Redefining Rehabilitation: Evaluating Prison Programs Through the Desistance Perspective

• In Event: Poster Session 2

Abstract

In contemporary criminology, prisons are often viewed as „schools of crime“, underscoring the need for effective corrective measures. While therapeutic prison programs aim to counteract this negative dynamic, their actual effectiveness and evaluation methods remain hotly debated. The traditional approach to rehabilitation, which measures program success primarily through re-offending rates, is increasingly criticized as inadequate. This poster presents an in-depth analysis of data from a comprehensive prospective survey involving 1,080 inmates who participated in standardized prison programs across 27 Czech prisons. Additionally, it incorporates qualitative insights from interviews with 15 program instructors. My findings identify four key groups of factors associated with the success of prison programs. Leveraging the desistance perspective, I propose a novel framework and metrics for assessing the effectiveness of these interventions.

Author

• Martina Novopacká, Charles University, Prague / Institute for Criminology and Social Prevention, Prague