Prisoners in Prison Societies

Prisoners in Prison Societies is a study of criminal career patterns over time, demonstrating specifically how and in what ways imprisonment has a positive correlation with later recidivism. The book combines original research and a ten year follow up study of Swedish inmates, surveying their attitudes on everything from political ideology to prison reform. The work is much more than a survey of prisoner attitudes, however; it also includes official statements and administrative staff assessments at the institutions examined. As a result, the text avoids the usual special pleading of criminological writings.

Ulla V. Bondeson has been professor of criminology at the University of Copenhagen since 1980 and was previously professor of sociology of law at Lund University. She has also been a guest professor at several American universities, including Harvard and Yale. She is the author of Nordic Moral Climates and Alternatives to Imprisonment, both available from Transaction.