Social Networks and Prisoner Reentry: A Case of Female Offenders in the United States
Associate Professor.
Bui Ngoc Hoan
University
of Tennessee at Knoxville
Prisoner
reentry has been a focus of research since the last 15 years and is currently
an important criminal justice policy in the United States. There are several
reasons for public and scholarly attentions to prisoner reentry as a social
issue. First, the US prison population dramatically increased in the past
three decades with high recidivism rates.[1] Within three years of prison
release, almost 70% of ex-prisoners will be re-arrested and more than 40% will
be returned to prison for a new crime or parole violations, making
incarceration a revolving door for many offenders. [2] In addition, rapid increases in
criminal justice expenditures have negatively affected other social programs,
including education and public welfare. Social scientists are also
concerned with social, familial, political, and economic consequences of
criminal justice policies that emphasize incarceration as a major solution to
the crime problem.[3]
Although
women are much less likely than men to commit crime, the number of female
prisoners in the United States rose almost 10 times in the last 30 years,
from 12,000 in 1980 to 113,000 in 2008, and the percentage increase in female
prison population was greater than that in the male prison population.[4] Criminal justice scholarship
attributed the rise of incarcerated population in general and female
incarcerated population in particular to the war on crime and the war on drugs
initiated in the mid of 1980s that subsequently led to greater number of
arrests, greater likelihood of incarceration upon arrest and longer prsion
sentences. Moreover, high recidivism rates among female offenders were
also part of the problem. Although women are much less likely than men to
commit crime, women’s recidivism rates are as high as that among their male
counterparts as more than 40% of ex-female prisoners will return to prisons
within three years of prison release.
By
2010, nearly 200,000 women were incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United
States, accounting for 9% of the incarcerated population. [5] Most prisoners are released early to
continue serving their sentences in the community under parole supervision.
Thus by 2008, more than 100,000 women were under parole supervision, accounting
for 12% of the entire parole population.[6] Due to high recidivism rates among
both women and men, helping ex-prisoners succeed parole and become law-abiding
and productive citizens is a main goal of many prisoner reentry initiatives.
Characteristics of Incarcerated Women in the United States
Female
prisoners are different from their male counterparts in many ways, and these
characteristics affect their crime involvement as well as their reentry
experiences. Overall, most female prisoners are in the 30s and 40s and
have disadvantaged socioeconomic background. They often came
from the lower class with a low level of education as only 60% of female
prisoners completed high school education. Prior to prison, they were less
likely than their male counterparts to attend vocational training, or they
often received training in traditional women’s occupations, such as food and
domestic services, cosmetology, or office clerk. Thus, prior to their
incarceration only 40% of female prisoners, compared to 60% of male prisoners,
had full time jobs and almost 40% of these women (compared to 28% of male
prisoners) earned less than the minimum wage.[7]
For
family lives, most female prisoners grew up in single-parent families, and
nearly 20% of these women have never lived with their biological parents.
In addition, many female prisoners (39%) experienced sexual and/or
physical abuse in their young age by family members. About half of these women
had family members who also committed crime. Female prisoners are less likely
than women in the general population to be married; about half of them have
never been married and a third of these women have been divorced. Regardless of
their marital status, female prisoners have experienced domestic abuse at a
higher rate than other women. Most female prisoners (70%) have minor children,
and most of them served as the primary care giver of their children at the time
of arrest.
Female
prisoners have more health problems than their male counterparts. Most of them
(70%-80%) have experienced substance abuse; a quarter has had mental illness,
and the most common includes depression and PTSD (post-traumatic stress
disorder). They also have sexual transmitted diseases, including HIV, at
a higher rate than male prisoners. [8] The biggest difference between female
and male prisoners is their offense characteristics. Most
women offenders were introduced to criminal activity by their intimate partners
(husbands or boyfriends) or family members. Their crimes tend to be economic in
nature, such as street level distribution or possession of drugs, theft, and
minor frauds. When they are involved in violent crime, they often take an
accomplice role subordinate to men. Women are much less likely than men to
engage in violent crime, victims of women’s killings are often their long-time
abusers.[9]
Punishment and Rehabilitation Programs
First
time offenders of minor offenses (misdemeanors) often receive probation;
incarceration tends to apply for those who have prior criminal records.
Most of women sentenced to prison s (60%) are incarcerated for at least two
years before being released to continue serving their sentence in the community
under parole supervision. During their time in prison, female prisoners
can participate in various rehabilitation programs aimed at improving their
occupational skills and employability so that they can make an honest living.
The most popular are academic programs that help prisoners complete high school
education; correctional college education almost disappeared in recent time and
is only available in a small number of federal prisons. Vocational training is
also available in most correctional facilities. In addition, women who
experience mental health illnesses or substance abuse are often required to
participate in mental health and drug or alcohol treatment programs. The
quality of these programs varies greatly, however. Pre-release programs
are available, or even required depending on facilities, for those who will be
released to the community within six months. These programs provide female
prisoners with information about social services and treatment programs in the
local areas to which they will return and help them contact with relatives and
potential employers.
Needs and Barriers to Reentry
Female
ex-prisoners have many reentry needs that without being properly addressed will
become barriers to successful post-incarceration adaptation. These needs
include a place to live (housing or shelter), employment with living wages, as
well as physical, substance abuse and mental health treatment. As most female
offenders have minor children, they also expect to reunite and live with their
children when they return to the community, and failure to regain custody often
causes these women psychological problems that can lead to reoffending as well
as drug and alcohol relapse.
While
the needs are great, ex-prisoners often face many barriers to meeting these
reentry needs. Without jobs, incomes, or relatives/partners whom they can
rely on, female ex-prisoners often have difficulty finding a place to live when
they get out of prison; without transportation (No car or driver license), many
women experience a great deal of mobility restrictions, which become a barrier
to employment, participating in treatment programs and meeting parole reporting
requirements. Besides social bias and prejudice that make employers reluctant
to hire ex-prisoners, increasing numbers of occupation restrictions created by
state and federal jurisdictions pose many difficulties for ex-prisoners in
their efforts to obtain employment. In addition, because free physical,
mental, and substance abuse treatments are more available in prisons than in
the community, women who are released from prison and have health problems but
do not have health insurance or Medicare are unlikely to receive treatment.
For many female ex-prisoners, parole conditions that restrict their
mobility also create barriers to employment, housing opportunity, and other
normal functions. Many women also lose custody and cannot reunite with
their minor children as a consequence of their serious violent and drug
offenses, or because of a lack of employment, incomes, and stable housing.
Female ex-prisoners who face these barriers while trying to meet reentry needs
can experience psychological crisis that can lead to alcohol and drug use, a
violation of parole conditions that can bring them back to prison.
The Role of Social Networks in Women’s Reentry
Social
networks are social relationships that an individual has with other
individuals, groups and/or organization. In many situations, social networks
can be a source of resources for individuals through their relationships with
network members. Scholarship on social networks makes a distinction
between two types of social networks, and the type of resources available in
social networks depends on the strength of the ties that a person has with the
group.[10] This strength reflects length of
time, emotional intensity, intimacy, and reciprocal services. Strong ties,
which play an important role in emotional well being, occur within intimate
relationships in small and closed social circles, such as family members, relatives,
and close friends who can provide intense, multi-stranded forms of support.
Weak ties, which have a special role in a person’s opportunity for mobility,
are with acquaintances, professionals, and interest groups who often serve as
crucial bridges between individuals and multiple other people. Through weak
ties, individuals can make numerous social contacts that lead to access to
information and opportunities. For all ex-prisoners, the first few months
after prison release pose important challenges, and a majority of parole
failures occurs in the first six months after prison release.
Women released from prison often need resources that come from network
relationships characterized by both strong and weak ties.
The Roles of Strong-Tie Relationships. Intimate relationships may not a good
source of support for most female ex-offenders. Research conducted with women
who achieved successful reentry indicated that few women received material
support, such as housing and transportation assistance as well as food and cash
money, from their intimate partners. This could happen partly because many
women were divorced, or their intimate relationships were disintegrated, during
incarceration; other women decided not to be involved in new relationships after
they realized the abusive nature of their relationships with the men who had
introduced them to criminal activity.[11]
The
situation is different regarding family relationships. Research showed
that prior to incarceration, many women had strained relationships with members
of their extended families. A number of women avoided their families, or
members of these women’s families avoided them, because of these women’s
criminal activity; other women experienced severe forms of abuse by their
parents in their young age. Despites these negative family relationships,
families remained an important source of assistance for many female
ex-offenders in the reentry process. Women who achieved successful
reentry received a lot of helps from their family members (e.g., parents,
grand-parents, siblings, aunts or uncles) in terms of housing, food, and
transportation when they got out from prison; a number of women also
received cash money and child care assistance. These women considered these
material supports important in helping them not return to crime because these
supports addressed most of these women’s basic needs at the most critical time
when they were released from prison. In addition, emotional support by
family members and close friends also served as a source of encouragement and
helped many women overcome psychological challenges to reentry. [12]
The Role of Weak-Tie Relationships. Due to traditional gender role, women
tend to have fewer weak-tie relationships than men. However, due to their
experience with incarceration and correctional supervision, female ex-offenders
can have more weak-tie relationships than other women, and weak-tie
relationships can provide positive resources for successful reentry. Research
indicated that during incarceration many women established positive
relationships with prison volunteers who became not only their mentors but also
an important source of material and emotional supports during reentry. As
prison volunteers and mentors often came from religious institutions, they
could provide many types of material and emotional support in terms of housing,
money, clothes, food, and counseling. With the guidance of their
mentors, many women learned about other charity organizations in the community and
participated in volunteer work to help other prisoners, the elderly or needy
children in the community. Women who were involved in charity work began seeing
themselves more positively and realizing their self-value as helpful members of
society. Although preventing parolees from contacting with other
ex-offenders is the norm of parole supervision, research suggests that
ex-inmates and peers in treatment programs can serve as a source of emotional
and sometimes material support when these women try to help each other become
successful in their post-incarceration adaptation. [13]
For
ex-prisoners, parole officers are an important part of their weak-tie networks
due to the relationships coming from regular contacts during parole
supervision. In principle, the main goal of parole supervision is helping
ex-offenders become law-abiding and productive citizens. Thus, the
responsibility of parole officers in the United States is making sure that
parolees comply with parole conditions, assisting parolees in their search for
resources necessary for successful reentry, and providing counseling for
parolees as needed. In practice, parole officers can apply different
supervising styles. They may emphasize parolees’ compliance with parole
conditions, or they may focus on helping parolees find and obtain resources
that address their reentry needs. Research indicated important roles of parole
officers in helping female ex-offenders become successful when they treated
these women with respect, helped them find needed resources, provided these
women with emotional support, and believed in their success. In addition,
parole officers’ understandings and flexibility that addressed women’s needs,
including finding jobs and maintaining positive family relationships, were
important elements for successful post-incarceration adaptation.[14]
In
short, research suggests the utility of assisting women in identifying
emotional and material needs and available social networks that could meet
their reentry needs. As most female offenders were involved in abusive intimate
relationships prior to their incarceration and were induced into criminal
activity by their intimate partners or family members, dissolving or changing
relationships with crime-prone elements (family members and intimate partners)
can be an essential step in the reentry process. In addition, helping
female ex-offenders increase social relationships with various law-abiding
individuals, groups, and organizations would be an important step in the
process of social integration and this process could be a crucial role for
parole and treatment personnel. This would enhance women’s efforts to obtain
resources needed for successful post-incarceration adaptation.
Notes
1.
West, H. C. & Sabol,
W. J. (2008). Prisoners in 2007. Washington, DC: US Department
of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
2.
Petersilia, J.
(2003). When Prisoners Come Home: Parole and Prisoner Reentry. New
York, NY: Oxford University Press.
3.
Clear, T.
(2007). Imprisoning Communities: How Mass Incarceration Makes
Disadvantaged Neighborhood Worse. New York: Oxford University Press;
Travis, J. (2005). But They All Come Back: Facing the Challenge of
Prisoner Reentry. Urban Institute Press;
4.
West, H. C. &
Sabol, W. J. (2009). Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008. Washington,
DC: US Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics).
5.
Sentencing Project.
Incarcerated Women Factsheet. URL: http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/cc_Incarcerated_Women_Factsheet_Sep24sp.pdf.
6.
Maruschak, L. M. &
Parks, E. (2012). Probation and Parole in the United States.
Washington, DC: US Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice
Statistics).
7.
Bloom, B., Oven, B.
& Covington, S. (2003). Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research
Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders. Washington, DC:
National Institute of Corrections; Women’s Prison Association. Quick
Facts: Women and Criminal Justice, 2009. URL:http://www.wpaonline.org/pdf/Quick%20Facts%20Women%20and%20CJ_Sept09.pdf.
8.
Bloom, B., Owen, B.
& Covington, S. (2003). Gender-Responsive Strategies: Research
Practice, and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders. Washington, DC:
National Institute of Corrections.
9.
Jones, S. (2008).
Partners in crime: A study of the relationship between female offenders and
their co-defendants. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 8(2),
147-164; King, R., Massoglia, M. & MacMillan, R. (2007). The context of
marriage and crime: Gender, the propensity to marry, and offending in early
adulthood.Criminology, 45 (1), 33-64.
10.
Granovetter, M.
(1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6),
1360-1380); Halpern, D. (2008). Social Capital. Malden, MA: Polity.
11.
Bui, H. N. &
Morash, M. (2010). The impact of network relationships, prison experiences, and
internal transformation on women’s success after prison release. Journal
of Offender Rehabilitation, 49, 1-22.
12.
Ibid.
13.
Ibid.
14.
Ibid.; Cobbina, J.
2009. From prison to home: Women’s Pathway In and Out of Crime (NCJ
#226812). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice (National Institute of Justice).
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