The Porous Prison

Abstract

A follow-up study of 19,955 releases from Irish prisons shows interesting variation in rates of recidivism. Prisoners who, during their sentences, were occasionally allowed to venture outside for vocational or family-related purposes were significantly less likely to be reimprisoned. This held true up to 4 years after their eventual release and is a clear empirical demonstration of the benefits, other than humanitarian, of maintaining prisoners' social capital.