“Is Restorative Justice Greek to Me?”: Exploring Its Applicability in Greek Youth Detention Centres

Justice systems around the world are constantly working to balance reform/rehabilitation/re-entry and punishment in response to juvenile delinquency. In recent years, there has been a strong emphasis on the notion of restorative justice as an alternative approach to criminal justice, yet there continues to be a dearth of information on the interrelation between restorative justice, religion and imprisonment, especially among youth. The present research seeks to explore the applicability and possible future implementation of restorative justice programmes for late adolescent and young adult male offenders (18–21 years old) held in the Special Detention Institutions of Greece. It also aims to identify any links between restorative justice and religion in youth custodial settings among the large migrant population hosted in these institutions. A self-administered quantitative study was distributed to achieve this aim. The data analysis provided no statistically significant relationships between the inmates’ willingness to meet with their actual/surrogate victims and ask for forgiveness/restore relationships with them. Equally insignificant was found the inmates’ eagerness to get involved in restorative mediation with their capacity to acknowledge the harm that their illegal actions inflicted on others, and to make amends.

Predictors of Aggression Among Sample-Specific Young Adult Offenders: Continuation of Violent Behavior Within South African Correctional Centers

Offenders in South Africa face dehumanizing conditions in overcrowded correctional centers known for constant violence and corruption. These offenders need to cope and adjust to life within a correctional center. However, the majority of young adult male offenders use aggression to adjust to the correctional environment. It is, therefore, essential to identify which predictor variables predict aggression the best among incarcerated young adult male offenders. This study focused on 243 young adult male maximum-security offenders sampled through convenience sampling. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate which variable(s) or set(s) of variables explain a significant percentage of the variance of aggression. The results indicated that problem-solving, seeking social support, and avoidance, as a set of predictors, significantly predicted physical aggression, anger, and hostility. These findings seem to suggest that to decrease physical aggression, anger, and hostility among young adult offenders, it would be advisable to implement interventions that would (i) increase their problem-solving skills, (ii) improve their social support, and (iii) teach them to refrain from making use of avoidance as a coping strategy.

Psychopathy Predicting Violent Criminal Behaviour among Adult Offenders

The aim of the present research was to examine the role of psychopathy in predicting violent offending within a sample of adult criminal inmates from the prisons of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan (KPK). T-test and logistic regression was used to analyse the data. Logistic regression analysis revealed that a higher level of egocentricity and a higher level of antisocial behaviour predict a greater probability of committing violent offence. These findings provide important implications for future research in Pakistan, specifically concerning psychopathy as a risk factor for criminal and violent behaviour. The present findings will help to inform legal decisions as to whether inmates should be incarcerated as violent criminals or non-violent criminals. The conclusions of the present research are limited to incarcerated adult male offenders only; therefore, the present study remains unable to reflect the development of psychopathy in either females or the general population. Keywords: Antisocial, Egocentricity, Incarcerated, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Psychopathy

The Trajectory of Offending Risks: Implications for Rehabilitation and Practice

Research has demonstrated myriad factors that contribute to one’s propensity to offend. However, similar research on the Asian, and specifically Singaporean, correctional population has been limited and extant Western research may not be culturally generalizable. This study explored the facets and trajectory of offending risks in Singaporean adult male offenders and their implications for offender rehabilitation and practice. Results suggest that offender rehabilitation should focus on interventions that maintain treatment continuity through the institutional and community phases, and that alternatives to incarceration may reduce unskilled and poorly adjusted ex-offenders in the workforce and society.

Reentry Programs for Adult Male Offender Recidivism and Reintegration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of this review is to assess the effectiveness of reentry programs designed to reduce recidivism and ensure successful reintegration among adult, male offenders. Studies were included if they (a) evaluated a reentry program incorporating elements dealing with the transition from prison to community for adult, male offenders; (b) utilized a randomized controlled design; and (c) measured recidivism as a primary outcome. In addition, secondary outcomes measures of reintegration were also included. The systematic search of 8,179 titles revealed nine randomized controlled evaluations that fulfilled eligibility criteria. The random-effects meta-analysis for rearrest revealed a statistically nonsignificant effect favoring the intervention (odds ratio [OR] = 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.74, 1.07]). Similar results were found for reconviction (OR = 0.94, 95% CI [0.77, 1.12]) and reincarceration (OR = 0.90, 95% CI [0.78, 1.05]). Studies reported mixed results of secondary outcomes of reintegration. The results of this review reflect the variability of findings on reducing recidivism. The challenges faced in conducting this review highlight a need for further research and theory development around reentry programs.

The Development and Evaluation of a Life Skills Programme for Young Adult Offenders

The purpose of this research project was to develop, implement, and evaluate a Life Skills programme for young adult male long-term offenders with the aim of improving their life skills that, in turn, could enable them to adjust more effectively in the correctional environment. Experimental research was used to investigate the effectiveness of the programme. In this study, 96 literate young adult male offenders between the ages of 21 and 25 years, with long sentences, were selected randomly. The participants were assigned randomly into an experimental and a control group. The Solomon four-group design was utilized to control for the effect of pretest sensitization. The measurements of the effectiveness of the programme were conducted before the programme commenced, directly (short term) after, 3 months (medium term) after, and 6 months (long term) after. The findings indicated that the programme had limited success in equipping the offenders with the necessary skills crucial to their survival in a correctional centre. The programme did, however, have significant effects, especially on problem solving and anger management in the short and medium term. These improvements were not long lived.