NCJ Number
90731
Journal
Revue de science criminelle et de droit penal compare Issue: 3 Dated: (July-September 1981) Pages: 653-664
Date Published
1981
Length
12 pages
Annotation
To examine the effects of vocational education received during imprisonment on subsequent recidivism, this research studied inmates of a French juvenile-young adult correctional institution noted for its vocational programing.
Abstract
Subjects included 323 inmates who did not participate in the training program and 106 who received apprenticeship instruction in some skilled occupation. Most subjects were aged under 25, born in the Paris metropolitan region, of French nationality, and committed for a theft offense. While parole was initially granted to 25 percent of those in the training program, only 14 percent of the others obtained early release, indicating that program participation was valued as a sign of good behavior. The two groups did not differ in their basic characteristics. From 4 to 5 years after release, court records were examined to ascertain recidivism of the subjects. Of the total 429, 251 (58.5 percent) has recidivated; 67 of those had participated in the vocational training. It is concluded that vocational training is not a significant deterrent to recidivism. Tabular data and footnotes are provided.