The Rehabilitative Ideal versus the Criminogenic Reality: The Consequences of Warehousing Prisoners

Using data on more than 55,000 offenders released from Minnesota prisons, we examine whether criminogenic effects arising from imprisonment may stem from a lack of institutional programming. We also evaluate the impact of participation in multiple correctional interventions on recidivism. The results show 31 percent of the Minnesota prisoners were warehoused, which significantly increased the odds of recidivism by 13 percent. Participation in at least one successful recidivism-reduction intervention lowered the odds of recidivism by 12 percent, while involvement in two effective programs decreased it by 26 percent. We conclude by discussing the implications of warehousing, which was more likely to occur for prisoners with brief stays in prison who were admitted as probation or parole violators.