Criminals faster to return to work

Halden prison.Halden prison.Photo: Heiko Junge / Scanpix

Criminals who are sentenced to prison return to work faster, criminals from prison recover quicker into the labor market than offenders who did not receive prison time, according to a new research report.

Five years after conviction those sentenced to prison, average 27 percent lower risk of having convictions of new crimes than those who commit the same offense, but don’t serve time, wrote Klassekampen. For inmates who have not been employed in the past five years, the effect is even greater.

– Work is the key. What we find is that labor market programs in prison give people opportunities, while those that do not go to a prison, presumably go back into old patterns since they do not receive follow-up, says economics professor Katrine Loken at the University of Bergen.

Along with three other scientists she stands behind the article “incarceration, recidivism and Employment”.

Johan Lote of the Foundation Wayback, works to help prisoners with life after prison, saying they largely believe that prison does not help. He said the report shows that education, supervision and assistance to job and networking is what works.

– We note that it emphasizes rehabilitation in terms of providing employment and education that can lead to lower recidivism, and it is consistent with our experience, said Acting Deputy Director Kristin Tandberg in Correctional Services Directorate.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today