A Ten-Year Follow-Up of Men Discharged from Grendon Prison

Abstract

A ten-year follow-up on the criminal records of men discharged from Grendon Prison was carried out. These records were compared with those of a matched control group, and no differences were found regarding frequency or severity of post-discharge convictions. The validity of this exercise is questioned, and several case histories presented. An examination of subsequent offending within the Grendon group suggests that for some men, the better motivated and more intelligent, exposure to the Grendon regime may have contributed to a change in their criminal behaviour.