The Effects of Prison Visits From Community Volunteers on Offender Recidivism

Research has shown that prison visitation is associated with reduced recidivism. This study analyzes whether visits from community volunteers (CVs)—specifically clergy and mentors—had an impact on recidivism by examining 836 offenders released from Minnesota prisons. The results show that CV visits significantly reduced all three measures of reoffending but had no impact on technical violation revocations. The salutary effect on recidivism grew as the proportion of CV visits to all visits increased. The findings suggest CV visits should be conceptualized as a programming resource to be used with higher risk offenders who lack social support.