Life on Parole: Examining how the Quality of Parolees' Experiences after Release from Prison Contributes to Successful Re-entry

Individuals who have spent time in prison face a multitude of challenges during the transition from prison to the community, including finding suitable accommodation, obtaining stable employment, and establishing prosocial support networks (Bucklen & Zajac, 2009; Kubrin & Stewart, 2006; Zamble & Quinsey, 1997). The cumulative impact of these challenges makes it difficult to achieve successful reintegration to the community, yet some men are able to survive the difficult re-entry process without reoffending. What differentiates men who reoffend after release from those who succeed in remaining conviction-free? The present research went some way towards answering this question by investigating how the quality of an individual’s experiences after release from prison relates to the likelihood that he will achieve successful re-entry. A comprehensive measure, named the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM), was developed to assess the type and quality of high-risk parolees’ experiences during re-entry. The PEM was then used to examine whether experiences in the first two months after release predicted both short-term recidivism (i.e., recidivism in the first two months after release) and slightly longer-term recidivism (i.e., recidivism in the first year after release). Three indices of recidivism were examined, varying in severity from breaching a parole condition to committing an offence that resulted in reimprisonment. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the PEM significantly predicted three indices of short-term recidivism, demonstrating that men who had poorer experiences on parole were more likely to fail quickly after release than those who had better experiences. Further, the PEM significantly predicted reconvictions in the first year following release, after controlling for possible confounding variables. Additional analyses explored the relative contribution of different aspects of an individual’s parole experiences to the prediction of recidivism. In general, factors related to individuals’ external circumstances (e.g., accommodation, finances, personal support) were predictive of recidivism over and above factors related to their subjective wellbeing (e.g., mental health, physical health). The findings of this research demonstrate that men who have better experiences after release from prison, particularly with regard to their external circumstances, are significantly more likely to successfully avoid recidivism within their first year in the community. To our knowledge, this study was one of the first methodologically rigorous studies to explore the relationship between the quality of re-entry experiences and recidivism in a sample of New Zealand men at high risk of reoffending.