"The unintended consequences of imprisonment

While there may be good reasons to imprison violent offenders, rehabilitation is not one of them. Despite the occasional (and patently erroneous) reference to the 'motel- like accommodation' of prisons, the prison environment can be highly threatening. The self-doubt and low self-esteem which often give rise to violence tend to be reinforced. Prisons have been described as analogous to jungles, where power and exploitation are dominant values.

Almost invariably, prison has serious adverse consequences for the offender. The deprivation of liberty can be an extremely stressful experience. Many prisoners, whose propensity to maladaptive behaviour may have landed them in trouble in the first place, experience great difficulty in adjusting to a prolonged period of custodial confinement.

The stresses induced by confinement may have adverse effects on a prisoner's physical and mental health. These stresses may be compounded by separation from family and friends. Indeed, it can be argued that the subculture of most Australian prisons emphasises aggression as a coping strategy. Assault, rape, self- mutilation and suicide all occur within prisons. Threat, intimidation and force are common currency. The popular injunction 'if you can't do the time, don't do the crime' obscures the fact that the prison setting may be a futile environment in which to seek to instil such values as warmth, trust and empathy, precisely those qualities which are appropriate to life as a respectable member of the community."

Below is an extract of the section titled "REHABILITATION " in SOCIETY’S RESPONSE TO THE VIOLENT OFFENDER - Australian Institute of Criminology - First published in 1989, subsequently updated:

"Many aspects of the prison environment are regarded as impediments to rehabilitation.

The basic prison setting is not conducive to the acquisition of social skills and to the learning of adaptive behaviour appropriate to resuming life as a responsible member of the general community. The experience of incarceration can be extremely stressful and humiliating, not the most ideal setting for developing self-esteem. In the custodial setting, violent offenders are exposed to few appropriate role models. Indeed, for well over a century, prisons have been referred to as 'schools of crime'."