JRF Newsletter
Prison Reform Policy Beginning with the End in Mind
Last edited: 2026-07-27
A crucial issue in prison reform is whether prison treatment actually helps inmates reintegrate into society.
Although relevant indicators remain insufficient for determining whether social reintegration programs are effective, it can generally be understood through the "recidivism rate"[1]. Taiwan lacks continuously updated research on inmate recidivism rates, but current results tend to be pessimistic. This can be indirectly inferred from the fact that among newly admitted inmates in 2015, 77.5% had criminal records[2].
Regarding how prison treatment can support inmate reintegration into society, a fundamental problem must be faced—overcrowding. Taiwan's prisons have long suffered from overcrowding. According to the latest statistical data from January 2017, T'aoyuan Prison is the most severely overcrowded prison in Taiwan, with an overcrowding rate of 46.6%. Behind the phenomenon of overcrowding is actually the problem of insufficient resources. Assuming the same amount of resources, the greater the number of inmates in custody, the fewer resources each individual can be allocated. The most obvious figures can actually be seen in the ratio of prison counselors to the number of inmates. In 2015, the total number of prison counselors was 184, while the number of inmates in prisons was 57,458, meaning a single counselor had to care for approximately 312 inmates.
Therefore, ameliorating the overcrowding problem is definitely the first step in prison reform. After alleviating overcrowding, the next step is to comprehensively adjust prison treatment practices and allocate the necessary resources.
How to Ameliorate Prison Overcrowding?
Regarding the problem of prison overcrowding, Minister of Justice Ch'iu T'ai-san proposed two solutions: the first is relaxing back-door parole, and the second is rebuilding or expanding prisons. But the more fundamental question is actually: Is sending so many people to prison really a good idea?
Reviewing Criminalized Offenses and Minimum Sentences
To solve the problem of prison overcrowding, the first thing that must be reviewed is the front-door "punitiveness-oriented criminal policy." Are the criminalization of certain behaviors and the raising of minimum sentences truly effective criminal policies? Are there other alternatives to imprisonment? Considering that 47.4% of inmates in Taiwan's prisons are drug offenders, a review of drug policy is necessary. However, we will cover this topic in a subsequent special article.
Can Increasing Sentences Effectively Deter Crime?
Deterrence theory posits that the higher the severity, certainty, and celerity of punishment, the greater its deterrent effect on crime. Foreign research shows that increased sentence lengths cannot necessarily be inferred to deter crime, but deterrent effects do exist under certain conditions, particularly for those with stronger connections to the community and family.
In addition, current foreign research on deterrence effects still has significant shortcomings, lacking research on the awareness of consequences. Theoretically, for deterrence to work, the actor must be aware of the consequences, causing them to refrain from committing a crime out of fear of adverse outcomes. There is currently no research to understand the mediating effect of awareness on behavior. However, experts and scholars currently agree that deterrence cannot reduce impulsive crimes.
In Taiwan, it is common to demand criminalization, harsher sentences, and police crackdowns whenever social problems arise. These practices are classic examples of thinking under deterrence theory. Unfortunately, Taiwan's criminal policy lacks continuous evaluation, and there is no rigorous research to explain what the deterrent effect of Taiwan's punitive criminal policy actually is. Lacking evidentiary support, Taiwan has spent massive resources on deterrence while ignoring other crime prevention measures that are more likely to be effective.
Taiwan's punitiveness toward drunk driving is a case in point. Drunk driving can indeed lead to serious traffic accidents, but over-relying on policies that increase sentences for drunk driving and imprison repeat offenders for the third time may not be a good solution. Why do some people reoffend repeatedly? The underlying causes may involve more than just punishments that are insufficiently severe.
People who repeatedly drive drunk may also struggle with alcohol addiction. Alcohol-addicted patients are at risk in prison; when alcohol withdrawal symptoms flare up, they may lose their lives in a short period. Under conditions of insufficient prison healthcare resources, placing alcohol-addicted patients in prison is likely to trigger withdrawal symptoms, harming both the patients and the prison.
An Actual Case of Death from Alcohol Withdrawal
An inmate convicted of drunk driving was sent to a correctional facility and died within a week due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms. The inmate suddenly experienced alcohol withdrawal agitation in prison, and prison doctors promptly administered sedatives. However, the inmate subsequently developed symptoms such as shock and loss of consciousness, and remained unresponsive despite emergency medical transfer.
Developing Alternatives to Imprisonment
Developing alternatives to imprisonment is also one of the important methods to alleviate prison overcrowding.
Theoretically, the goal of alternatives to imprisonment is to support and enhance an individual's social bonds. Shutting a person inside a prison—whether through removing them from the community or the stigmatizing effect of imprisonment—can damage their positive connections to the community and family. In addition, imprisonment makes it difficult for individuals to participate in ordinary social activities and receive treatment. Placing low-risk offenders in prison may even increase their recidivism rate due to poor prison environments and damage to social bonds.
However, it must be pointed out that, compared to imprisonment, simply placing individuals in the community without providing appropriate assistance is inherently cheaper, but it does not necessarily reduce recidivism rates more effectively. Foreign research indicates that traditional community service, fines, monitoring-heavy intensive probation programs, and electronic monitoring have limited utility in reducing recidivism.
Foreign research indicates that community treatment practices more effective at reducing recidivism are those that genuinely repair and strengthen social bonds, while providing improvement programs targeting individual crime risk factors and needs. For intensive probation programs targeting high-risk individuals, better practices include strengthening case planning, making referrals to social services, providing motivation enhancement, cognitive-behavioral therapy programs, and behavioral contracts based on individual responsibility. Deterrence elements can also be combined with such supportive programs, such as Hawaii's HOPE program.
Introduction to Hawaii's HOPE Program
The HOPE program targets high-risk probationers by convening warning hearings. Judges listen to the probationers' thoughts, express valuation of them, and inform them that they must abide by corresponding behavioral norms. If they violate the norms, the number of days detained is increased according to the severity (though all within a few days), and eventually they may even be unable to continue participating in the HOPE program and be sent to prison.
Probation officers must relinquish some discretion and cooperate closely with judges; for example, if a probation-er tests positive for drugs, the judge must be notified as soon as possible. If probationers violate norms, law enforcement officers must also be able to issue arrest warrants swiftly.
Punishments are not overly heavy, but they must be swift and clear, while simultaneously making probationers feel they are treated fairly during the procedure and requiring them to take responsibility for their actions.
The key to the success of the HOPE project is building relationships between relevant personnel and probationers that are warm and friendly. Relevant personnel genuinely care about the probationer's situation and will offer suggestions for improving their lives.
However, based on current evidence, Hawaii's HOPE program is only considered a promising program, and it cannot yet be confirmed to effectively reduce recidivism.
Adjusting Prison Treatment and Post-Release Rehabilitation Programs
Foreign research indicates that prison treatment should be evaluated based on the risk factors and needs underlying the inmate's criminal causes (i.e., RNR assessment), providing evidence-based treatment programs. Correctional resources should be invested in high-risk individuals because the efficacy of reducing recidivism is more significant. By contrast, for low-risk individuals, over-intervention is not only unhelpful but may even be counterproductive.
RNR Assessment
The theoretical basis of the RNR assessment (Risk-Need-Responsitivity assessment) is that individuals commit crimes because of a series of underlying risk factors, primarily including: antisocial personality patterns, procriminal attitudes, social support for crime, substance abuse, school/work, and prosocial leisure activities. Treatment program design requires a risk assessment of the individual's criminal causes to confirm treatment needs. Appropriate programs must then be designed to respond to these needs (responsitivity), taking into account the individual's learning style, motivation, abilities, etc.
RNR assessments must be based on localized empirical research, with long-term follow-up research being optimal.
Educational and Employment Programs
Theoretically, having a job strengthens an individual's positive social bonds and thus reduces the likelihood of crime. Enhancing education and providing vocational training help rehabilitated persons find employment after release. Current foreign research shows that employment is associated with reduced recidivism rates; therefore, if education and vocational training programs can genuinely respond to societal job search conditions and demands, they will help reduce recidivism. The best practice is to help inmates find employment while still in prison and provide training tailored to future job requirements while incarcerated. In other words, there must be well-coordinated programs spanning from imprisonment to release.
However, current evidence on whether educational and employment programs are effective remains insufficient. Some researchers also believe that simple employment programs are unlikely to be effective; to be effective, they must address other obstacles individuals face when searching for jobs, thus requiring integration with other motivational, social, health, and educational support services.
Labor and Vocational Training in Taiwan's Prisons
Most labor items in Taiwan's prisons are low-skill but labor-intensive jobs, such as contract processing like folding paper bags, organizing hangers, and assembling hairpins, but some are higher-skill jobs with vocational training characteristics. For example, under the policy of "one prison, one specialty," self-run operations developed by various prisons include famous examples like Pingtung Prison soy sauce. There are also items purely leaning toward vocational training, such as computer classes, auto repair classes, and plumbing and electrical classes. However, aside from contract processing, slots for other items with stronger vocational training characteristics are limited.
There is currently a lack of rigorous research on the extent to which these labor and vocational training programs assist inmates in social reintegration. But a more fundamental problem in Taiwan is that slots for vocational training and self-run operations are insufficient.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Programs
Foreign research shows that cognitive-behavioral therapy programs are effective. Cognitive-behavioral therapy models encompass diverse programs and practices. Under these models, the basic presupposition is that cognition, emotion, and behavior are interrelated, and changes in one may cause effects in others. Furthermore, a person's reaction to their environment varies depending on how they view that environment. Therefore, changing a person's interpretation of a situation can potentially change their reaction to it.
In cognitive-behavioral therapy models, psychological problems stem from information processing biases, which lead to negative emotional responses (such as depression and anxiety) and maladaptive behaviors (aggression, illicit drug use, criminal behavior). If offenders have a distorted understanding of criminal behavior, it must be addressed through cognitive restructuring; if offenders suffer from cognitive and behavioral deficits—such as thinking and planning abilities, impulsivity, or a lack of behavioral control—it must be improved by cultivating new skills, such as learning methods to solve interpersonal problems.
Increasingly Diverse Treatment Program Designs Targeting Different Behavioral and Psychological Types
With the advancement of research, treatment programs are increasingly able to design distinct interventions for different behavioral and psychological types, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, severe adolescent violence, anger-related crimes; mental illness, personality disorders, intellectual disabilities, etc.[3] See Craig, et al. 2013. What Works in Offender Rehabilitation- An Evidence-Based Approach to Assessment and Treatment.
Here, the issue of violence within prisons deserves special mention.
Violent behavior occurring within prisons poses dangers to inmates and staff, an undeniable reality. However, the emergence of this problem may have traceable roots. Foreign research has summarized several causes for the occurrence of prison violence, including overcrowding, insufficient staff experience and training, inappropriate correctional programs, improper inmate classification (e.g., mixing different gangs), poor management methods, improper architectural design, situational contexts (e.g., daily life arrangements, inmate autonomy), and the traits of inmates in specific correctional facilities (e.g., number and age of violent offenders and psychiatric patients).
The causes of violence vary across correctional facilities and may require adjustments tailored to these causes. In addition, research points out that more effective practices currently include changing the situational context of prisons (e.g., keeping numbers low, segregated management, increasing inmate control over the environment to reduce frustration). Adopting informal social control mechanisms (e.g., building relationships) is also more effective than formal social control mechanisms (e.g., recording disciplinary violations).
See Homel, R. & Thomson, C. 2005. “Causes and prevention of violence in prisons.” In Sean O’Toole & Simon Eyland (Eds.), Corrections criminology (pp. 101-108).
Byrne, James M. & Don Hummer. 2007. "Myths and realities of prison violence: A review of the evidence." Victims and Offenders 2.1: 77-90.
Treatment Programs with Deeply Localized Taiwanese Characteristics
Some treatment programs in Taiwan possess deeply localized characteristics, such as promoting the recitation and explanation of the *Standards for Being a Good Pupil and Child* (*Ti-Tzu-Kuei*). Treatment in Taiwan is often promoted based on the preferences of superiors, bearing a strong color of rule by man. The aforementioned *Ti-Tzu-Kuei* was reportedly promoted simply because a superior believed reading it was beneficial. The consequence of this strong rule by man is that treatment programs may not be grounded in evidence, but rather cater to the whims of superiors, with subordinates rushing to implement them en masse only for policies to die with changes in leadership.
Discipline and instruction in Taiwan's prisons have been questioned by some rehabilitated persons as fundamentally ineffective, and concerns even exist regarding inflicting abuse under the guise of reformation. It is recommended that the competent authorities base their treatment programs on evidence.
Integrating In-Prison and Reintegration Programs
Foreign research shows that more effective reintegration programs provide assistance based on the risk factors and needs underlying an inmate's criminal behavior starting from the time of admission, and such program planning must also incorporate post-release resettlement. This is a "beginning with the end in mind" reintegration program. As mentioned earlier, arranging post-release employment for inmates while still imprisoned and providing training based thereon; and providing drug dependence treatment spanning from imprisonment to community treatment post-release, are all integrated in-prison and post-release programs.
Parole Should Be Part of a Holistic Reintegration Program
Taiwan's prisons rely heavily on scoring and parole for management, but currently, neither scoring nor parole is utilized within a holistic reintegration program.
Ideally, parole review should allow people to understand what efforts the inmate has made and how they can live outside thereafter. Arbitrarily rejecting inmates' parole hinders holistic reintegration programs because living arrangements and jobs may have already been arranged.
After release, continuing in-prison treatment programs and providing community-based treatment programs and services tailored to the individual's risk factors and needs—such as arranging suitable housing and repairing family relationships—are also crucial. To reiterate, as previously mentioned, merely emphasizing monitoring and deterrence in the community does not help reduce recidivism rates.
For such integrated programs, competent authorities and related units must inventory relevant reintegration resources, invest resources holistically, and conduct case management. Case managers must receive appropriate training, monitor inmates' conditions, and cooperate with implementers of different programs as needed.
Although the idea of integrated programs is sound, some difficulties will be encountered in implementation. The most common problem is that case managers may be unable to continuously accompany individuals through the entire process from admission to release. Alternative practices include having volunteers accompany individuals starting from admission, or at least ensuring that assessment systems during and upon admission are continuous and use the same framework.
Insufficient Post-Release Support Programs in Taiwan
Taiwan's prisons and post-release probation systems essentially operate independently, lacking integrated connections.
Upon release, inmates may immediately face problems of not knowing where to live, having no money to eat, and being rejected by family members. These problems can actually be anticipated while in prison and require planning for assistance while still incarcerated.
In addition, Taiwan's probation system is designed to emphasize monitoring rather than assistance. The shortage of post-release support programs is actually related to the insufficient resources allocated to Taiwan's overall social welfare and mental health systems. If a sound social welfare and mental health system were already in place, post-release support programs would simply be an extension of the existing system.
Concluding Recommendations
The National Dr. Judicial Reform Conference has incorporated prison reform into its discussions, indicating that this issue is gradually receiving attention. In Group 5 of the National Judicial Reform Conference, issues such as prison overcrowding, the enhancement and expansion of correctional personnel (custody, reform, technical training, etc.) and equipment, difficulties faced by rehabilitated persons in reintegrating into society, and reviews of the penal system (including whether to increase sentences for severe crimes) were included in the discussions, which is commendable.
We propose the following recommendations regarding the discussions in the National Judicial Reform Conference:
- The first step to solving prison overcrowding should be reviewing punitiveness-oriented criminal policies to prevent excessive numbers of people from flooding into prisons and causing system failure, rather than increasing personnel or equipment.
- The allocation of relevant resources should shift from deterrence and monitoring to supporting problem-solving. This is not limited to the periphery of the judicial system; getting to the root of the matter requires building a fair society and sound social welfare and mental health systems. From this perspective, the government should invest more resources in the long term to build an integrated resource network for social welfare and mental health, and incorporate inmate reintegration into it. In the short term, rather than investing resources in building prisons and increasing custody personnel, it would be better to increase the manpower of social workers and psychologists.
- The introduction of any new reintegration programs should be grounded in evidence, piloted on a small scale to confirm efficacy, and then gradually promoted. Existing treatment programs should also have their effectiveness tested.
- The practices mentioned in this article are difficult to achieve immediately, but they should be viewed as long-term goals, striving step-by-step in this direction, and regularly reviewing policy effectiveness for adjustments.
A More Fundamental Dilemma in Taiwan's Prisons: Basic Survival Conditions
This article introduces many reintegration programs, but Taiwan's prisons actually face a more fundamental dilemma: the poor basic survival conditions of inmates. This aspect is also in great need of improvement, and related conditions have persisted in Taiwan for a long time.
- For an introductory overview of the current status of Taiwan's prisons, see: Prison Officer Lin Wen-wei's FB Fan Page, and his book *Prison Guards Will Die If They Don't Draw*.
- As early as 2009, the Control Yuan issued an investigative report on the problem of prison overcrowding in Taiwan. Although many years have passed, many problems remain unresolved.
- The Preliminary Thoughts on Prison Reform commissioned by the RDEC to scholars in 2011 still holds considerable reference value today.
- In 2015, the Taliao Prison riot occurred in Taiwan, where inmates took hostages, denounced prison administration problems, and ultimately committed suicide. The Control Yuan also produced an investigative report regarding this incident.
Notes
[1] Why is it said that the recidivism rate is only a basic approach to understanding reintegration and is insufficient? The reasons are: an individual's state of existence in society is definitely not just a matter of whether they reoffend or not; basic living conditions, subjective perceptions (such as whether they still have hope for the future), etc., are also very important.
[2] It must be explained here that Taiwan lacks rigorous and continuously updated research on recidivism rates. In fact, more rigorous practices in research design require at least one experimental group and one control group with variable manipulation to see how much a program reduces recidivism rates. Moreover, the proportion of admitted individuals with criminal records cannot strictly be considered recidivism research. This is because it does not track the impact of a specific criminal policy on recidivism rates. The high proportion of individuals with criminal records entering Taiwan's prisons can only lead to the superficial suspicion that previous treatments may be ineffective, causing them to commit crimes again. However, what the exact facts are remains murky.
[3] Although psychiatry and psychology have gradually developed various treatments and intervention programs, readers are reminded to also note the limitations inherent to these disciplines themselves. The normal/abnormal frameworks behind psychiatry and psychology sometimes reflect the value judgments of the mainstream society at the time, and these value judgments should sometimes not be accepted so self-evidently.
Main References
- Weisburd, et al. 2016. What Works in Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation: Lessons from systematic reviews.
- Ministry of Justice UK. 2013. Transforming Rehabilitation: a summary of evidence on reducing reoffending.
- Durnescu. 2011. Resettlement research and practices: An international perspective.
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.