From Outlaw to Citizen
From Outlaw to Citizen
A prisoner
coming out of jail and making a successful transition over
time towards becoming law-abiding citizen must overcome
major difficulties. Matthew, a long-term prisoner, said he
had not been prepared for the shock of going back to
civilian life. Like Rip Van Winkle, he found the world
outside prison had changed beyond recognition. He had not
used Eftpos, credit cards, cell phones or computers and felt
incompetent to deal with everyday situations, such as
getting onto a bus going in the right direction. He had had
little practice in turning off lights and his gas stove. As
with all the respondents in this study, he was well aware of
the intense public distrust of offenders. Ironically,
however, offenders are highly dependent on public tolerance
and acceptance if they are to desist from
re-offending.
Dr Anne Opie, an independent researcher
and former social worker, interviewed recently released
ex-prisoners over a period of time about their experiences
of the challenges associated with attempting to move back
into to civilian life. Her findings are published by Dunmore
Publishing in From Outlaw to Citizen: Making the
Transition from Prison in New Zealand.
“There
are myriad and shocking historical and present failures in
our prison systems to help those leaving prison to resettle
into communities and move away from re-offending.” says
Anne Opie.
More than half of the respondents were
released into a city they had never lived in before. Few had
either family or friends on whom they could rely. Nearly all
left prison in the clothes in which they had been admitted,
with one saying he left prison during the winter wearing
jeans, a tee-shirt and thongs. Others said their clothes had
barely fitted them. Prisoners are meant to organize their
accommodation prior to their release. This was typically
very difficult to do and three left prison without having a
place to live. Unsurprisingly, several considered that
returning to prison might be an easier option that trying to
manage civilian life, their experiences replicating findings
in recent international literature about how hard it is for
released prisoners to cope with the stresses of release and,
in the process avoid re-offending.
Anne Opie’s
research showed that the respondents spoke very highly of
the non governmental organizations (NGOs) who worked with
and supported them after their release. They helped them
find accommodation manage finances and, in some instances,
employment, because the staff had the necessary detailed
knowledge of their community and of people with connections
to help released prisoners. Respondents described how staff
and volunteers in these agencies treated them as human
beings, offering hope and help in planning and beginning to
work towards a constructive future.
In contrast, the
respondents were highly critical of the Community Probation
Service’s (CPS) very restricted role. Staff asked only
about respondents’ compliance with their conditions of
parole. They were not mandated to ask about and help
offenders with their very real everyday problems. Nor were
they interested in the positive ways in which respondents
were attempting to re-build their lives and cease to
re-offend.
Anne Opie said, “This study indicates
that Corrections and the CPS have been operating on the
basis of a very limited account of what helps to assist
offenders move towards being able to live more constructive
lives. There are many social factors that contribute to
people re-offending. Corrections has apparently been unaware
of significant initiatives in other countries focused on
what helps people desist from re-offending and begin to
contribute, as were some respondents, to the society to
which they
belong.”
ends