BACKGROUND
Crime and punishments have their own origin in the history of mankind. The forms of crime and punishment have changed over time and become modernized. The majority of the communities in the world have adopted several kinds of punishments for enacting the rule of law in society. Punishments in earlier times were heinous and depended upon the nature of the crime (Matthews Reference Matthews1999). Later, imprisonment became the main mode of punishment and prisons became the main institution for that. The concept of imprisonment can be of two types: short- and long-term imprisonment. The effects of short- and long-term imprisonment would be different in the lives of prisoners. Taylor (Reference Taylor1960) shared the effects of imprisonment and he divided those mainly into two types: short-term and long-term effects. He found three major effects happening due to imprisonment as follows: changes owing to early adjustment to prison life, changes owing to losing touch with the world outside and changes owing to the worsening of one’s condition while imprisoned. Due to these effects, the lives of the prisoner would become more difficult in prison. Hence, they may need more help to adjust to life inside. There are different rehabilitation initiatives to meet this but once prisoners are released the situation is different. Wayne (Reference Wayne1997) stated in his study that the needs of long-term prisoners are different from others after release. Life which immediately follows release from prison is the most difficult period in the life of a prisoner.
There is an opinion from criminologists that when a crime is reported, the role of society cannot be ignored, as a society may have a role in the circumstances which led to the crime. If we accept this assumption, then society has the same role in the process of social reintegration of released prisoners also. This points towards a need to shift from the usual ways of approaching crime and punishing the criminal and hence restorative approaches have been introduced in the criminal justice system. The judicial system has to look into the reformative aspects of the person who commits the crime to avoid future offending. The restorative approach strongly recommends the reformation and rehabilitation of criminals as well as of released prisoners to avoid future offending.
THE INDIAN CONTEXT
The history of prisons in India starts from the times of the kings in the ancient and medieval era. British rule in India brought the concept of imprisonment into an institutional structure. However, situations inside the prisons were worse due to overcrowding and lack of infrastructure facilities. Inhumane practices were reported from different prisons of the country. Even though prisoners are considered criminals, their rights as human beings have to be protected. Hence, the need for rehabilitative measures after release is very necessary for the correctional administration system for the proper social reintegration and reformation of released prisoners. Later, several developments came into force and the human rights approach was adopted for prisoners. The All India Committee on Jail Reforms, also known as the Mulla Committee (1980–1983), came up with the concept of implementation of aftercare services for released prisoners. Section 23 of the report explains that the aftercare services constitute a helping process which consists of institutional and non-institutional services and aims at the psychological, social and economic rehabilitation of the released prisoners.Footnote 1 There are some aftercare services present in the country. However, the major focus is on the vocational training of prisoners when they are inside prison. Ahmed (2018) states that there is no proper coordination and communication between the aftercare services and the released prisoners. Another issue is the lack of proper coordination between the governmental and voluntary efforts in organizing aftercare services. Hence, it can be understood that even though some aftercare services are present for the rehabilitation of released prisoners, they are not efficient and also that the majority of the states have not adopted them. The main barrier in this process is the lack of understanding about the real needs of released prisoners after imprisonment.
In this context, the present paper aims to understand the rehabilitative measures which can be taken to face the issues related to the re-entry of released prisoners into society after their long-term imprisonment in the Indian context. Because studies related to social re-entry of released prisoners have little to do with the Indian context, the findings of the Western studies related to the area may not help to formulate policies and programmes in the Indian context. If rehabilitation is properly planned after release and the released prisoners become integrated into society, it will result in reducing recidivism and hence crime rates.
The present paper follows qualitative research methodology and is based on the exploratory research design. The study followed the case study approach, in which the data were gathered through in-depth interviews and observations, etc. The data collected were analysed manually by using the techniques of thematic analysis. Proper ethical considerations were taken and the third-party approach was used to reach the participants.
LIFE IN PRISON AND LIFE AFTER
Prisons optimistically called “penitentiaries” have to focus on the transformation of the law-breaking citizen into the law-abiding citizen (Rothman Reference Rothman1971). They aim to bring changes in the life of the prisoner and hence make him/her a better citizen of the country. The expectations from the prison system are to affect the likelihood of future offending by means of the punishment. That indicates that imprisonment as punishment focused on reducing the probability of reoffending (Nagin, Cullen, and Jonson Reference Nagin, Cullen and Jonson2009) because the majority of developed nations, as well as developing nations, consider crimes as a hindrance for the overall development of the country. Imprisonment became dominant, in fact, the only form of punishment all over the global criminal justice system (Van Zyl Smit Reference Van Zyl Smit2005). Brown (Reference Brown2002), while examining Clemmer’s concept of prisonization, suggested that prisonization should focus on the reformation of the prisoners to avoid future offending. However, due to the situation inside prisons, there is a chance that prisoners will continue their criminal life. The reason is that the criminogenic character of the prisoners may be increased because of the experiences during the imprisonment. While analysing the Indian context of prisons, in the ancient period prisons were the space for keeping war prisoners and slaves. However, the British colonial system gave a more structured form for the prisons in India. Julian Roberts, Umar Azmeh, and Kartikeya Tripathi (Roberts, Azmeh, and Tripathi Reference Roberts, Azmeh and Tripathi2011) compared the Indian sentencing system with that in England and Wales. They suggested that India had to frame some structured practices for the sentencing. They found in their study that in India, the ultimate authority to sentence is the judiciary. However, in fact, judges send prisoners on trial to prison along with the convicted ones. This increases the prison population and hence various issues in the prison.
Studies explored the experiences of long-term imprisoned prisoners and found that the participants were facing several psychological issues due to their long-term imprisonment. Among the five major problems noted are the following ones: missing somebody; feeling that your life is being wasted; feeling sexually frustrated; missing little “luxuries” and social life (Richards Reference Richards1978). Along with the psycho-social issues, the prisoners face economic problems impacting family members including their wives and children and others, including finding future employment. West (Reference West1978) found that released prisoners will find it hard to gain employment due to their record. In the majority of cases, society does not accept released prisoners, irrespective of the duration of their stay in the prison. Their criminal history makes society pull back from helping released prisoners. On the contrary, having spent most of their life in prison, once they are released they should have something in their hand for their future life (Griffin and O’ Donnell Reference Griffin and O’ Donnell2012). If they receive training in some professional courses or skill-based courses, they have a chance at employment opportunities.
SOCIAL RE-ENTRY: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Burnett (Reference Burnett, Maruna and Immarigeon2004) defined social re-entry as the first stage of repositioning back into society after being released from prison and hence it is the start of the social and psychological change on the basis of single responsibility rather than the controlled routine in the prison life. Matthew Koschmann and Brittany Peterson (Koschmann and Peterson Reference Koschmann and Peterson2013) found that, since virtually all prisoners will eventually be released from prison, the re-entry approach in prison management is essential. Wendy Pogorzelski et al. (Reference Pogorzelski, Wolff, Pan and Blitz2005) referred to the hurdles for social re-entry of the released prisoners as the invisible punishment. To lead a crime-free life, the released prisoners want support to access the resources and opportunities of society. Thus, the goal is one of community reintegration and re-entry initiatives. The released persons face issues due to their imprisonment in the areas of employment, public assistance, driver’s licence, voting and jury duty, housing, education, erasing a criminal record, parental rights, adoption and foster care. Earlier research has proved that the stigma of a criminal record can severely impact and deter employment opportunities for released prisoners (Galgano Reference Galgano2009). Reginald Wilkinson et al. (Reference Wilkinson, Rhine and Henderson-Hurley2005) found that the Prisoners’ Reentry Initiative is an all-inclusive and organized approach that looks for reducing the probability of further criminal behaviour. The study states that rehabilitation can take place from the beginning of sentencing and extend beyond release. This would be gained through links with community partners, families, justice professionals and policymakers and victims of crime. Another study shows that released prisoners trust their families very deeply for support affecting virtually every aspect of the re-entry experience, from help with housing and employment to financial support and to the overall inspiring of the prisoner (Farkas and Miller Reference Farkas and Miller2007). The main issues faced by the released prisoners during social re-entry are psycho-social and economic. This is because of the labelling and social stigma existing in the community. The current study found that these two elements affect the process of social re-entry and that all the issues which affect the released prisoners can be included in these two broad categories.
Labelling as a Factor Affecting the Process of Social Re-Entry
The findings of the current study substantiate the arguments made by the labelling theorists and previous research. The major issue faced by the participants during their social re-entry is society’s view towards them as a criminal. The view that once a criminal one is always a criminal is persistent. It is an attitude that convicts released from prison encounter the first day after their release. Mainly, it happens from society at large and police officials at some points, but in some cases, family members, as well as friends, also label them as criminals. This affects their life in a worse manner. Family members and relatives are also labelled as the “criminal’s family members and relatives” by society. These issues were faced by the majority of the participants and their family members. The family lost their position in society and were avoided by others in a few cases. In two cases, the family members did not take care of the participants. They did not maintain any contact with them after the crime. Some of them faced sexual and physical harassments during the trial and the initial days of imprisonment (see Case I).
Case I
Shiju (name changed) was a daily wage worker and leading a good life in society. One day his whole life changed. He quarrelled with his neighbour and this ended in murder. There was a family issue with this neighbour and he was always quarrelling with Shiju’s father. According to him, he could not control himself when the neighbour used abusive words. Due to the heat of the moment, he smashed the neighbour’s head and caused his death. From that moment his entire life changed. The neighbour’s relatives attacked his house. During the trial he was physically tortured by the police and at last he was sentenced to life in prison. He was subjected to physical harassment. He thought of committing suicide and did not report back to prison after parole days. Because of his breaking the rules, he did not receive any further parole which resulted in disconnection from the world outside. Prison life was horrible for him and he depended upon reading and writing as a supporting mechanism to adjust to life inside. He started a blog and wrote about his prison life. Due to good conduct he was released early but the first few months after release were difficult even though his parents and sister stood by him. Moreover, his friends helped him to come back to society. He married a girl after revealing all the cases about him. The main issues he faced were psychological. He faced depression and fear to face society during and after release. Also, the financial instability of his family resulted in huge economic issues. Since he was not educated (he dropped out of a pre-degree course due to the incident) he did not find any job and was doing daily wage jobs. His main issue was that society still looked at him as a criminal. He recounted that “one day I went for the election meeting of my residents’ association. One of my friends suggested my name for executive member in that association. But when he suggested my name, all the faces of the others changed. I realized that they feared about me since I am an ex-criminal. In that moment I realized that, once a criminal is always a criminal”.
Earlier studies indicated the need for having the proper social support, especially family support, during the time of release for better social reintegration. However, the findings of the study indicate that the label of criminal or ex-prisoner affects their supportive mechanisms and thus hinders the overall social reintegration process. This labelling later also resulted in several psycho-social issues. The participants lost their self-confidence to function in society and lost job opportunities due to this labelling.
Social Stigma as a Factor Affecting the Process of Social Re-Entry
Goffman’s (Reference Goffman1957) concept of a total institution spoke about life inside an institution, especially in a prison. The issues and challenges faced by the inmates affect their life as a whole. The current study found that the participants during their period of imprisonment faced several psycho-social issues such as depression/stress, inner fear and thoughts about family, loneliness and feeling of loss, and sexual and physical harassment. Due to these issues they wanted to be released somehow. They depended upon the rehabilitation measures present inside the prison to adjust to life there. However, from the findings it is understood that the rehabilitation programme inside prison was not well planned, hence it did not meet their needs. There were no individual supportive mechanisms available inside the prison. Hence, the rehabilitation measures were inefficient to meet the issues faced by the prisoners while in prison.
This resulted in the degradation of the self-image of prisoners. The findings of this study indicate that the major issues faced by the released prisoners during social re-entry are social stigma, age difference, lack of proper education, lack of job opportunities, lack of family support, loss of jobs, fear to face society and depression. This is the second phase, where labelling plays a vital role. Social stigma emerges due to labelling and stands as the root cause for issues faced by released prisoners (see Case II).
Case II
When Raju (name changed) was arrested by customs officers for a narcotics case he was just twenty years old and he admitted that his ignorance at that age was the main reason for the case. He was carrying narcotic products while customs officers arrested him. He did that just for money without knowing the harms of narcotics. His family left him after the case even though his elder brother paid for a lawyer during the trial. He was sentenced to twelve years and after ten years he was released due to good conduct. Immediately after he was released he went home to meet his mother, but he was not allowed to meet her. The family did not want to be associated with his name. He migrated to another district and found a job there by hiding his identity as an ex-criminal. He married a poor girl and is currently struggling due to serious economic issues. He expressed that, somehow, he wants to meet his mother and apologize but his brother will not allow this, because their social status would be affected if he contacted them.
The findings of the current study depicted the interconnection made by the labelling theorists and Goffman’s (Reference Goffman1963) arguments regarding labelling, self-degradation and social stigma. To meet these issues proper restorative approaches which include different rehabilitation initiatives have to be planned according to the needs of the released prisoners.
FUTURE WAYS FOR PROPER SOCIAL REINTEGRATION
The process of social re-entry cannot be seen as only a post-release process in the correctional service system. The initiatives for the proper social reintegration process should begin from the first day of imprisonment. There has been a shift from the retributive approach to the reformative approach in the Indian criminal justice system. These developments have resulted in some reformation of the prison management system. The rights of prisoners as human beings have been taken into account after these developments; hence, the introduction and implementation of different rehabilitation activities for prisoners. Later, the legislation also addressed the need for aftercare and rehabilitation of released prisoners. Below are some of those initiatives which may help in the process of social reintegration. All these programmes are ultimately focusing on the restoration and reformation of the prisoners to be released someday. Individual Care Plans, cooperative society, community service, placement cells, regular parole, counselling centres, etc. are some of the rehabilitative initiatives which can be used for the restoration of released prisoners. These rehabilitation initiatives may help the released prisoners meet the issues they will face during the process of social reintegration.
Individual Care Plans
The Individual Care Plan is the main suggestion, derived from the data collected, for the proper implementation of the social reintegration process of released prisoners. Each individual is unique and hence the need for accepting the principle of individuality in the process is fundamental. It is understood that the need for the prisoners and released prisoners will differ from person to person. Some may need supportive mechanisms in gaining a job, some may need psycho-social support through which they can adjust to the issues they face, etc. Hence, understanding the need from the perspective of the person is the unavoidable step in the social reintegration process. Ideally, the Individual Care Plan should start when a person is convicted, starting from the initial days of prison life and ending at least five years after release. The ultimate objective of the plan is to correct the person who is imprisoned and convert him/her into a better citizen and extend all support in prison as well as in the post-release life.
Using Individual Care Plans is a multidimensional approach which can be carried out only with the help of public–private partnerships. In the first phase, once a person is convicted and sent to prison, the prison welfare officer, with the help of a professionally trained social worker or clinical psychologist, should try to understand the psycho-social issues faced by the prisoner. Case sheets can be made for the person and regular developments have to be noted. In the second phase, based on the findings of the initial interventions, if the person needs any psycho-social support, such as counselling, an action plan can be made and the interventions carried out. Later, the person can be sent to some community service during the time of parole with the help of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). This will help rebuild relationships outside the prison. The existing rehabilitation measures such as vocational training and skill-based training can be provided to the prisoners based on the plan developed by the professional. In the third phase, during the time of release, the person will receive financial support by the probation office and also their salary will be given as the released fund from the prison. In this phase, the objective is to connect the released prisoner with suitable job agencies based on his skills. NGOs can help in this process. If there is any break in social and family relationships, the probation officers and the professionally trained counsellors can try to solve the issue. Until solving the issue, the released prisoners can be sent to NGOs for community service. Thus, the behavioural as well as the social life can be changed. Probation offices can start with short-stay probation homes for those who cannot return directly to their family soon after release. They can spend some time in the home and in the meantime the officers can try to rebuild the relationships. If the person is accepted by the family and finds a job, the institutional help can be gradually withdrawn. For better implementation, there should be proper monitoring at least for five years after the release.
Cooperative Society
The main need for the majority of released prisoners is a proper income. The majority of them are from a low economic background and need a stable financial support to carry out life. Since they were in most cases the main breadwinner of the family, their imprisonment made a huge impact on their families, affecting their children’s education, treatment of parents, etc. The majority of them depends upon daily wage jobs and hence their income is unstable. The labelling as criminal hinders the process of obtaining a loan from the bank. Even if the probation officer gave a recommendation letter, the bank is not ready to take a “risk” granting the loan. There is a custom among released prisoners when they are released after long-term imprisonment: to keep in good contact with their fellow inmates and share money among them when needed. It is a kind of cooperative among them. India has witnessed several cooperative movements and has a great tradition in that. Hence, the released prisoners demanded to start a cooperative society as a financial body to help them in their process of social reintegration. The society can be directly under the Department of Cooperation and the Department of Social Justice and probation officers can be part of that. It can be governed by a board which is constituted by the government which includes members from the Department of Cooperation, Finance, Law, Prisons, Social Justice and the members of State Advisory Board, District Probation Officers, etc. The Director of the Department of Social Justice can be the head of the cooperative society and it can have a head office at the state level.
In the first phase, the Finance Department can allocate the budget for the society under the Department of Cooperation. The loans can be granted to eligible released prisoners at a nominal rate of interest. District Probation Officers and prison welfare officers can suggest eligible candidates to the advisory board and the board can select them. At the second level, the society can be expanded to all the districts and hence the benefit will reach the majority of the released prisoners. However, this can be done only after analysing the process. Later the funds from Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives can be included in the process and hence the interest can be reduced again.
The major issue is that proper amendments have to be made in the cooperation law of the state to initiate this concept. At present, there is no law supporting such initiatives. The Law Department has to analyse the current policies of the state and frame new amendments in the cooperation law. This is a process and, hence, all the government departments have to join together for proper implementation. The Department of Social Justice can take a lead role in the process. But if it is done, the economic issues faced by the released prisoners can be met to a certain extent. Another main issue in the field is the social acceptance of this project. There is a chance that society may think that the government is giving support to criminals where the needs of victims remain unmet. However, there should be proper sensitization about the concept and hence this can result in the betterment of both released prisoners and victims.
Community Service
Social stigma is the other issue faced by released prisoners in the process of social re-entry. In fact, it is the root cause of all the issues faced by released prisoners. From the observations and experiences from the field, released prisoners are denied being part of activities happening in the community where they live due to social stigma and labelling. Some states in the country have enacted the Community Service Act. Under this Act, first-time offenders, taking into account the nature of the crime, age and other circumstances, can be assigned to community service under the monitoring of probation offices. This approach can be implemented in the case of prisoners as well as of released prisoners. This can be done in two ways. In the case of prisoners, this community service can be implemented during the time of parole. The prisoner can be sent to some community service activities for a certain time period. However, this can be based on the Individual Care Plan discussed earlier. If a prisoner has a family to accept him, he may need to be with his family instead of a community. In that case, the person can be sent to the family. But if the person does not want to spend more time in the family or the family rejects him, he can be sent to community service. NGOs have a great role to play in this process. From the data collected it is understood that parole helps in the process of social reintegration to keep relationships alive after release. So, thanks to this community service, the labelling as criminal or prisoner may be changed.
On the other hand, if the released prisoner faces any issues in going back home, he can be sent to probation homes as discussed earlier and during that time he can take part in certain community activities with the help of NGOs. This will result in his developing a positive attitude towards life while society is trying to accept the prisoner as a person. This is an integrated approach which depends upon the behaviour and social background of the prisoner. And hence, the Individual Care Plan should be done before the implementation of this in the prison setting. Through community service by the prisoner, society will try to reframe its ideologies and through that, social relationships can be rebuilt. The rebuilding of the self-image as a person may also happen by this approach. Studies found that prison life degrades the life of prisoners. Therefore, proper initiatives have to be taken care of to meet those issues. By this approach, released prisoners may gain back their personal identity through social acceptance and support.
Placement Cells
The majority of released prisoners face issues finding a job. Studies have shown that criminal history hinders released prisoners in gaining jobs after imprisonment. Even if they find a job, they have to hide their identity as released prisoners. In fact, most prisons in the country, especially in Kerala, provide different vocational and skill-based training for the prisoners while they are in prison. Training starts with a diploma course to post-graduation courses. If a prisoner wants to continue his education in prison, he has a chance in the prison. The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) started a study centre inside a prison. By analysing the age group of the prisoners who were convicted for a long time, the average is 22 to 25 years of age. The majority of them were dropouts from schools or colleges. Hence, there is an incentive to continue their education. The current developing world needs persons with work skills. But even though the programmes are providing inside prison, the chance of placement after release is much less. If a person cleared the wireman examination, after release he has to start his own business for a job. There are no other agencies to hire the released prisoners.
The placement cells can be implemented in the Department of Social Justice. This can be done with the partnership of private agencies. The government may not be capable of recruiting them at all times, but private companies can. A person after release can register with these placement cells. Based on his educational qualification and courses completed, the cell can connect the released person with companies. The companies may have issues in recruiting them as their employees. To meet this issue, NGOs can help in the process. As discussed earlier, if a person completes certain periods of community service and is eligible to be placed in a job that can be suggested by the NGOs, the Department of Social Justice can connect those persons with the companies. Companies can recruit those released prisoners for a probation period and, if they are found to be eligible for the permanent job, they can be placed. In some Western countries, the correctional departments provide this opportunity in the form of Prison Reentry Industries.
Regular Parole
As already mentioned, released prisoners face several psycho-social issues including social stigma, fear of facing society, lack of confidence, lack of self-esteem, etc. However, in the cases in which the persons received regular parole the situation appears to be different. Those who had regular parole did not face many issues in society after their release. According to them, they could keep their relationships with family, friends and society alive due to the parole. At present, inmates who live in open prison receive sixty days of temporary leave as parole in a year. During this leave, they can spend their time with family and can also go to work. However, the majority of the prisoners do not take advantage of the benefit of this process. The main reason is that there is no one on the outside to take care of these prisoners on parole and they have nowhere to go.
The ultimate agency that decides on parole is the Chief Minister’s Office in India. In the majority of cases, the application can be rejected due to several issues but for the better implementation of social reintegration initiatives, parole is an unavoidable approach. Usually, the family presents the application for parole and that will be considered by the Chief Minister’s office. However, if a person does not have any relationship with the family, then this outside petition will be missing. In this situation, the government can link this process with some NGOs and can send the prisoners on parole under the monitoring of those NGOs. The prisoner in such a situation can be sent by the NGOs for either community service or for any other job. Because of this usual interaction with society, after the release, they may not face many issues. If a person is not sent on parole at any point in time during the imprisonment, the connection with the external world will be lost and hence he may face difficulties. This happens in the majority of cases of long-term prisoners.
Monitoring and supervision in the process are the main issues the government faces during the time of parole, but if the partnership is made with an NGO that part will be handled by them. The process of social reintegration cannot be seen as a single process. Parole is the main part of that process which makes a huge impact in the lives of released prisoners after their imprisonment. The Department of Home Affairs joining with those of Prisons and Social Justice and some NGOs can make the process of parole more transparent so that all prison inmates receive equal opportunity to go on parole. Later that will result in the proper social reintegration process of a released prisoner.
CONCLUSION
Since prison management is the responsibility of the state governments, there is no uniform structure of prison administration in India. However, the Bureau of Police Research and Development came up with the prison reform manual which stands as the guidelines for all prisons. Hence, including these approaches in the prison reform manual may help the states in India to frame their own activities based on this. The existing rehabilitative measures of the country play a vital role in the rehabilitation of prisoners by protecting their human rights. However, the situation of the ex-prisoners after release is quite difficult to handle in the current scenario where existing measures may help in coping with the situation inside the prisons, but once prisoners are released, the situation and atmosphere are entirely different and even their family may not accept them as human beings. In this situation, there is a chance of going back to previous situations and remaining a criminal. The psycho-social and economic approaches presented above can be used as rehabilitative measures which help the ex-prisoner cope more effectively with situations outside so that the proper restoration of released prisoners to society may successfully happen.
Acknowledgements
Jenu Varghese thanks the International Society of Criminology and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the award and the support they give him in his journey of academic development. He expresses his sincere gratitude towards Professor Vijay for his extraordinary support and guidance. Also, thanks to the University Grant Commission and Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India for granting the fellowship to carry out the research.
Jenu Varghese, MPhil and MSW with specialization in Community Development, is currently a doctoral scholar in the School of Social Work, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai. He is one of the winners in the research paper competition organized by the International Society of Criminology and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in the year 2019. His MPhil research was on the process of social re-entry of released prisoners. He is currently focusing in the area of social work in the criminal justice system. He has presented papers on different international and national platforms. He has work experience as a research assistant in different field action projects. Major research interests include: social re-entry of released prisoners, probation systems, restorative approach in the criminal justice system, victim support mechanisms, prison policies, etc.
Vijay Raghavan, MA in Social Work with Specialisation in Criminology and Correctional Administration (TISS) and PhD in Social Work (TISS), has been working with the Centre for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work, TISS since 2005, and is currently a Professor with the Centre. He is involved in the training of police, prison and judicial officers both at the state and national levels on issues such as gender, human rights, prisoners’ rights, correctional laws, anti-trafficking and re-entry of crime-affected persons. He has been a member of different prison reform committees constituted by different state and central governments. His primary research interests include access to justice and prison reforms, social work practice in criminal justice, human trafficking, youth offender studies, rehabilitation of custodial populations, homelessness and penalization of poverty and implementation of correctional laws.
