Crime and Employment: Critical Issues in Crime Reduction for Corrections

This text crystallizes the issue of work as a rehabilitative instrument in the modern correctional environment. It explores the effect of employment on crime and recidivism, with its implications for correctional programmes and operations as well as for ex-offender reintegration into the community. The professionals contributing to this volume evaluate the effectiveness of employment in enabling offenders to desist from crime; the roles of prison versus community correctional services; the success of work programmes for older versus younger offenders; the effect of industrial employment on reducing prison misconduct and post-release recidivism; the relevance of prior employment, substance abuse histories, poverty and family contexts on subsequent inmate work programmes; and the availability of quality employment, lawful lifestyles and community vocational programmes in sustaining economic rehabilitation of offenders.