NCJ Number
177936
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: 1999 Pages: 97-119
Date Published
1999
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Following an analysis of the change to the French prison population over the last 20 years, this study examines the latest research into the recidivism of long-term prisoners.
Abstract
Recent figures indicate that the inflation that has affected the French prison population since 1975 has stabilized: 51,623 detainees in metropolitan France on January 1, 1995; 52,658 on January 1, 1996; 51,640 on January 1, 1997; and 50,744 on January 1, 1998. This pattern is linked in part to the amnesty of 1995 and to the systematic granting of collective pardons on the occasion of the French national holiday on July 14th. The authors offer explanations of how the detention rate increased from 50 detainees per 100,000 inhabitants in 1975 to the current 90; they highlight evidence that the pattern of this change is not uniform. The finding of an increase in the length of time spent in prison is attributed to a number of causes: lengthier legal proceedings, more severe sentences, and legislative changes that have resulted in less frequent recourse to a reduction of sentence or parole. An overview of prison overcrowding considers density according to category of institution, prisons that accommodate sentences of over 1 year, remand prisons, density in recently built prisons, and the influence of assignment. The final section of the article reports on the authors' study of the reincarceration of inmates originally sentenced to at least 3 years of imprisonment who were released in 1982. The purpose of the study was to measure reincarceration within 4 years of their release and to compare this group with an earlier cohort (prisoners released in 1973). 14 tables and 23 references