From the Neighborhood Block to the Prison Block: Relying on Key Neighborhood Measures to Understand Conditions of Confinement

• In Event: Inmates' Perceptions of Prisons and Residential Program Regimes

Abstract

A major theme underscoring the recent push toward evidence-based corrections practices is positive working relationships between criminal justice workers and the individuals they supervision. Yet within prison settings we know little about how day-to-day interactions and interpersonal relationships impact criminal justice outcomes. Relying on the wealth of sociological and criminological literature that has informed how social capital and control impact neighborhood wellbeing, we adapted key neighborhood measures (e.g., collective efficacy, reciprocated exchange) to understand how these constructs operate in a prison context. Survey responses of over 1,800 prisoners living on 68 prison blocks within six prisons were combined with administrative and observation data. Using multi-level modeling we examined dynamics operating at three-levels—individual, block, and prison. Results are discussed as they pertain to best correctional practices.

Authors

• Brandy L. Blasko, Sam Houston State University

• Danielle Rudes, George Mason University

• Bret Bucklen, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections