NCJ Number
81418
Date Published
1981
Length
55 pages
Annotation
Criminological literature is reviewed to determine if there is any empirical evidence that the size of the inmate population in maximum-security prisons is a success factor in regard to inmate programs i.e., whether institutions holding 450 inmates are more or less successful in achieving correctional goals than those holding about 150 inmates.
Abstract
Of the research reviewed, those conducted by Megargee and Jesness, the experiments on rehabilitative treatment, and the British study of reconviction rates are the most adequate. One major conclusion to be drawn from these studies is that prison size is not related either to behavior inside the prison or to behavior after leaving the prison. The quality of staff-inmate interaction appears to be the most influential factor. The ratio of staff to inmates and the degree of overcrowding are factors related to this interaction. Overall, rehabilitative treatments have no affect on reconviction rates. Thus, the existing empirical evidence gives no support for the hypothesis that decreasing prison size from 450 to 150 inmates will have an effect on behavior while in prison or after leaving it. Given the discouraging findings on behavior revision while in prison, prisons should emphasize humane containment. Empirical research should try to find acceptable and effective means of rehabilitating offenders. Future research in this area should begin with the collection of basic information and the conducting of a large correlation analysis. To test hypotheses emerging from this analysis, matters of current operational concerns (e.g., prison violence) should be examined in random allocation experiments. Tabular data and a list of 51 references are provided.