Criminology Research Council grant ; (4/90)
During 1991-1992 a program evaluation was conducted at Barwon security prison near Geelong in Victoria. The study aimed to establish whether prisoners who participated in articulated on-the-job off-the-job training programs offering continuity of training in prison and after release were more likely to gain post-release employment and less likely to re-offend than prisoners who participated in non-credentialing programs.
Prisoners were interviewed six months prior to release in relation to past employment, past education level and a range of personal identifying data such as age, nationality and marital status. This first interview also sought details of their current sentence and program participation.
At a second interview, just before release, prisoners were asked to review their program participation at Barwon and their future employment and training prospects.
Six months after release contact was made with community based corrections offices and police records to gain information on post-release employment, training and offending records.
Due to the limited time-scale for the evaluation only 46 men and seven women could be included in the evaluation project. However, some trends in data were apparent. First, most of the identifying data appeared to have no significant outcome in terms of post-release employment or recidivism, except for previous imprisonment experience. The six participants who had no previous prison experience and who had personal contacts willing to provide employment, were the only participants who gained full-time employment. Four of these six had participated in credentialing programs at Barwon but only one continued his training post-release and none of them gained employment in the area of training at Barwon.
No prisoner who gained full-time post-release employment had any further contact with the criminal justice system in the first six months after release. On the other hand there was a trend towards higher recidivism amongst participants who had 'shopped around' amongst available non-credentialing activities whilst in prison, whereas those who enrolled in courses and pursued them for 'self-improvement', were less likely to be in further trouble with police after release.
These tentative conclusions are supported by a larger study by the researcher at Malmsbury Youth Training Centre (completed in 1986) in which it was found that 17 to 21-year-old trainees who achieved higher levels of schooling and had never been in a youth training centre before were more likely to gain post-release employment, and with the assistance of a relative or previous employer.
There are two recommendations for future program development coming out of the Malmsbury and Barwon data:
- The work of the Victorian Office of Corrections, in conjunction with the State Training Board, to provide articulated training programs should continue and be expanded because many prisoners become highly motivated to improve their skills through participation and the current provision nowhere meets the demand.
- Stronger supports need to be developed between prison and post-prison, not only in the area of continuity in training program participation but also in employer contracts, especially for recidivist offenders, who even with successful completion of a training course in a high demand area of the labour market, appear unable to secure any sort of employment without assistance. Additionally, Commonwealth labour market programs, currently available only after release, could be made available prior to release, possibly as part of an intensive prerelease program which would involve prisoners working on problem-solving tasks and simulations related to community living situations, particularly in two areas of concern commonly mentioned by prisoners in the current study namely, readjustment to family living and work.
These recommendations also apply to the small number of women who participated in the evaluation. All were repeated offenders, none were able to participate in a credentialed training program, and six months after release only one was not in further trouble.
It is noted that the Office of Corrections Industry Training Plan (1993) places great emphasis on the first recommendation. The second recommendation may require new initiatives.