Criminologists Examine The Effectiveness Of Solitary Confinement

Solitary confinement is typically known for restricting inmates to their cells for about 23 hours a day. Yet recent findings published in the Journal of Qualitative Criminology shows that prisoners involved in the study who received solitary confinement were no more or less likely to be violent behind bars after the punishment had ended. Furthermore, it did not seem to affect how soon an inmate might later connect violent acts following incarceration.

"You're not getting a reward one way or the other for exposing inmates to solitary, so you have question its utility," researchers noted, in a news release. "It's costing money, it's costing time and there are potentially harmful side effects."

While the research did not specifically focus on higher security prisons involving solitary confinement, Morris hopes that in time, it may generate some discussion regarding the effectiveness of the this type of restriction in regular prison settings.

Furthermore, previous findings have shown that solitary confinement can lead to serious health complications involving psychological issues for many of whom are vulnerable to existing mental health conditions and/or addictions.

Previous research has also shown that solitary confinement may save taxpayer funds. Of course, it's necessary in some cases to break up dangerous situations. However, as previously mentioned, it should be used cautiously. Limited human contact can come with serious repercussions.

"The vast majority of these folks will return to society, so you don't want to aggravate their prison experience any more than you have to. If you're aggravating circumstances inside, then it could be that you're aggravating circumstances when they come out," they concluded. "Then, you're raising the chance you might see them again, and at that point, you're just wasting tax dollars."