Correctional Classification and the Prediction of Institutional Adjustment

Each of 293 minimum security prisoners was rated by classification of staff members according to the likelihood of serious disciplinary infractions and escapes from custody. Follow-up data were then obtained, and the predictive validity of these ratings was compared with that of selected information extracted from the files of inmates. In predicting outcomes, only escape ratings were statistically significant, and neither escape nor disciplinary ratings contributed significant criterion variance when combined with objective variables. The findings were discussed in terms of the need for both increased predictive accuracy and explicit consideration of the welfare of inmates when making correctional classification decisions.