“It’s hard to reenter when you’ve been locked out”: Keys to offender reintegration

Using constructivist grounded theory, we conducted 15 semistructured interviews of men and women with criminal justice backgrounds, and three focus groups to examine group level offender reentry strategies. Participants comprised 20 formerly incarcerated men and women who were incarcerated in a New York state prison or at Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail complex. This study revealed four keys to offender reintegration: (a) linking offenders to society; (b) institutional and community anchors; (c) social supports; and (d) personal epiphany. The keys to offender reintegration provide an opportunity to interrupt patterns of relapse, rearrest, and recidivism.