The Attitudes of the Convicts Towards the Living Conditions in Prisons

Abstract

Inspiration to write the paper and the issue addressed by the paper: The attitudes of the convicts towards the living conditions in prisons determine the integrity of a person into the prison system, and may influence the efficiency of criminal sanctions, success of a treatment, resocialization and reintegration of the convicts. The main issue of the paper is to examine the attitudes and opinions of the convicts towards the degree of satisfaction with living conditions in prisons.

Paper goal: The goal of this paper is to find out to what extent the basic, legally prescribed living conditions in prisons are met from the point of view of the convicts themselves, and to gain an insight into the possibilities of improving the program of treatment and respect of the human rights.

Methodology: The Questionnaire referring to the satisfaction with basic living conditions in prisons – USZB, was created for the purpose of this survey, in order to examine the attitudes of the convicts regarding the hygienic and nutritional conditions, respect for the integrity of a personality, and the establishment of social relations and conventional activities. The scale contains 9 statements, and its internal consistency reliability is .85. The survey has been conducted on 140 male convicts, the average age of 37.66.

Survey  restraints: The created Questionnaire examines only attitudes towards the basic living conditions in prisons, and it should be modified by extending it to other relevant life aspects within the prison system and then compare them to the type of the committed crime and specific dimensions of a convict’s personality. The survey has been performed on a relevant sample.

Results/General conclusion: According to the results of the survey, between 44.3% and 90% of the convicts is satisfied with the living conditions in prisons, taken that the smallest percentage of respondents is satisfied with the way the contact with the outside world is achieved and the nutritional conditions, while the highest percentage of respondents is satisfied with the interpersonal relations with other convicts and the prison staff. There was no difference in the satisfaction with living conditions in prisons considering the age of the convicts or the length of the pronounced and served criminal sanction.

Justification of the survey: Insight into the attitudes of the convicts towards the living conditions in prisons relies on basic human needs, and it is a relevant issue in the field of respect for human rights and requirements for human treatment of the convicts.