Being aware of the negative power of criminal networks can prepare volunteers to help the prisoners and ex-prisoners they serve. Guiding mentees to make tough choices now will help pave the way for their lasting success in life.
You Are Who You Hang Out With
You may have heard this in your younger years from a parent or from a teacher in high school. If you’ve got friends that study and do well in school, you’ll try to do the same. If you’ve got friends that skip school to smoke pot in their basement, the odds are you’ll be lighting up a joint as well.
When it comes to working with prisoners and ex-prisoners, this little saying takes on a whole new meaning. It can literally mean the difference between a prisoner reforming his life for good and a prisoner reverting back to a life of crime and incarceration. And with consequences this heavy, it is imperative for volunteers to educate themselves on the many facets of criminal networks.
The Power of Companions
In a 1996 study conducted at the University of New Brunswick in Canada, Paul Gendreau, PhD, and his colleagues examined a broad range of predictors related to adult recidivism—adults who return to prison after release. They found that the four best predictors of adult recidivism were companions, attitudes, antisocial personality, and adult criminal history.
Prisoners and ex-prisoners already have the criminal history factor working against them. Since they can’t turn back time and undo what landed them behind bars, let’s focus on the other three categories: companions, attitudes, and antisocial personality.
Through the grace of Jesus Christ, our hearts can change, which will result in a true attitude change. This new attitude will help us desire to meet new, positive people in life. In addition, common sense tells us that if we make an effort to meet good friends—based on the social nature of friendships—any antisocial personality traits will be altered. This leaves us with one factor that affects each of the other factors—companions.
Interestingly, when Gendreau’s team weighed the top four predictors to account for various additional factors, the predictor of companions—or who you hang out with—had the greatest impact on adult recidivism.
So, it seems Mama was right. You are who you hang out with. And Sam Dye agrees. Dye is the national program director of The InnerChange Freedom Initiative®, a values-based reentry program developed by Prison Fellowship®. He works closely with inmates and former inmates every day, and can attest to the fact that they are greatly influenced by those who surround them.
Criminal Peer Pressure
Over the past nine years, a study has been conducted by Jeremy F. Mills and Daryl G. Kroner of the Correctional Service of Canada at various locations. They created a self-report of criminal associates. Respondents were asked to recall the four adults in the community with whom they spend the most free time, along with the amount of time spent with each person.
According to the study, offenders who reported they had no criminal peers had a recidivism rate of 23 percent. Offenders who reported having one, two, three, or four criminal peers had recidivism rates of 44-50 percent. Furthermore, recidivism rates increased if longer amounts of time were spent with criminal peers.
Research shows that in order for an ex-prisoner to have the best chance for succeeding on the outside, he must deconstruct—or break down—his criminal networks. He needs to find and develop new, healthy relationships. This is harder than it sounds, but accepting this challenge drastically increases his odds of not returning to prison.
Taking the Next Steps
Both inside and outside of prison, choosing to surround yourself with positive people is key to success. Here are some practical tips that volunteers can share with ex-prisoners to help break their cycle of criminal associates.
- Commit to having a close, non-criminal friend or mentor. It is vital for ex-prisoners to develop an open and honest relationship with a trustworthy person. This can help the ex-prisoner get through the tough obstacles that face him on the outside. Whether or not you are this mentor, you, as a volunteer, can be proactive in letting the ex-prisoner know the importance of this task. Tell the ex-prisoner to tell his mentor who he’s been hanging out with, so that the mentor can hold him accountable in forming non-criminal relationships.
- Learn how to make good impressions. This may sound like a basic skill, but it’s especially difficult for ex-prisoners to perform simple tasks like making small talk and holding conversations. Start small. Sit with a prisoner or ex-prisoner and discuss topics of the day, like news, sports, and the weather. Help them learn to listen and ask questions in return. These basic conversational skills will open the door to meeting new people.
- Identify where to meet positive people. Some people think the local bar is the only place to meet positive people. Help ex-prisoners learn where to meet people that could potentially be solid, non-criminal friends. Encourage them to join a church, get involved in community service project, and get to know co-workers. As they branch out into new areas, they’ll realize the old places they used to hang out were probably filled with criminal associates.
- Proceed with Caution. There are some instances where avoiding criminal associates is difficult, especially in prison. The key is to never arrive unarmed! Encourage prisoners and ex-prisoners to bring a positive friend or mentor with them, and to make sure this friend knows that they want to maintain healthy, non-criminal relationships.
By being aware of the negative power of criminal networks, you can prepare yourself to help the prisoners and ex-prisoners you serve in this area. Guide them to make tough choices now—like choosing to deconstruct their personal criminal networks—and you will help pave the way for their lasting success in life.
“People generally default to what they know,” says Dye. “To succeed you must replace the old with the new, and that especially includes inviting new, positive people into your life.”