Research and Development Efforts to Promote Prison Reform: A National Study in Chile

Background and Purpose

We conducted a national study of incarcerated people and personnel in 2022-2023. Funded by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development. The research team consisted of an interdisciplinary team of social workers, engineers, data scientists, lawyers, sociologists, psychologists, and mental health experts, and included a partnership with the Chilean prison service. We report study findings and describe how they inform the implementation of programs and policies by the penal system to improve services during incarceration, better prepare community reentry, and reduce recidivism.

Methods

Data for the study come from various sources, including surveys to inmates and prison personnel, qualitative interviews (with personnel), and analysis of administrative data. We purposively selected the 20 largest prisons from across Chile from where a simple random sample was drawn of incarcerated individuals. 1,159 participants completed an anonymous battery of self-administered standardized questionnaires measuring quality of life in prison (MQPL) and general mental health (GHQ-12). From the same facilities, all personnel were invited to complete the GHQ-12 and the Staff Quality of Life (SQL) measure; nearly 1,200 participated.

Furthermore, over 110 semi-structured interviews were conducted with prison wardens, deputies, officers, guards, and prison staff aimed at understanding prison life from their perspectives and barriers for more effective rehabilitation. We also analyzed administrative data from over 44,000 inmates nationally that included sociodemographic and criminological information as well as their addresses. The study received IRB approvals by both the University of Chile. Participation was voluntary and began only after consent was obtained.

Results

Incarcerated people identified as the most problematic aspects the inadequate temperature in cells and lack of available jobs inside prisons, access to psychological care, job training, and addiction treatment. In terms of interpersonal relationships, most salient were the fears of being physically assaulted and the perception that the weakest are going to be abused by others. When asked about the prison environment, inmates reported that boredom, violence, drug use, and corruption seemed rampant. Using GHQ to screen for psychopathology, 22.3% of inmates showed signs of psychopathology and 51.8% “suspected psychopathology”.

Results of interviews indicate that within the prison system there are different barriers that difficult a successful reintegration if incarcerated people, including a general sense of invisibility and lack of resources, poor training of personnel, a growing influence of transnational, organized crime inside prisons, social exclusion and poverty as serious obstacles on the outside, and scarce coordination with local services.

We also geocoded administrative data along with addresses (using masking techniques) and generated heatmaps to allow for the mapping of information at the neighborhood, city, or county level where individuals would return upon release.

Discussion

The comprehensive data generated by this study is helping the Chilean penal system identify programs to improve the lives of both inmates and personnel. The data are also being utilized to inform conversations with central government, regional authorities, and communities to inform decisions to better support reentry efforts. Implications for research and practice in the region and, possibly, also in the US, are discussed.