CRIMINOGENIC INFLUENCE OF PENITENTIARY INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Referral to serve a sentence of imprisonment in a penitentiary institution is a very stressful experience for all convicted offenders. They are obliged to put an end to their former lifestyle and continue living in a penal institution of a closed type, governed by strict rules of conduct and featuring very diverse population of inmates. Due to the loss of freedom, many convicts are deprived of numerous privileges they used to have outside prison. In reaction to these “deprivations”, they commit new crimes while serving their prison sentences. For this reason, time spent in prison can be an important criminogenic factor. In the first part of the paper, author discusses the forms of deprivation in penitentiary institutions and their impacts on prisoners’ life. Then, the author points out to the criminogenic impact of the prison environment and the necessity to conduct empirical research in this area. Finally, the author underscores the need to find effective measures to reduce the criminogenic impact of the prison environment and turn penitentiaries into facilities for genuine rehabilitation and re-socialization of prisoners.