A large-scale study was conducted to examine the perceived employability of ex-prisoners and offenders. Four participant groups comprising 596 (50.4%) employers, 234 (19.8%) employment service workers, 176 (14.9%) corrections workers, and 175 (14.8%) prisoners and offenders completed a questionnaire assessing the likelihood of a hypothetical job seeker's both obtaining and maintaining employment; the importance of specific skills and characteristics to employability; and the likelihood that ex-prisoners, offenders, and the general workforce exhibit these skills and characteristics. Apart from people with an intellectual or psychiatric disability, those with a criminal background were rated as being less likely than other disadvantaged groups to obtain and maintain employment. In addition, ex-prisoners were rated as being less likely than offenders and the general workforce to exhibit the skills and characteristics relevant to employability. Implications for the preparation and support of ex-prisoners and offenders into employment are discussed, together with broader community-wide initiatives to promote reintegration.

No abstract

No abstract

A classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was applied to data for 237 male participants (M = 31.93 years, SD = 7.64) in a prison-based substance abuse treatment program to study the integrity of the Stages of Change model of treatment readiness. Using the Stages of Change Questionnaire (STOCQ), participants were assigned to Contemplation (102), Action (118), or Maintenance (17) groups. A CART analysis then examined differences in the overall group profiles on the basis of scores on the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking, the Situational Confidence Questionnaire, and the Carlson Psychological Survey. The assumption of discrete stages of change was not supported. Alternative models are suggested: one based on states of change and one on personality characteristics. A focus on equal attention to both cognitive and behavioral aspects of substance abuse treatment readiness is suggested.

Young people in residential out-of-home care are universally over-represented in the criminal justice system. This study presents an evaluation of Community around the Child, an early-intervention initiative designed to reduce contact with the criminal justice system among young people living in residential care in Victoria, Australia. Interviews and focus groups with professionals ( n = 44) produced data that were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The study found the program promoted positive relationships between young people in care and police and between police and residential carers. Increased knowledge on the part of both carers and police about the impact of trauma on young people’s behaviour and methods for supporting young people to regulate their behaviour contributed to these positive relationships. The study calls for a holistic, therapeutic response to the individual needs of young people who have experienced and continue to experience trauma. Essential to this is the provision of training in trauma informed care for police and other stakeholders.