The Rock of Sisyphus: Treatment of Addicted Inmates and Recidivisim in Israel

• In Event: International Reentry Approaches and Strategies

Abstract

Most of the drug and alcohol programs in prison are seeking to provide the prisoners with pro-social values, decision-making skills and the ability to cope with stress and triggers, and to instill in them a sense of personal development and motivation to participate in the treatment. In this way, drug and alcohol programs seek to reduce the probability that addicted prisoners will return to the cycle of use and crime after release from prison. Although the relationship between drug and alcohol programs and recidivism rate of prisoners after their release has been widely studied, many studies raise questions about the effectiveness of these programs in reducing the recidivism rate. Our study examined the effect of four drug and alcohol programs in the Israeli Prison Service on the reduction of recidivism rates among prisoners. By using propensity score matching method, we analyzed all addicted prisoners who were released from prison between 2004 and 2015. Overall, we did not find marked differences between inmates, who participated in the four treatment programs assessed, and those in the control group, i.e. addicted inmates who did not. In the discussion, we will elaborate on the findings.

Authors

• Badi Hasisi, The Hebrew University

• David Weisburd, George Mason University

• Efrat Shoham, Ashkelon Academic College

• Noam Haviv, The Hebrew University

• Anat Zelig, Ashkelon Academic College