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RETURN TO CRIME - A QUASI EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF IMPRISONMENT AND ITS ALTERNATIVES

NCJ Number
49428
Author(s)
A P HOPKINS
Date Published
1974
Length
157 pages
Annotation
THE IMPACT OF IMPRISONMENT ON RECIDIVISM IS ASSESSSED, AND ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF PUNISHMENT ARE EVALUATED.
Abstract
A NUMBER OF THEORETICAL REASONS SUGGEST THAT IMPRISONMENT IS A CRIMINOGENIC EXPERIENCE AND THAT THOSE SENT TO PRISON WILL RECIDIVATE MORE OFTEN THAN THOSE GIVEN CONVENTIONAL NONINSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT. RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO TEST THESE THEORIES HAS BEEEN HAMPERED BY ITS INABILITY TO CONTROL ADEQUATELY FOR THE FACT THAT PERSONS SENT TO PRISON ARE GENERALLY POORER RISKS THAN THOSE PUT ON PROBATION AND ARE THUS MORE LIKELY TO RECIDIVATE REGARDLESS OF THE TREATMENT ALTERNATIVE. TO TEST THIS THEORY THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH DESIGN WAS EMPLOYED. IF THE ASSIGNMENT OF CASES TO JUDGES SITTING IN THE SAME COURT IS ESSENTIALLY RANDOM, THE GROUP OF OFFENDERS BEFORE THEM WILL BE COMPARABLY RANDOM. IF ONE JUDGE INCARCERATES A HIGHER PROPORTION OF CASES THAN ANOTHER JUDGE, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE SUBSEQUENT RECIDIVISM RATE OF THE TWO GROUPS OF OFFENDERS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DIFFERENCE IN THE INCARCERATION RATE. TO IMPLEMENT THIS STUDY DESIGN, DATA WERE COLLECTED ON OFFENDERS COMING BEFORE FIVE SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES IN HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, BETWEEN 1962 AND 1964. OFFENDER GROUPS COMING BEFORE HARSH JUDGES, AS PREDICTED, HAD HIGHER RECIDIVISM RATES THAN OFFENDER GROUPS COMING BEFORE LENIENT JUDGES. DESPITE THE APPARENTLY RANDOM ALLOCATION OF CASES TO JUDGES, OFFENDER GROUPS WERE NOT STRICTLY COMPARABLE BECAUSE THOSE BEFORE HARSH JUDGES WERE RELATIVELY POOR RISKS IN TERMS OF THE PRETREATMENT LIKELIHOOD OF RECIDIVISM. THE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT INCARCERATION PROMOTES RECIDIVISM, ALTHOUGH THE POSSIBILITY CANNOT BE RULED OUT THAT THE RELATIONSHIP IS A RESULT OF THE NONCOMPARABILITY OF THE OFFENDER GROUPS. DETAILS OF DATA COLLECTION AND CODING AND SUPPORTING TABULAR DATA ARE APPENDED. A BIBLIOGRAPHY IS PROVIDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DP)

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