NCJ Number
193202
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 33 Issue: 3 Dated: 2001 Pages: 47-63
Date Published
2001
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study sought to determine inmate perceptions of the punishment and rehabilitation goals of prison.
Abstract
Data collection took place in the summer of 1996. The participants were 63 of 80 inmates selected at random from the 800 inmates in a medium-security prison in a rural State. The participants responded to 53 questions regarding prison life during face-to-face interviews. Results revealed that inmate perceptions of punishment and rehabilitation were independent of each other. However, these perceptions related to different types of inmate relationships with others in the prison. Most inmates perceived punishment as a central goal of the prison. Seventy-three percent perceived that the correctional personnel expected them to be highly cooperative. Almost 70 percent believed that the prison was very or completely overcrowded. Almost 38 percent of the inmates liked or respected corrections officers, more than 21 percent hated or disliked the corrections officers, and 41 percent reported having no feelings for corrections officers. Inmates’ opinions varied widely regarding whether rehabilitation was a goal of the prison. More than half the inmates claimed to like or respect other inmates, over 13 percent disliked them, and a third group reported no feelings about other inmates. More than 47 percent of inmates regarded inmates as frequently being in trouble, whereas just over 8 percent reported that few inmates were involved in trouble. The analysis concluded that increasing inmates’ perceptions of rehabilitation while maintaining their high perceptions of punishment may be possible due to the independence of inmates’ perceptions of punishment and rehabilitation. Tables and 27 references