More than 10 million people are imprisoned worldwide and as it is often said: “99% of them will be released one day”. A prison sentence has a major impact on the life of incarcerated persons (e.g. losing their job, homes, shrinking social network).
As the Flemish government (Belgium) aimed to gain more insight into the reentry process of incarcerated people, the BRuG-project was launched. This currently ongoing research project is developed with the aim of decreasing recidivism rates on the long-term by adapting the current offer of services and activities to the real needs experienced by people living in detention.
To gain insight into these aspects, a survey has been conducted in almost all prisons in Flanders and Brussels among a representative sample of incarcerated persons. In total, 777 people participated, which is 11.2% of the total prison population. The multi-faceted ecological model by Graffam & Shinkfield (2012) is used to present the complexity of factors affecting reentry. Factors at three broad ecological domains are discussed: (1) intrapersonal conditions (e.g. physical and psychological health, substance use), (2) subsistence conditions (e.g. finances, employment and housing) and (3) support conditions (e.g. social support, support services/ program participation). Attention is paid to people’s life before incarceration, during imprisonment, and their concerns towards reentry.
The results of the survey entail the potential to tailor the current services and activities to better support the reentry process, which is a known as a challenging process for many.
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Leen Vandevelde
PhD Researcher, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Leen is a PhD researcher at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where she is part of the PArticipation and Learning in Detention (PALD) research group. She is the main researcher on the policy-driven BRuG-project (“Behoeften voor Re-integratie en recidivebeperking bij Gedetineerden”) that will be presented during this session at the ICPA conference. The BRuG-project focuses on prisoner’s reentry needs and aims to identify the needs, barriers and reintegration-enchancing factors experienced by incarcerated persons. Besides a quantitative prison survey, she also conducts life-story interviews with (former) incarcerated persons to gather deeper insights in their lifes and needs. The project is funded by the Flemish government (Justice and enforcement agency). The data of the BRuG-project will be used in her doctoral thesis.
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Dorien Brosens
Assistant professor, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Educational Sciences, Research group PArticipation And Learning in Detention (PALD), Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Dorien Brosens is an assistant professor (10%) at the Department of Educational Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and a senior postdoctoral researcher (90%) at the Research Foundation of Flanders (Belgium). She is one of the founding members of the interdisciplinary research group called “PArticipation and Learning in Detention” (PALD). Her research mainly focuses on peer programs, active citizenship, and innovative types of learning in prison, encompassing formal, non-formal and informal learning activities. She has published in journals such as the Journal of Prison Education and Reentry, the European Journal of Criminology, and Criminology & Criminal Justice.
