title: Life on parole: An extended investigation of how pre-release and post-release factors contribute to desistence from crime

authors: Brown, Andrew

subjects: prevention of recidivism

abstract: Prevention of recidivism is the universally accepted goal of the New Zealand/ Aotearoa justice system, the nation’s Department of Corrections, politicians and public (“Our vision goal and priorities reducing re-offending”, New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2015). What can be done within prisons prior to release and then in the community post-release to reduce recidivism needs to be better understood. Parolees endure significant challenges when they transition back to their communities. Finding suitable accommodation, confirming stable employment, and maintaining prosocial support networks rate highly among these challenges (Bucklen & Zajac, 2009). While a high proportion of parolees fail to meet these challenges and recidivate soon after release, there are some who do not. Understanding the factors that enable those who avoid further convictions post-release is an important step in designing interventions and processes that might lead to higher a proportion of parolees similarly succeeding (Polaschek & Yesberg, 2016). Of equal importance is the need to understand the factors that increase parolees’ risks of recidivating. Measures have been designed by researchers to understand first, how men prepare for, and conceptualise, their re- entries and second, how they then experience life on parole. The Release Plan Quality (RPQ) measure was designed to analyse prisoners’ release plans and rate their quality on various metrics. Another measure, the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM) rates the quality of parolees’ experiences during re-entry and transition (Wilson, Kilgour & Polaschek, 2013). This thesis examines the PEM and the RPQ in relation to four recidivism outcomes at one- year post-release, namely; conviction for breach of parole conditions, reconviction for new offending (excluding convictions for breach of parole), new convictions for violence offences and convictions leading to reimprisonment. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that PEM outcomes were more predictive of the four recidivism outcomes than the RPQ results. Better RPQ results did, however, predict better PEM results. PEM results (particularly PEM results from the PEM external circumstances subscale) at the two-month mark post-release were found to best predict the four recidivism outcomes. This indicated that environmental issues external to the parolee such as employment and accommodation were more likely to impact risk of recidivism than internal, personal factors such as mental health and personal attitudes. The effectiveness of the PEM two-month results for predicting the four recidivism outcomes remained after controlling for possible confounding variables. This research suggests first, that parolees who have better release plans will have better experiences when on parole and second that parolees who have early positive experiences on parole particularly in relation to external factors such as employment and accommodation are somewhat more likely to remain crime-free post-release.

text: Life on parole: An extended investigation of how pre-release and post-release factors contribute to desistence from crime Prevention of recidivism is the universally accepted goal of the New Zealand/ Aotearoa justice system, the nation’s Department of Corrections, politicians and public (“Our vision goal and priorities reducing re-offending”, New Zealand Department of Corrections, 2015). What can be done within prisons prior to release and then in the community post-release to reduce recidivism needs to be better understood. Parolees endure significant challenges when they transition back to their communities. Finding suitable accommodation, confirming stable employment, and maintaining prosocial support networks rate highly among these challenges (Bucklen & Zajac, 2009). While a high proportion of parolees fail to meet these challenges and recidivate soon after release, there are some who do not. Understanding the factors that enable those who avoid further convictions post-release is an important step in designing interventions and processes that might lead to higher a proportion of parolees similarly succeeding (Polaschek & Yesberg, 2016). Of equal importance is the need to understand the factors that increase parolees’ risks of recidivating. Measures have been designed by researchers to understand first, how men prepare for, and conceptualise, their re- entries and second, how they then experience life on parole. The Release Plan Quality (RPQ) measure was designed to analyse prisoners’ release plans and rate their quality on various metrics. Another measure, the Parole Experiences Measure (PEM) rates the quality of parolees’ experiences during re-entry and transition (Wilson, Kilgour & Polaschek, 2013). This thesis examines the PEM and the RPQ in relation to four recidivism outcomes at one- year post-release, namely; conviction for breach of parole conditions, reconviction for new offending (excluding convictions for breach of parole), new convictions for violence offences and convictions leading to reimprisonment. Logistic regression analysis results indicated that PEM outcomes were more predictive of the four recidivism outcomes than the RPQ results. Better RPQ results did, however, predict better PEM results. PEM results (particularly PEM results from the PEM external circumstances subscale) at the two-month mark post-release were found to best predict the four recidivism outcomes. This indicated that environmental issues external to the parolee such as employment and accommodation were more likely to impact risk of recidivism than internal, personal factors such as mental health and personal attitudes. The effectiveness of the PEM two-month results for predicting the four recidivism outcomes remained after controlling for possible confounding variables. This research suggests first, that parolees who have better release plans will have better experiences when on parole and second that parolees who have early positive experiences on parole particularly in relation to external factors such as employment and accommodation are somewhat more likely to remain crime-free post-release.

year: 2019

title: Borderline bodies

authors: Johnston, Lynda

subjects: border

abstract: This chapter is about borders that are made and broken at gay pride parades. Specifically, I examine the discursive and material borders maintained in tourism discourse. Binary oppositions such as self/other, straight/gay, and tourist/host provide a focus for this chapter. I am interested in where these borders wear thin and threaten to break and disrupt social order. I explore the bodies of gay pride parades because it is bodies such as these that threaten the borders of corporeal acceptability.

text: Borderline bodies This chapter is about borders that are made and broken at gay pride parades. Specifically, I examine the discursive and material borders maintained in tourism discourse. Binary oppositions such as self/other, straight/gay, and tourist/host provide a focus for this chapter. I am interested in where these borders wear thin and threaten to break and disrupt social order. I explore the bodies of gay pride parades because it is bodies such as these that threaten the borders of corporeal acceptability.

year: 2002

title: Antipodean settler societies and their complexities: the Waitangi process in New Zealand and native title and the stolen generations in Australia

authors: Byrnes, Giselle

subjects: native title claim

abstract: This article considers the process of determining native title claims and responding to the revelation of forced Indigenous child removal in Australia, together with the Treaty of Waitangi claims process in New Zealand; each of which can be understood more broadly as a response to the aftermath and ongoing consequences of colonisation. We undertake this analysis comparatively, through an examination of the broad sweep of colonial history in both countries, followed by a more detailed consideration of the processes in question, as they have become manifest over the last decade or so in Australia and almost 30 years in New Zealand. We compare and contrast the institutions, epistemological and political preoccupations and language in each case, revealing various latent ironies and incongruities in the systems on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

text: Antipodean settler societies and their complexities: the Waitangi process in New Zealand and native title and the stolen generations in Australia This article considers the process of determining native title claims and responding to the revelation of forced Indigenous child removal in Australia, together with the Treaty of Waitangi claims process in New Zealand; each of which can be understood more broadly as a response to the aftermath and ongoing consequences of colonisation. We undertake this analysis comparatively, through an examination of the broad sweep of colonial history in both countries, followed by a more detailed consideration of the processes in question, as they have become manifest over the last decade or so in Australia and almost 30 years in New Zealand. We compare and contrast the institutions, epistemological and political preoccupations and language in each case, revealing various latent ironies and incongruities in the systems on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

year: 2008