The Life in Custody Study: the quality of prison life in Dutch prison regimes
Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice
ISSN: 2056-3841
Article publication date: 2 November 2018
Issue publication date: 12 November 2018
Abstract
Purpose
The Life in Custody (LIC) Study is a nationwide prospective cohort study examining the quality of prison life in the Netherlands. The purpose of this paper is to describe Dutch prisoners’ perceptions of prison climate, as well as differences across regimes.
Design/methodology/approach
The target population of the study consisted of all male and female adult prisoners in the Netherlands who were incarcerated in various regimes in a total of 28 prisons, between January and April 2017. An intensive and personal recruitment strategy was employed. Participants completed a detailed survey, the prison climate questionnaire (PCQ). Self-reported information on a variety of topics was collected, including perceived prison climate, well-being and self-reported behaviour.
Findings
In total, 4,938 prisoners participated in the survey, which amounts to a high response rate of 81 per cent. Analyses show that respondents’ characteristics are almost identical to those of non-respondents. Ratings of prison climate vary across domains and regimes, with more positive scores for minimum-security regimes.
Practical implications
A detailed methodological approach is described that can be adopted to achieve a high response rate with survey research among prisoners. The paper alerts researchers and practitioners to a large ongoing study and first findings on prison climate in the Netherlands. The PCQ can be requested from the authors and used in future research (internationally) to gain information about the perceived quality of prison life. The paper gives insight in how different regimes are associated with differences in perceived prison climate. Collaboration on the research project can be sought with the authors.
Originality/value
Findings of the LIC study illustrate the value of having data on prison climate. Results of the study will contribute to more knowledge on imprisonment and what can be done to improve the humane treatment of offenders by the criminal justice system. Moreover, knowledge about the methodology of the study may enable future comparative research on prison climate.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This Life in Custody Study was funded by the Dutch Prison Service (DJI) and Leiden University. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the DJI. The authors wish to thank the DJI for their support with the administration of the survey.
Citation
van Ginneken, E.F.J.C., Palmen, H., Bosma, A.Q., Nieuwbeerta, P. and Berghuis, M.L. (2018), "The Life in Custody Study: the quality of prison life in Dutch prison regimes", Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 253-268. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-07-2018-0020
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited