What Crime Rates Tell Us About Where to Focus Programs and Services for Prisoners

Here and Gone: Anticipation and Separation Effects of Prison Visits on Inmate Infractions

“…Visitors of all relations produced similar effects, and visits affected risk for a wide range of infractions. The generalized previsit decline in infractions suggests that inmates anticipate visits and are reluctant to jeopardize them (Toch and Adams 1989). The generalized postvisit increase is consistent with a reaction to the pains of incarceration and rebellion against the corrections staff who impose those pains (Blevins et al 2010).…”

“…Because past studies yield mixed evidence regarding children’s visits (e.g., Casey-Acevedo et al 2004; Jiang and Winfree 2006), scholars should examine whether our findings hold for those visits. In addition, inmates who commit any one type of infraction are likely to commit others (Toch and Adams 1989), so scholars could examine visits’ effects on infraction diversity. For example, contraband increased most following visits and could influence inmates’ involvement in other infractions and in the larger inmate power structure.…”

“…The promise of visits could be an especially useful tool because incentives and disincentives work best when they are linked to inmates’ normative commitments (Bottoms 1999). From a deprivation perspective, the thought of impending visits could reduce deprivation-induced misconduct by distracting inmates from their current conditions (Toch and Adams 1989). From a control perspective, if inmates value face-to-face contact with their significant others, then they should be reluctant to risk losing it by committing disciplinary infractions.…”

“…Visitation could differentially predict different types of infractions. Inmates tend not to specialize in specific types of infractions, and any rule violation can be interpreted as a sign of rebellion against the conditions of imprisonment (Toch and Adams 1989). Accordingly, generalized effects of visits could indicate that visits affect misconduct by altering inmates’ exposure to or perceptions of the deprivations of imprisonment.…”

Breaches in the Wall

“…Second, and not surprising given the above observations, scholarship has suggested that connections with social ties constitute one of the critical factors that will help individuals negotiate prison experiences and navigate the transition back into society (Maruna 2001; Turner et al 2007; Uggen et al 2004; Visher and Travis 2003; Wolff and Draine 2004). Reconnecting with prosocial contacts is a challenge for prisoners, but it plays a pivotal role in helping offenders desist after reentry (see generally, Maruna and Immarigeon 2004; Petersilia 2003; Visher and Travis 2003).…”