Pakistan Association of Anthropology, Islamabad, Pakistan

Special issue
Sci.int.(Lahore),27(2),1625-1627,2015 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8 1625
EXPLORING THE EFFECTS OF IMPRISONMENT ON JUVENILE
DELINQUENTS IN RELATION TO RECIDIVISM: A QUALITATIVE CASE
STUDY
ShabeebAnwar1, Shaheer Ellahi Khan2,Khurrum Ellahi Khan3, Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry4, Sabiha Sultana5
1
Iqra University Islamabad, 2Department of Humanities & Social Sciences, Bahria University Islamabad, 3Pakistan Institute of Development
Economics Islamabad, 4Department of Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, 5Sociologist, Islamabad
Corresponding Author’s Email: shaheer_ellahi@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT: The concept of determinants to juvenile delinquency has been studied, mostly in Punjab’s context and with few
studies focusing on Sindh and Karachi as well, nevertheless despite these valuable researches, linkages between socio-
economic determinants of Juvenile Delinquency and effects of imprisonment and post-imprisonment on subsequent recidivism
rate including their nature of future crimes, is still an area that has not been given any attention in social science research. The
current study aimed at understanding and exploring the factors (if any) which may affect these juveniles during imprisonment
to revert to their area of crime after release and will also evaluate the related recidivism trends in future.

Keywords: Imprisonment, Juvenile, Delinquents, Recidivism

INTRODUCTION RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Recidivism is defined when a prisoner is caught again in the
charge of the same offence. It is further elaborated when a
person is repeating the negative behavior, even after
receiving the charges or the training for the said crime.
Lately, the effect of imprisonment on previous prisoners has
generated a lot of discussion. It is widely believed that most
of the prisoners will be back into prison after some time. A
report published by the Pew Center on the United States in
April 2011, stated the average recidivism rate at national
level for released prisoners stand at 43.3% [1, 2].
The situation faced by Pakistan is no different as offenders of
petty crime end up in the jail however they comeback from
the jail as more professional criminals. Most of the criminals
will be back in the jail from where they are released. This is
due to the constant decadence in the state of domestic
security in Sindh, when judiciary is overbooked with court
cases and not having enough of staff members to handle the
prevailing situation. Further, many people cannot afford
worthy defense attorneys. Extra layers and hierarchies in a
bureaucratic system further make the situation worst. All
these factors yield into high number of Under Trial prisoners
(UTPs) in Sindh. In this situation an average offender can
wait from 6-24 months until they are presented at a proper
judicial forum, but during this time criminals alleged of petty
crimes have to survive with the serious offenders and
terrorists from which they learn and inspire for more advance
ways of breaking the law.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The current study primarily focused to explore the factors
during imprisonment which adds up to contribute exclusively
to juvenile recidivism and generally to juvenile delinquency
in Karachi City, Sindh province, Pakistan. The study has
gathered the data by interacting with the jail staff and the
juveniles complimented with completion of an observational
checklist to cross validate the information regarding the
living conditions and environment of the prison in general.
The study also conducted in-depth exclusive in-depth
interviews with the juvenile delinquents.
Age and Education
The juvenile respondents mostly belonged to the age bracket
of 16 to 18 years, however the complete age range of the
participants for this study was from 15-20 years old. A study
by Yoshikawa (1994) showed that juveniles who are charged
for crime during the age of 10-15 hold large chances for
becoming habitual and serious offenders than those who are
convicted for crime after the age of 16. The study also found
that most of the respondents were illiterate and only one
respondent reached till 8th grade before being imprisoned It is
also observed that most of the juveniles belonged to a
background, where they received no or minimum education,
hence resulting in a reduced share of opportunities in the
market. The market competition then leaves very little space
for these juveniles, to pursue their financial independence,
which compels them to resort to criminal activities
consequently leading to juvenile recidivism [3].
Family Income
The study found that nearly all of the juveniles were from the
financially poor background. This household poverty leads to
domestic violence, frustration and provides a push to cross
the boundaries drawn by social norms and values. On the
contrary, child belonging to rich, generous, and benevolent
parents may have so many good things conferred upon him
that he fails to develop an admiration of values or to get the
discipline necessary for life.
Role of Parenting
It was also found that the role of the parents is limited in the
context of preventing juvenile delinquency and consequently
juvenile recidivism, the study showed that most of the
juveniles had their parent alive but not shaping or providing
necessary guidance to limit the criminal tendencies. It was
rather found that the familial presence may lead to frustration,
domestic violence and a repulsive reaction of the juveniles
towards the society and also towards their own family
members.
Duration of Incarceration and its Effects
The study explored that the juveniles who are in prison for
the second time are serving less average time as compared to
their first visit. It was found that first-time offenders are more

March-April
 Pakistan Association of Anthropology, Islamabad, Pakistan
Special issue
1626 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8
prone to peer pressure/gangs during their first imprisonment,
which resulted in commission of more severe crimes after
their release. The guardianship bestowed by the gang
members and juvenile’s own sense of association with the
said gangs, played an important assistive role in committing
these crimes. In other words, it was observed that the
juveniles create linkages among themselves when they first
arrive in the prison, resulting in developing a network which
flourishes future criminal behavior during the post-
imprisonment/post-release phase. It was also found that the
seriousness of the crimes increases with the multiplication of
imprisonment or recidivism. It was observed that juveniles
who were first convicted for less serious crimes, committed
more heinous crimes after their release, which included
robbery, possession of unlicensed arms and a strong
inclination towards drug abuse.
Psycho-Social Support and Recidivism
The study explored that the respondents were mostly satisfied
with the availability of health services in the prison. A few of
the respondents on the other hand shared that the health
services available within prison are not adequate and the
appointed physician only provides basic pain killers.
However, it was observed that there is a basic medical unit
available but there is no specialized unit dedicated for the
rehabilitation or counseling of the juveniles. It is also
important to mention that most of the habitual juveniles were
not just drug addicts but carriers of different psychological
issues including formulating gangs consisting on first-time
convicts and further converting them into drug addicts to
exercise their authority on them.
Prison Programming and its Effects
The present study focused to explore the relationship between
the programs offered during incarceration period and
subsequent effects on the juveniles in creating marketable
opportunities and shaping up of an accepted ideal personality.
It was shared that most of the respondents didn’t opt for
religious education programs offered in the prison, it was
argued that however Imam was available to them but only on
specific religious days such as Friday and other significant
events. It was also observed that both educational and
vocational programs were offered to the juveniles, however
most of them preferred educational program due to their lack
of understanding of technical knowledge and the complexity
involved in cultivating skills during the training course. On
the other hand, juveniles who did not opt for the educational
program argued that the teachers available are not well
qualified, and are not motivating and convincing enough. It
was also discovered that most of the juvenile respondents had
minimum or no education which lead them to opt for this
specific program to continue after the imprisonment. It was
also found that the education program was not able to fulfill
the required ambitions as most of the juveniles instead of
continuing their education, were forced by the domestic
financial pressures to find low paid jobs hence creating
further pressure and inclination towards criminal activities. It
was argued by the respondents that most of the respondents
wanted to earn decently to wipe their guilt and socially
labeled tagged as a juvenile delinquent. It is important to
March-April
Sci.int.(Lahore),27(2),1625-1627,2015
mention that the juveniles once convicted is unable to find its
social identity clean and acceptable in the neighborhood
hence they try to move towards peers who are also less
educated and belong to the same social group in an effort to
find social acceptance and identity. Earlier studies shows that
programs based on cognitive theories of intervention include
those variously characterized as cognitive-behavioral, social-
cognitive, interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) or
behavioral social skills training (BSST) programs [4, 5]. Such
programs generally focus on teaching youth how their
perceptions and thinking patterns lead to undesirable
behavior; they often include training in specific social skills
such as interpreting social situations, evaluating alternatives,
considering the consequences of behavior, resisting peer
pressure, and recognizing and controlling anger; and they
may incorporate a focus on values or moral reasoning [5-7].
Renumerated Labor Opportunities
The juveniles were offered to learn embroidery, stitching and
wood work as a skill to earn for themselves during their
incarceration and even to pursue their career after the
imprisonment in their respective societies. However most of
the juveniles didn’t take part in these vocational trainings due
to the hard work required to learn the craft and due to label of
low paying labor and also because it is not considered as a
well-paid job. Most of the juveniles thus try to create linkages
with habitual criminals and try to generate other avenues like
selling and smuggling of drugs considered as easy money and
pays off more with less labor.
Complaint Management Mechanism
The research discovered that there is a formal complaint
management system in place within the prison. It was also
observed that most of the complaints launched are not very
serious in its nature because the problems faced by the first-
time offenders usually do not get visible due to dominating
threats of the habitual criminals and their authority within the
boundaries of the prison. The other important dimension
discovered is that the juveniles usually start knowing each
other, and try to prefer solving problems within their larger
social group instead of taking them out to the administration.
Two of the major complaints included maltreatment by
Prison officials and fighting between juvenile inmates. The
respondents conveyed their respective problems both verbally
and through written application in the case of serious threat.
However, there is an official mechanism to maintain the
prison status quo, if breached, it is usually handled initially
by the In-charge of the respective barrack/ward and finally by
the Superintendent of the prison.
Modes of Punishments and its Effects
The discipline of the prison is maintained by exercising
different level of punishments prescribed according to the
severity of the situation. Minor punishments included slight
slapping, scolding, beating or any laborous work like
cleaning. On the other hand the options were always available
to send juveniles to solitary confinement, reduction in inmate
privileges including diet, and placement of bar fetters as
solution for serious misconduct. It was found during the
research that there was no serious misconduct reported by the
prison officials. The study explored that any of the above
 Pakistan Association of Anthropology, Islamabad, Pakistan
Special issue
Sci.int.(Lahore),27(2),1625-1627,2015 ISSN 1013-5316; CODEN: SINTE 8 1627
mentioned serious punishments was not observed by the REFERENCES
juveniles. It was also observed that the district courts conduct 1. Henslin, J., “Social Problems:” A Down-To-Earth
regular visits to monitor any human right violations in the Approach, (2008)
form of punishments. 2. Public Safety Performance Project, State of Recidivism:
The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons, The Pew
CONCLUSION Center on the States (April 2011).
Current research has established a significant relationship of 3. Yoshikawa, H., “Prevention as Cumulative Protection:
juvenile criminal behavior and juvenile recidivism with Effects of Early Family Support and Education on
poverty, effects of neighborhood (including peer pressure & Chronic Delinquency and Its Risks,” Psychological
gang/political affiliations), unemployment, domestic issues, Bulletin,115(1):28-54(1994)
violence, lack of education and rising identity crisis in 4. Palmer, T., “The Effectiveness of Intervention: Recent
Karachi. Motivation for initial crime takes birth from low Trends and Current Issues,” Crime and Delinquency,
income and to meet the needs of the social group. Another 37(3):330-346(1991)
important finding is that prison itself is not being helpful to 5. Mulvey, E., Arthur, M. & Repucci, N., “The prevention
cure the juvenile offenders rather it makes the situation worst and treatment of juvenile delinquency: A review of the
by keeping them with experienced and high threat inmates. research,” Clinical Psychology Review, 13: 133-
Juvenile offenders later get affiliated/attached with much 167(1993)
broader world of crime and outlaws because of no 6. Chavaria, F. R., “Probation and Cognitive Skills,”
segregation between the juvenile and high threat inmates. Federal Probation,61(2):57-60(1997)
7. Glick, B. and Arnold, P., “Goldstein. Aggression
Replacement Training,” Journal of Counseling and
Development, 65(7):356-362(1987)

March-April