Recall to prison in Belgium: Back-end sentencing in search of reintegration

In recent years, the United States and England and Wales have witnessed growing re-incarceration rates. This growth is not only due to the courts sending more people to prison (‘front-end sentencing’), but also due to an increasing number of revocations of early release measures, mainly following te...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Beyens, Kristel (Autor)
Otros Autores: Breuls, Lars ; De Pelecijn, Lana ; Roosen, Marijke ; Scheirs, Veerle
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2020
En: Probation journal
Año: 2020, Volumen: 67, Número: 1, Páginas: 6-25
Acceso en línea: Presumably Free Access
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Palabras clave:
Conditional release
Social reintegration
back-end sentencing
recall to prison
Descripción
Sumario:In recent years, the United States and England and Wales have witnessed growing re-incarceration rates. This growth is not only due to the courts sending more people to prison (‘front-end sentencing’), but also due to an increasing number of revocations of early release measures, mainly following technical violations of licence conditions (so called ‘back-end sentencing’). However, it is unclear whether the same phenomenon exists in other (European) countries. Therefore, we empirically studied prison recall decision-making processes in Belgium by file analysis, complemented with focus groups with the decision makers involved in the recall process of prisoners with a sentence of more than three years. We found that the recall process in Belgium is embedded in a strong narrative of ‘giving chances’ and that all decision makers deploy a large amount of discretion, which they use to make deliberate decisions in an attempt to facilitate parolees’ reintegration process. Non-compliance with imposed conditions does not automatically lead to recall and even when a parolee is sent back to prison, recall is framed by the decision makers as a step in the reintegration process, not the end of it.
ISSN:1741-3079
DOI:10.1177/0264550519900227