Resocializing young offenders in the kibbutz

Community Reintegration

May 2021

Full Citation

Fischer, M., & Geiger, B. (1996). Resocializing young offenders in the kibbutz. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 40(1), 44-53.

Abstract

This article is based on a longitudinal study that examined the resocialization of 26 young offenders placed in separate kibbutzim within the framework of the Kibbutz Resocialization Program in lieu of the final third of their prison sentences. The offenders were interviewed and followed up for an average of 36.7 months. The findings of this study indicate that most of the offenders did not recidivate. They acquired social and work skills and changed their delinquent cognitions and deviant lifestyles. They enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces, found employment in the community or as kibbutz members and candidates, and married. Thus, by all these criteria, they were successfully rehabilitated.