The Life in Custody Study: the quality of prison life in Dutch prison regimes

Abstract

Purpose The Life in Custody (LIC) Study is a nationwide prospective cohort study examining the quality of prison life in the Netherlands. The purpose of this paper is to describe Dutch prisoners’ perceptions of prison climate, as well as differences across regimes. Design/methodology/approach The target population of the study consisted of all male and female adult prisoners in the Netherlands who were incarcerated in various regimes in a total of 28 prisons, between January and April 2017. An intensive and personal recruitment strategy was employed. Participants completed a detailed survey, the prison climate questionnaire (PCQ). Self-reported information on a variety of topics was collected, including perceived prison climate, well-being and self-reported behaviour. Findings In total, 4,938 prisoners participated in the survey, which amounts to a high response rate of 81 per cent. Analyses show that respondents’ characteristics are almost identical to those of non-respondents. Ratings of prison climate vary across domains and regimes, with more positive scores for minimum-security regimes. Practical implications A detailed methodological approach is described that can be adopted to achieve a high response rate with survey research among prisoners. The paper alerts researchers and practitioners to a large ongoing study and first findings on prison climate in the Netherlands. The PCQ can be requested from the authors and used in future research (internationally) to gain information about the perceived quality of prison life. The paper gives insight in how different regimes are associated with differences in perceived prison climate. Collaboration on the research project can be sought with the authors. Originality/value Findings of the LIC study illustrate the value of having data on prison climate. Results of the study will contribute to more knowledge on imprisonment and what can be done to improve the humane treatment of offenders by the criminal justice system. Moreover, knowledge about the methodology of the study may enable future comparative research on prison climate.

A New Instrument to Measure Prison Climate: The Psychometric Quality of the Prison Climate Questionnaire

“…Therefore, both survey and registration data were available for a sample of 4,538 prisoners. Table 1 (prisoner characteristics) shows relevant sample characteristics for study participants (for more information regarding the representativeness of the Life in Custody (LIC) study sample, see Van Ginneken et al, 2018).…”

Examining Prisoner Misconduct: A Multilevel Test Using Personal Characteristics, Prison Climate, and Prison Environment

“…To do so, the Prison Climate Questionnaire (PCQ; Anonymous) was administered to the full population of prisoners (males and females, pre-trial detention and convicted, in practically all regimes and populations 1 ) housed in each of the 28 prisons operational in the Netherlands between January and April 2017. An extensive overview of the LIC study can be found in van Ginneken et al (2018).…”

“…Consequently, the aim of this article is to assess the extent to which prisoner characteristics (personal characteristics and prison climate) and prison environment are related to prisoner misconduct. This is studied by using data from the Life In Custody [LIC] study (van Ginneken et al, 2018), a nationwide prospective cohort study examining the experience of prison climate in the Netherlands. By using this dataset, we have access to self-report data, as well as official reports on four types (verbal, physical, property, and contraband) of prisoner misconduct.…”

Quality of Life in Jail: Gender, Correlates, and Drivers in a Carceral Space

“…It is logical to assume that overall QOL would be intricately tied to the influence of one’s immediate surroundings as noted in the aforementioned discussion of carceral climate. As van Ginneken and colleagues (2018) note, QOL was attenuated among incarcerated persons who reported lower levels of autonomy, safety, meaningful activities, and interpersonal relationships as they related to the prison environment. And persons who were incarcerated in minimum security prisons reported higher overall levels QOL in terms of both psychological well-being and environmental satisfaction than those in more restrictive carceral environments (van Ginneken et al, 2018).…”