Duwe Grant, King Michelle
Minnesota Department of Corrections, St. Paul, MN 55108-5219, USA.
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol. 2013 Jul;57(7):813-41. doi: 10.1177/0306624X12439397. Epub 2012 Mar 21.
This study evaluated the effectiveness of the InnerChange Freedom Initiative (InnerChange), a faith-based prisoner reentry program, by examining recidivism outcomes among 732 offenders released from Minnesota prisons between 2003 and 2009. Results from the Cox regression analyses revealed that participating in InnerChange significantly reduced reoffending (rearrest, reconviction, and new offense reincarceration), although it did not have a significant impact on reincarceration for a technical violation revocation. The findings further suggest that the beneficial recidivism outcomes for InnerChange participants may have been due, in part, to the continuum of mentoring support some offenders received in the institution and the community. The results imply that faith-based correctional programs can reduce recidivism, but only if they apply evidence-based practices that focus on providing a behavioral intervention within a therapeutic community, addressing the criminogenic needs of participants and delivering a continuum of care from the institution to the community. Given that InnerChange relies heavily on volunteers and program costs are privately funded, the program exacts no additional costs to the State of Minnesota. Yet, because InnerChange lowers recidivism, which includes reduced reincarceration and victimization costs, the program may be especially advantageous from a cost-benefit perspective.
本研究通过考察2003年至2009年间从明尼苏达州监狱释放的732名罪犯的累犯结果，评估了基于信仰的囚犯重新融入计划“内心转变自由倡议”（InnerChange）的有效性。Cox回归分析结果显示，参与“内心转变自由倡议”显著减少了再次犯罪（再次被捕、再次定罪和新罪行再次入狱），尽管它对因技术性违规撤销缓刑而再次入狱没有显著影响。研究结果进一步表明，“内心转变自由倡议”参与者有益的累犯结果可能部分归因于一些罪犯在监狱和社区中获得的持续指导支持。结果表明，基于信仰的惩教计划可以减少累犯，但前提是它们应用基于证据的做法，重点是在治疗性社区内提供行为干预，满足参与者的犯罪成因需求，并从监狱到社区提供持续的护理。鉴于“内心转变自由倡议”严重依赖志愿者且项目成本由私人资助，该项目不会给明尼苏达州带来额外成本。然而，由于“内心转变自由倡议”降低了累犯率，包括减少了再次入狱和受害成本，从成本效益角度来看，该项目可能特别有利。
