption. However, experiencing a single or persistent pattern of program interruption had no effect on recidivism. Link to Published Article.
Critical findings:
- The findings suggested that higher cognitive abilities and nonwhite racial status were associated with increases in the odds of experiencing a program interruption during unit management programming.
- The findings illustrated that higher security classifications and life sentences were associated with decreases in the odds of experiencing a program interruption during unit management programming.
- While additional analyses indicated that experiencing a program interruption did not influence recidivism, the effects of program interruptions could alter inmates experiences.
Policy implications:
- Correctional departments should make efforts to decrease program interruptions by transferring inmates prior to or succeeding the completion of a unit management programming.
- Correctional departments should make efforts to reduce disproportionate exposure to a program interruption.
- Correctional departments should encourage research to further examine issues associated with program interruptions, such as other behavioral outcomes (e.g., misconduct and good behavior), life outcomes (e.g., housing after incarceration and employment after incarceration), and mental outcomes (e.g., motivation for treatment).
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