“Purely for You”: Inmates’ Perceptions of Prison Visitation by Volunteers in the Netherlands

Abstract

Research suggests that prison visitation by volunteers may significantly reduce the risk of recidivism. Community volunteers offer sustained, prosocial support to inmates which may account for these beneficial effects. However, the question of how inmates themselves evaluate volunteer visitation has hardly been studied. This study explores how inmates of Dutch prisons who receive one-on-one volunteer visits experience and value these visits. To that end, semistructured interviews were conducted with 21 inmates across six penitentiaries. These show that the value of volunteer visitation for inmates has to be understood in terms of a human-to-human encounter. Visits by volunteers provide inmates with rare opportunities to have a confidential conversation, away from the harshness of the usual prison life. Furthermore, inmates perceive volunteer visitation as beneficial beyond the actual visits. Inmates draw hope, strength, or self-respect from the conversations; they see volunteers as role models and develop a more positive view of the future. Two potential obstacles to beneficial volunteer visitation were detected: lack of chemistry between volunteer and inmate and imposition of worldview beliefs by volunteers.

The Experience of Volunteers in Prisons in Portugal: A Qualitative Study

“…Volunteers have an important effect on the inmates' attitudes, not only during their time in the prison, but also in the process of reintegrating inmates into society ( 9 – 11 ). Research conducted in Hong Kong ( 9 ) and the Netherlands ( 12 ) reported that volunteering in a prison context brings benefits not only to the volunteers, but also to the inmates themselves ( 9 , 12 ). A study in the United States of America (USA) highlighted that whilst volunteers had positive attitudes toward prisoners and prison staff, the beginning of these interactions was marked by some mistrust ( 13 ).…”

“…This is similar to the results of a study in Australia ( 15 ), where medical students recognized the challenges and advantages of working in prison as a doctor, namely for the rejection of stereotypes. Studies carried out in Hong Kong ( 9 ), the Netherlands ( 12 ), Canada ( 16 ) and the USA ( 13 ) highlight that what led volunteers to become involved in prison volunteering contributed to the way they play their role as volunteer. The importance of visits made by volunteers, giving inmates opportunities to have different conversations and being away from the usual prison environment has also been highlighted ( 12 ).…”

Far From Home: An Examination of the Juvenile Visitation Experience and the Barriers to Getting There

“…Much of the existing visitation research focuses on whether visits benefit adult inmates or not. However, a burgeoning body of literature has begun to explore the nuances and challenges of the visitation experience of adult inmates (Arditti & Few, 2008; Duwe & Clark, 2013; Schuhmann, Kuis, & Goossensen, 2018; Tasca, Mulvey, & Rodriguez, 2016). By and large, these studies find that visitation is hardly a uniform experience.…”

Data_Sheet_3.docx

“…Volunteers have an important effect on the inmates' attitudes, not only during their time in the prison, but also in the process of reintegrating inmates into society (9)(10)(11). Research conducted in Hong Kong (9) and the Netherlands (12) reported that volunteering in a prison context brings benefits not only to the volunteers, but also to the inmates themselves (9,12). A study in the United States of America (USA) highlighted that whilst volunteers had positive attitudes toward prisoners and prison staff, the beginning of these interactions was marked by some mistrust (13).…”

“…Studies carried out in Hong Kong (9), the Netherlands (12), Canada (16) and the USA (13) highlight that what led volunteers to become involved in prison volunteering contributed to the way they play their role as volunteer. The importance of visits made by volunteers, giving inmates opportunities to have different conversations and being away from the usual prison environment has also been highlighted (12).…”