An empirical study of the effect of prison crowding on inmates’rule violations.
이 논문은 교도소의 수용밀도(과밀)가 수형자들의 행동에 영향을 주는지 여부를 경험적 자료를 토대로 밝혀 보고자 한다. 교도소 과밀의 문제는 서구 범죄학계에서는 상당한 연구물이 축적된 분야이지만 한국의 학계에서는 아직 교도소 과밀을 객관적으로 측정하려는 시도나 교도소 과밀의 부정적 효과에 대한 심층적인 분석이 거의 없다. 본 연구는 20개의 교도소의 970명을 표집하여 교도소 수준의 데이터(prison level data)와 수형자 개인수준의 데이터(individual level data)를 동시에 수집하여 교도소 과밀의 효과를 실증적으로 밝혀보려고 시도하였다. 교도소별 데이터를 분석한 결과 수용비율, 직원비율, 그리고 수형자 중 미지정의 비율과 규율위반 건수 사이에는 유의미한 양의 관계가 확인되었고, 개인 수형자의 거실밀도와 규율위반 행위사이의 관계를 분석한 결과 거실밀도가 재산적, 금전적 성격을 띤 규율위반 행위를 증가시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 연구의 결과를 요약하고 한계점을 제시하였다.
This article is designed to empirically examine the effect of prison density on inmates’behavior, specifically, their rule violations. The issue of negative consequences of prison overcrowding on prison inmates’ behavior and adjustment has been largely discussed in Western criminological communities. On the contrary, this is the first empirical test to verify the relationship between prison density and misconduct of prisoners ever with Korean data. The research questions are 1) to understand the current situations in Korean correctional facilities in terms of prison density and overcrowding, 2) to see if there are variations across the facilities in terms of prison crowding and inmate’s infractions, 3) to analyze the relationship between prison crowding and inmate misconduct. The data is collected in two ways. First, prison level data such as the design capacity of prison, the current number of inmates, the number of correctional officers, the number of inmate-inmate assaults and inmates-staff assaults in twenty correctional facilities nationwide is obtained. Second, individual level data is drawn from 970 inmates in the same facilities. prison density is measured in two ways: In prison level, the number of inmates housed in a facility divided by its capacity us used. To measure individual level, the number of inmates per cell and the perception of crowding living in a cell. the results show that in prison level, the ratio of inmates to its capacity, inmate-staff ratio, the ratio of inmates who are not designated in specific tasks such as education, job training, and program participation are significantly correlated with the infraction rate and the density of a cell significantly increased inmate misconduct such as property damage and theft.