Importation and deprivation correlates of misconduct among Romanian inmates
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370815617191 |
| Author | Cristina Dâmboeanu,Paul Nieuwbeerta |
| Date | 01 May 2016 |
| Published date | 01 May 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
European Journal of Criminology
2016, Vol. 13(3) 332 –351
© The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370815617191
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Importation and deprivation
correlates of misconduct
among Romanian inmates
Cristina Dâmboeanu
Institute of Sociology, Romania
Paul Nieuwbeerta
Leiden University, The Netherlands
Abstract
Correctional literature on determinants of prisoner misconduct is largely focused on the
situation in the USA or West European countries. This study expands the research in this
field by presenting findings from Romania, an East European country whose prison system
faces severe problems, among which overcrowding and poor confinement conditions are
of the utmost concern. Therefore a survey was conducted on a sample of 280 adult male
inmates in four large Romanian prisons. These exceptional data were supplemented with
information from official records drawn from the prison administration’s databases. A unique
combination of importation and deprivation factors, with a particular focus on several prison
deprivations perceived by inmates as problematic, is examined in relation to the prevalence
of four types of inmate misbehaviour: total misconduct, contraband infractions, violence
and defiance. The findings show a clear relationship between importation and deprivation
characteristics and prison misconduct. Also a differential impact of these characteristics
is shown, depending on the type of prison infraction examined. The study concludes
by advancing a set of policy recommendations to reduce the incidence of institutional
misconduct in Romanian prisons.
Keywords
Deprivation model, importation model, prison, misconduct, Romania
Corresponding author:
Cristina Dâmboeanu, Institute of Sociology, Academy House, Calea 13 Septembrie, no. 13, 050711,
Bucharest, Romania.
Email: cdamboeanu@gmail.com
617191EUC0010.1177/1477370815617191European Journal of CriminologyDâmboeanu and Nieuwbeerta
research-article2015
Article
Dâmboeanu and Nieuwbeerta 333
Introduction
The correctional literature abounds in studies aiming at identifying the determinants of
inmate misconduct. Guided by broader theoretical debates on whether behaviour in
prison is ‘imported’ from the outside and/or ‘indigenously’ activated, these studies pro-
vide important theoretical and practical-oriented knowledge about individual and prison
characteristics associated with misconduct (Cao et al., 1997; Jiang and Fisher-Giorlando,
2002; Steiner and Wooldredge, 2008).
The current literature, however, has a serious limitation: its focus is mostly restricted
to the situation in the United States and its unique prison context (Cunningham and
Sorensen, 2007; DeLisi, 2003; Innes, 1997; Steiner, 2009; Steiner and Wooldredge,
2008; Tewksbury et al., 2014). Moreover, the few studies on prison misconduct in Europe
have almost all been conducted in West European countries (for example, Arbach-
Lucioni et al., 2012; Beijersbergen et al., 2014). Thus, there is a regrettable paucity of
knowledge on determinants of prison misconduct in East European countries.
The present study attempts to address this limitation by focusing on the specific case
of Romania, a former Communist country that started to incorporate the notion of human
rights, including prisoners’ rights, on its political and legal agendas only after 1990.
Although important penal reforms have been adopted since then, the country’s prison
system continues to be plagued by high imprisonment rates, severe overcrowding, under-
staffing, small budgets and poor confinement conditions.
More precisely, the study assesses the importance of various ‘indigenous’ and ‘impor-
tation’ characteristics of prisoners for explaining variations in patterns of prison miscon-
duct among a sample of male Romanian inmates. Thereby this study builds on the
existing international literature, and it advances it in the specific Romanian context.
First, it makes progress because the effects of a unique combination of importation and
deprivation characteristics are examined. Some of these characteristics have been exam-
ined in prior studies (for example, inmate’s age, time served, prior incarcerations etc.),
but others have only seldom been explored in existing literature (for example, involve-
ment in working activities). Second, the study will take a deeper look into how certain
prison deprivations, as perceived by inmates, correlate with misconduct, thus contribut-
ing to a better assessment of the deprivation model for prison misconduct. By focusing
on prisoners’ subjective evaluations, the intensity with which particular deprivations are
felt by the prisoners can be related to patterns of prison misconduct.
The current study contributes not only to the international literature but also to the
Romanian correctional literature. So far no study has specifically linked ‘importation’
and ‘deprivation’ characteristics to misconduct in Romanian prisons. Some notable
studies have been published describing prison conditions and inmates’ perceptions of
these conditions in Romania (see, for example, ANP, 2006, 2010). Furthermore, a few
studies have described inmates’ aggressive behaviour in Romanian prisons, where some
surveyed the internal aggression of prisoners – that is, their self-harming and suicidal
behaviour (ANP, 2013; Pripp, 2004; Țogoie et al., 2004) and/or inmate-to-inmate
assaults and inmate-to-staff assaults (ANP, 2013). However, no prior study has dis-
cerned which importation and deprivation characteristics are actually correlated with
the occurrence of misconduct in Romanian prisons. So, the current study will offer
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