Research and development efforts to promote prison reform: a national study in Chile

• In Event: Global and Comparative Perspectives on Corrections

Abstract

We conducted a national, mixed-methods, collaborative, interdisciplinary study of both incarcerated people and prison personnel (2022-2023). We applied surveys to both inmates (n = 1,1159) and prison personnel (n=1,200), qualitative interviews with personnel (n=110), and analysis of administrative data (including 44,000 addresses). The study received IRB approval.
Our results indicate that incarcerated people identified issues behind bars, including inadequate temperature in cells, lack of job opportunities, scarce access to programs. Besides, the fear of being physically assaulted and the perception that the weakest are going to be abused by others were salient. Inmates also reported that boredom, violence, drug use, and corruption seemed rampant. Using GHQ-12 to screen for mental health issues, 22.3% of inmates showed signs of psychopathology.
Results of interviews indicate that within the prison system there are different barriers that make the successful reintegration of incarcerated people difficult, including invisibility, lack of resources, poor training of personnel, a growing influence of transnational crime, and poverty.
The comprehensive data generated by this study is helping the Chilean government to identify programs for improving the lives of both inmates and personnel, and to inform better decisions for reentry efforts. Implications for research and practice in the US are also discussed.

Authors

• Guillermo Sanhueza, Loyola University Chicago

• Liza Zúñiga, University of Chile