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NSfK’s 40. forskerseminar, Espoo, Finland 1998 completes his sentence. If a prisoner leaves the SAA treatment facilities without the knowledge or approval of the PPA, this is regarded as a breakout from prison, which may be subject to disciplinary sanctions under the Prisons and Imprisonment Act. The objective of the present study is to assess <strong>what</strong> results may have been obtained from offering to prisoners the option of completing their sentences by participating in a six-week alcohol and drug abuse treatment programme at SAA. This is done by investigating whether there is any difference in the rate of recidivism among those who completed this programme and those who failed to do so. It was assumed that persons in the former group were less likely to return to prison, and that those who did return would do so later than the others. In making this comparison, use was only made of information concerning those who completed their treatment programme not later than four years ago, i.e. those who took part in such a programme in 1990-1993, so as to obtain a reliable picture of their return rate. Another purpose was to investigate the criminal records of the prisoners and compare it to the available information on the criminal records and return rates of Icelandic prisoners in general. An assessment of the efficiency of the treatment was not included, as the available information does not permit this. The study was in part carried out with the financial support of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse <strong>Prevention</strong> Fund (Forvarnararsjóður). The rates of return to prison among Icelandic prisoners have been the subject of some study programmes. Gudjonsson (1982) investigated how more than 70 boys who had been accommodated at Breiðavík in Iceland, a home for behaviourally disturbed children, had fared after they left that facility, and found that approximately 73% had committed a criminal act three or more years after they had left. Soon after, another study of the return rates to Icelandic prisons was conducted by Kristmundsson (1985), who found that more than one half (55%) of prisoners who had completed their sentences in 1979 and 1980 had served a prison sentence previously, and that 59% of them had returned to prison by 1984. Recently Sigurdsson and Gudjonsson (1997) investigated the criminal records of almost 500 Icelandic prisoners who had served their sentences in the period 1991-1995. Among the results was that 40% of the prisoners had served prison sentences previously. An excerpt of their article on the criminal records of Icelandic prisoners was published in the PPA’s Annual Report for 1996. The investigations of Kristmundsson (1985) and Sigurdsson and Gudjonssson (1997) indicate that recidivism in Iceland showed a marked reduction in the period 1980-1985. It must be noted, however, that different studies show different return rates. A lower rate is shown if a study relates to all persons coming to prison for the service of a sentence, but a study of all persons staying in prison at a particular point in time shows a higher rate. In the latter case a higher return rate may be expected, because the study group then includes a higher proportion of habitual offenders. A cross-section of the present Icelandic prison population reveals that approximately 50% of Icelandic prisoners have served a sentence previously. Method A study of recidivism rates and criminal records of 48 prisoners who were permitted to complete their prison sentences by a six week alcohol and drug abuse treatment programme at SAA in 1990-1993 included 44 men (92%) and 4 women (8%). Figure 1 shows the age distribution of the prisoners. Their average age at the time the treatment programme was initiated was 30.1 years (SD=8.0). The youngest prisoner was 18 years old, and the oldest was 54 years old. 132
NSfK’s 40. forskerseminar, Espoo, Finland 1998 The study included a comparison of those who completed the full six week programme at SAA and those who failed to do so, i.e. those who terminated their participation at their own request and those who were dismissed as a result of some disciplinary violation during the programme. Results Table 1 shows the number of prisoners, for each year separately, who completed the entire programme, and of those who did not. Of the 48 prisoners given the opportunity of completing their prison sentences by participation in a six week alcohol and drug abuse programme at SAA, 34 prisoners completed the programme (71%), but 14 (29%) ceased their participation before its completion, 8 at their own request, and 6 because of disciplinary violations during the programme. Those completing the programme were 32 men (73%) and 2 women (50%). No comparison was made between males and females, as the female sample was very small. Female prisoners are only between 5 and 6 per cent of those who at any particular time serve prison sentences in Iceland. 133
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Organised Crime & Crime Prevention
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Rådsmedlemmer: Flemming Balvig, Da
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ISBN 87-987103-0-3
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