Effects of incarceration of offenders on their families - a German view

Abstract

The public debate on offenders and crime, in the public and often in scientific literature, focuses largely on current crime, the crimes committed and the sanctions imposed. The very important question against which the perpetrator became the perpetrator is largely ignored. Furthermore, the collateral damage of a sanctuary, such as incarceration, to existing family members, especially children, is largely ignored. An overview of existing research results on the consequences of custodial sentences on the wives and children of detainees, particularly from Germany and the USA, will be given. Previous studies have clearly shown that the detention of a parent, especially the mother, generally has very negative effects on the socialisation of one's own children, especially to contribute to a delinquent development of the same. It should be noted that detainees largely come from disadvantaged social circumstances, which contributes to the transmission of deviant behaviour to the next generation.