A prison's social climate, and its impact on reintegration and recidivism

Abstract

Successfully reintegrating prison inmates into society and preventing reoffending requires a much larger toolbox to allow correctional administrators to go beyond mere deterrence in order to achieve those aims of reintegration and recidivism reduction. While rehabilitative and reformative initiatives that target specific criminogenic factors are important, this paper will however, focus on measures that have primarily impacted upon the prevailing 'social climate' of the prison, that is, 'the social, emotional, organizational and physical characteristics of a correctional institution as perceived by inmates and staff'. The ensuing analysis in this paper will show that the 'social climate' of a correctional institution actually mediates between the offender and the rehabilitative or therapeutic measure. In other words, the social or institutional climate can potentially facilitate the successful rehabilitation of the inmate or it can hinder their progress. To that end, the Townsville Correctional Complex's 'social climate' programs that have been developed and/or delivered with key stakeholders will be examined, and through that analysis, will reveal insights regarding what needs to be done in the penal system so that rehabilitative or therapeutic initiatives can be more effectively implemented