The article focuses on a less-discussed issue of social marginalization of people leaving penitentiaries, which is the prevalence of multifaceted health problems experienced by people in this category. It includes poor health status, resulting from, among others, poor housing conditions, harmful or risky lifestyle, and lack of access to medical services. Data from the District Inspectorate of the Prison Service in Lodz, Poland on the health conditions of inmates was accessed. These data were supplemented by qualitative research conducted in 21 juvenile detention centers and 8 prisons across the country, conducting direct observations and In-Depth Interviews (IDI). A total of 198 IDIs were conducted with incarcerated (72) and released (30) juvenile offenders, and incarcerated (68) and released (28) adult offenders. These were complemented by IDIs with experts (50) and Focus Group Interviews (FGIs; 8) with male and female inmates in 4 Polish prisons. The study revealed that mental and physical health is a serious obstacle to social reintegration of ex-prisoners. It is rarely addressed by state institutions. There are strong associations between neglect of health issues in the prison population and increasing social exclusion after leaving prison. As Poland has a restrictive penal policy, former prisoners remain a group with social stigma and little support.

Life course theory (LCT) diagnoses childhood and adolescent factors that determine an individual’s involvement in crime in the future. Farrington lists eight key correlates identified by empirical analyses of criminal careers. In this paper, we seek to discuss the inconsistencies with LCT that we observed in our three empirical studies of the criminal careers of Polish offenders. During 12 years of qualitative research, we conducted direct observations and in-depth interviews in juvenile correction institutions (21) and prisons (8) across the country. We gained access to incarcerated (102) and released (30) juvenile offenders, as well as to incarcerated (68) and released (28) adult offenders. We also conducted in-depth interviews (92) with experts working with young and adult offenders. We similarly accessed some offenders’ criminal records and psychological opinions. Our study revealed the strong presence of family and neighborhood influences on early criminality. Contrary to LCT assumptions, state-dependent institutions (military, work, family) were not strong enough determinants of delinquency. Polish offenders generally experience criminal onset later than LCT-oriented criminologists indicate. Based on our data, we also agree with the thesis that the onset of crime should be discussed as different age-related periods rather than just a general onset.

Both juvenile and adult criminal careers show regularities in the origins of delinquency, the dynamics of the criminal pathway, and the turning points that lead to desistance/persistence in crime. Research shows that family, education, and friendship environments contribute significantly to the individual choices that create criminal biographies. Our aim was to apply core aspects of life course theory (LCT): trajectory, the aged-graded process, transitions, institutions, and ultimately how desistance/persistence factor into explaining the criminal careers of Polish offenders. The research is based on in-depth interviews (130) carried out with both offenders (90) and experts (40). The offenders were divided into two groups: 30 were juveniles, and 60 were adults of whom half were sentenced for the first time (30) and half were recidivists (30) located in correctional institutions or released. The experts group (40) includes psychologists, educators, social rehabilitators, and prison and juvenile detention personnel working with offenders. We used triangulation of researcher, data, and methodology. Our data revealed that similar biographical experiences characterized by an early socialization, family and friends-based circles laid the groundwork for their entry and continued participation in criminal activity. Juvenile and adult first-time sentenced offenders led criminal careers significantly different from those of recidivists, who faced problems with social adaptation caused by lack of family and institutional support.

Książka powstała w oparciu o wywiady biograficzne z byłymi i aktualnymi więźniami. Jej celem jest ukazanie procesualnego charakteru wykluczania społecznego osób z doświadczeniem pobytu/ów w więzieniu na różnych etapach biografii: przed trafieniem do więzienia i w trakcie odbywania kary, a także ich losów po opuszczeniu placówki. Książka analizuje całościowo wszystkie elementy związane z kwestiami społecznej reintegracji więźniów – włączając do niej wszystkie etapy życia i pokazując ich związek oraz wpływ na procesy odchodzenia od przestępczości i powrotu/ów do funkcjonowania w społeczeństwie. Książka jest adresowana zarówno do akademików reprezentujących takie dziedziny, jak socjologia, kryminologia, praca socjalna, pedagogika społeczna, polityka społeczna, jak również do praktyków zajmujących się profesjonalnym wspieraniem osób opuszczających zakłady karne. Książka obejmuje krytyczną analizę systemu resocjalizacji przestępców, który – jak wskazują prezentowane w niniejszym tomie analizy – reprodukuje przestępczość zamiast jej przeciwdziałać.

Sociological analyzes of the etiology of criminal behavior are distinguished by a number of criminogenic factors, among which a particular importance is attributed to the environmental context of the individual’s functioning. The initiation of criminal activity frequently takes place in the period of early youth. Hence, special attention is paid to individual’s relations in socializing environments. At the same time, studies and analyzes of biographies of criminals indicate that a significant part of offenders were raised in communities experiencing deep marginalization in many important aspects of functioning in social life, thus providing further evidence for the long-recognized connections of social exclusion and crime processes. The aim of the article is to characterize the environmental conditions of entering the path of conflict with the law in the biographies of criminals. The author refers to empirical material collected in the course of his own research – narrative interviews with convicts and former prisoners.

Między pracą socjalną a resocjalizacją uwarunkowania pracy socjalnej z (byłymi) więźniami w Polsce