Do Therapeutic Communities in Jail Operate on Principles of Procedural Justice?

• In Event: At the Local Level: Jails and a Municipal Court

Abstract

Prison based therapeutic communities (TC’s) are intended to create a sense of community structure and accountability through inmate interaction and staff support at the unit level. Key to the success of these regimes is the creation of a sense of community through more collaborative relations amongst inmates, and between inmates and staff. Research has generally garnered positive results for recidivism follow-ups. Not as well understood is how the therapeutic community relates to theories of procedural justice (PJ). Procedural justice in prisons is promoted through just institutional routines and conditions and fair, competent and consistent decision making by staff. If staff-inmate relations are more positive in a TC, it is expected that perceptions of procedural justice would be high, and more substantive than other units. To test for the presence of PJ in a therapeutic community, surveys were administered evaluating inmate perceptions within a Canadian provincial jail housing 156 addiction and 60 sex offender TC beds and 400 other institutional beds in more traditional general population, protective custody, mental health and gang units. Research findings indicate clear differences in inmate perceptions of procedural justice. Policy and program implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

Author

• Michael Martin Weinrath, University of Winnipeg