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Education, Employment and Offender Reentry
... Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between an individual's education level and employment (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010). Because many prisoners did not complete their education and did not have regular job experiences, they do not have necessary job skills (Bushway et al., 2007). ...
... Therefore, a large number of people released from prison find themselves in low income or dead end jobs. According to a study conducted by the Correctional Educational Association in three states in 2001, merely taking high school education courses during incarceration cuts the probability of returning to prison by 23% (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010). Roughly 80% of inmates in the United States admitted to using drugs or alcohol during the course of their criminal behavior or committed their crime in order to obtain drugs (Baer et al., 2005;La Vigne & Kachnowski, 2005;Mumola, 2000). ...
... Studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between education and stable employment (Bayens & Smykla, 2012;Hedges, 2002;Hairstons, 2001;Mack & Khalil, 2007;Matsuyama & Prell, 2010). According to a study by the Windham School District (1994), inmates who earn a GED are approximately 11% less likely to recidivate than offenders who do not receive their GED. ...
The United Nations Police Force (UNPOL)
mission deals with the training, supervising,
reform and restructuring of host country police
forces. In 1996 the principles of democratic policing
(DP) were introduced by the UN as the framework to
guide UNPOL operations. This study examines the
implementation and practice of DP using the concept of
organizational learning (OL) across UNPOL missions at
the individual and organizational levels. Findings of this
study showed that UNPOL officers show strong support
for the principles of DP regardless of demographic or
professional factors such as age, education, mission,
or rank. Also, the officers who come from countries
contributing to these missions gain considerable
new knowledge about DP during missions, and this
knowledge changes their approach on policing. The study
concludes that the United Nations should direct specific
attention to OL as a strategy to implement DP in UNPOL
at the leadership level.
... For those who have been incarcerated, finding work may make the difference between remaining in society and returning to prison (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010;Wadsworth, 2006). Of course some who work in prison ministry return to prison; for example, some may do so because they falter in faith (Kerley et al., 2009). ...
... As an ostracized population, ex-offenders struggle not only to find work (Solomon, 2012) but to find meaning in life post-incarceration. Although research on ex-offender job satisfaction exists (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010;Wadsworth, 2006), research on meaning in life has been neglected. While meaning-making is a vital psychological construct in the general population (Posson, 2012), perhaps it is even more vital for those who have experienced uselessness and have been branded outcasts. ...
... The causal connection between work, crime, desistence, and job satisfaction is a complex question with many variables. Early criminology research hypothesized a negative relationship between crime, recidivism, and some form of employment (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010;Roberts, 2012;Uggen, 1999;Uggen & Staff, 2001;Wadsworth, 2006). Current work-crime research now includes nonfinancial variables and their effects on job satisfaction (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010;Musgrove et al., 2012;Wadsworth, 2006). ...
Each year millions of Americans leave prison or jail and two thirds return within three
years of release. Job satisfaction can reduce recidivism. Meaning in life has also been
recognized as integral to post-incarceration success. However, this important construct
had not been quantitatively examined in recidivism research. In this study, 34 formerly
incarcerated individuals and 70 non-incarcerated individuals who either worked for or
volunteered in prison related ministries or outreach programs participated in a web-based
survey. These groups’ scores were compared on the Meaning in Life Questionnaire
(MLQ); a job satisfaction measure, the Abridged Job in General (AJIG), and
demographic questions. Both groups reported high scores on search for meaning and
presence of meaning, with no differences in the overall means. Formerly incarcerated
individuals reported less satisfaction with pay but more satisfaction with promotion
opportunity than their peers, and were equally satisfied overall with their jobs.
Individuals working in residential jobs were especially satisfied with promotion
opportunities and reported especially high search for meaning. Meaning in life and job
satisfaction were strongly correlated. For the formerly incarcerated, the quality of work
translates to meaning in life. Promotion opportunity may mean more than financial
opportunity. It may be a turning point of acceptance and redemption, eclipsing the
stigma of criminal. Formerly incarcerated individuals can find meaning in life and from
their experience to emerge as wounded-healers.
... For inmate or post-incarcerated, living without meaningful work and relationships is an "acutely destructive experience" [21]. While research speaks to the positive effect employment has on reducing recidivism [22][23][24] there is a paucity of research on how meaningful work can aid to reframe the trauma of prison. Previously incarcerated persons are often relegated to jobs few people desire and lack a deeper purpose [4]. ...
... When assigned meaningful work, the individual experiences self-change and transformation [27]. When employees believe they are contributing and playing an important role within their organization, selfperception changes and recidivism declines [23]. The lens through which the formerly incarcerated see their work may reframe of the trauma of their experience, shape their journey, and contribute to better mental health and desistance [4]. ...
Each year more than 700,000 people leave prison having undergone a traumatic experience. While research about the prevalence of post-traumatic stress in this population is emerging, many returning citizens will exit the institution undiagnosed and untreated. Many inmates learn to mask their emotions and internalize their symptoms to navigate prison. Once released, they will return to society and struggle to find work, a sense of worth, pro-social identity, and a place in their community. Work plays a crucial role in our sense of self, identity, and the role we play in society. In this constant comparative study, 20 formerly incarcerated staff and volunteers at faith-based or community re-entry agencies shared their lived experience of how they were able to reframe their traumatic experience by transforming into helpers and wounded-healers assisting other returning citizens. Through their agency community and work, participants found meaningful work and meaning in life. Participants felt the culture of these agencies offered a humanizing experience, empathy, and sense of belonging enabling them to create a new narrative as good and different people, and shedding labels. As staff and volunteers undergo self-change, the ex-offender label is shed, and a wounded-healer emerges. Understanding the perceptions of returning citizens who work in helping roles provides insight into addressing the psychological challenges for this population and implications for reentry.
... Race may also be related to treatment from the criminal justice system, with African-Americans receiving less favorable treatment from police and the criminal justice system than other races (Galloway & Skardhamar, 2010). The relationship between the number of arrests, convictions, and incarcerations and education is supported by research that suggests education acts as a deterrent from crime or recidivism, leading to lower instances of re-arrest and lower instances of convictions and incarcerations (Matsuyama & Prell, 2010). ...
While Mental Health Courts have been found to be effective in reducing recidivism, this is only if participants successfully complete the program. This study aimed to identify specific predictors of successful completion, particularly looking at previous mental health treatment as a predictor of completion. Two hundred and fifty-one participants discharged from a northeastern urban Mental Health Court were included in the sample. Logistic regression analysis found previous mental health treatment was not a significant predictor of successful completion; however, length of program stay and whether or not the participant is African American were found to be significant predictors.
... Offenders completing probation successfully were more often employed and the employed were actually 10 times more likely to complete probation. Employment is an integral part of reentry initiatives in the U.S., and much research has been devoted to this issue (Carter, 2008;Henry & Jacobs, 2007;Matsuyama & Prell, 2010;Prager & Western, 2009;, with the results backing the general conclusion that offenders who are reintegrated into society are much less likely to reoffend. Findings from this research study reaffirm the importance of employment and successful reentry. ...
The authors examined felony technical revocations of adult probation offenders in an urban county jurisdiction to identify common technical violations of supervision, responses to violations, predictors of successful completion of supervision, sentences received upon revocation, supervision on specialized caseloads, and other factors not commonly considered in this type of empirical investigation. © 2014, Administrative Office of the United States Courts. All rights reserved.
... IHEs that do not screen for criminal history provide ex-offenders with access to higher education (Weissman et al. 2010). Education is one of the most important change agents in reducing criminal recidivism (Gates et al. 1999;Matsuyama and Prell 2010;Stevens and Ward 1997). Education also is a means of self-improvement (Hughes 2009). ...
The college admissions process is often thought of as the gatekeeper of higher education. At an increasing number of institutions, applicants with felony convictions face additional barriers. Special admissions policies were designed to prevent dangerous ex-offenders from entering a campus community, but there is very little published data about their effectiveness. This study is a review of these practices at one university. The researcher found that the special admissions process needs more scrutiny because its effectiveness remains largely unproven. It could not be clearly determined from study results if the process directly improved campus safety, but the process was shown to leave some ex-offender-applicants feeling marginalized and stigmatized. Implications for policy makers are presented in order to reduce harm to applicants and to provide support for admitted students with felony convictions.
Research indicates that employment is effective in reducing recidivism amongst ex-offenders. However, ex-offenders are also discouraged from obtaining employment as a result of their poor education level, deficits in vocational skills and employer bias and discrimination. In Hong Kong, the Society of Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention offers a wide range of services to assist ex-offenders in employment. While a number of ex-offenders have benefited from these services, continuing difficulties are hard to overcome without government support. This paper recommends a multi-disciplinary approach to improve the employment situation of ex-offenders in Hong Kong and advocates for greater government involvement to help facilitate the reintegration of ex-offenders into the community in Hong Kong.有研究指出就业能有效减少更生人士成为累犯者的机会。但是，因为低学历及缺乏职业技能， 再加上雇主的偏见及歧视均阻碍更生人士就业。 香港善导会提供广泛种类的服务协助更生人士就业。 虽然部分更生人士已经受惠, 但在缺乏政府支持下， 持续性问题依然难以获得解决。 本文建议用跨专业的方法改善香港更生人士的就业困境， 并且提倡政府需要更多协助促进更生人士再度融入社会。
Criminologists from diverse theoretical perspectives have long asserted that the quality of employment is more strongly associated with criminal behavior than its presence or absence. By this argument, "good jobs" or "meaningful work" are necessary to induce offenders to desist from crime. This paper constructs a satisfaction based measure of job quality using data from the National Supported Work Demonstration and the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey and tests whether employment in high quality jobs reduces the likelihood of criminal behavior among offenders. After statistical corrections for selection into employment, job quality is found to reduce the likelihood of economic and non-economic criminal behavior among a sample of released high-risk offenders. None of the most salient alternative explanations-sample selection, human capital accumulation, personal expectations, external labor market effects, or prior criminality-appear to diminish the job quality effect.