While a reduction in reoffending was also observed in the female-only sample group, the results were non-significant. Offender gender – it was observed that visits reduced reoffending by 53% for the male-only samples and also samples including both males and females.There is good evidence that prison visits vary considerably by context, including offender gender and type of visit. While the review provides a full theory of change, the mechanisms were not empirically tested as the primary studies did not provide the necessary information to do so. This could also reduce the risk of antisocial relationships influencing their reoffending. This could contribute to the development of a pro-social rather than criminal identity. Prison visits can allow offenders to associate with people not currently in prison.By maintaining or establishing ties through visits, the intervention may assist prisoners in accessing resources necessary immediately after release, such as employment, behavioural health and substance abuse treatment, housing opportunities, social welfare services and transportation assistance. ![]() Additionally, the review mentions that face-to-face contact may help offenders cope with strain resulting from feelings of loss, anger or frustration in prison and after release.Prison visits can maintain or strengthen positive social bonds which in turn may act as controls for preventing criminal behaviour during and after imprisonment.The review suggested a number of mechanisms by which prison visits might have an effect on crime. However, the statistical techniques used to summarise the effects did not account for variations in study design.Īdditionally, the review did not describe the extent to which each included primary study was reviewed or analysed. The review demonstrated a thorough analysis of variation and consideration of the potential issues of dependency and publication bias. The evidence is taken from a systematic review covering 16 studies. The review was sufficiently systematic that many forms of bias that could influence the study conclusions can be ruled out. Prison visits had an overall mean effect reducing new convictions by 28%, reimprisonment by 4% and multiple measures of reoffending by 56%. The review also looked at the type of reoffending measure and found that the effect of the intervention varied according to the type of measure used. An 8% reduction was reported for studies measuring offending between one and three years post-intervention, and a 30% reduction for studies measuring offending after three to five years. Prison visitation was found to reduce reoffending by 53% for studies measuring offending up to one year after the intervention. The three remaining primary studies had non-significant findings.Īdditional analyses of the 16 studies included length of follow-up. One primary study found that in-person visits increased the likelihood of arrest by 2% following release from prison. Twelve primary studies found that prison visits led to a reduction in reoffending of between 3% and 62%. Overall, prison visits resulted in a 26% decrease in reoffending. ![]() Overall, the evidence suggests that prison visits have reduced reoffending, but there is some evidence that they have increased reoffending.Ī meta-analysis of 16 studies showed a statistically significant reduction in reoffending for prisoners who received visits compared to prisoners who did not.
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