Participation in prison labor significantly improved post-prison employment outcomes, but it yielded mixed results for prison misconduct and had little overall

Participation in prison labor significantly improved post-prison employment outcomes, but it yielded mixed results for prison misconduct and had little overall impact on recidivism. When we examined the extent to which prisoners participated in prison labor, the best outcomes were observed for those who spent a greater proportion of their overall confinement time working a job in prison. As the percentage of prison time spent working increased, we found significant improvements in prison misconduct, post-prison employment, and several measures of recidivism. Work programs aren't magic, and they're certainly not going to cure sociopathy. They're a means to train and habituate people whose criminal behavior may have been significantly affected by their inability to maintain gainful employment. Of course we should continually try to improve them for relevancy and effectiveness.