Rehabilitation Potential of Prison Visits for Vulnerable Categories of Prisoners

Pavićević, Olivera and Ilijić, Ljeposava (2025) Rehabilitation Potential of Prison Visits for Vulnerable Categories of Prisoners. In: Prison Life Organization and Security: Criminological, Penological, Sociological, Psychological, Legal, and Security Aspects. Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade, pp. 166-186. ISBN : 978-86-80756-77-6

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Abstract

Prison visits are crucial for the rehabilitation of prisoners, especially for vulnerable categories such as prisoners of a younger age and prisoners of an elderly age. Younger prisoners, as the dominant prison population, more frequently have addiction issues, while elderly prisoners face health problems and social isolation. Visits to these groups can significantly improve their mental health and provide the necessary social support. This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the specific needs of the above groups of prisoners, but also to draw attention to the importance of adapting the visitation system to the specific needs of different categories of prisoners, in order to support their rehabilitation and preserve the family structure, which can have lasting positive effects on their behavior in prison and on the social reintegration process. The results presented in the paper were obtained as part of the project Assessment and possibilities for improving the quality of prison life of prisoners in the Prison visits are crucial for the rehabilitation of prisoners, especially for vulnerable categories such as prisoners of a younger age and prisoners of an elderly age. Younger prisoners, as the dominant prison population, more frequently have addiction issues, while elderly prisoners face health problems and social isolation. Visits to these groups can significantly improve their mental health and provide the necessary social support. This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the specific needs of the above groups of prisoners, but also to draw attention to the importance of adapting the visitation system to the specific needs of different categories of prisoners, in order to support their rehabilitation and preserve the family structure, which can have lasting positive effects on their behavior in prison and on the social reintegration process. The results presented in the paper were obtained as part of the project Assessment and possibilities for improving the quality of prison life of prisoners in the Prison visits are crucial for the rehabilitation of prisoners, especially for vulnerable categories such as prisoners of a younger age and prisoners of an elderly age. Younger prisoners, as the dominant prison population, more frequently have addiction issues, while elderly prisoners face health problems and social isolation. Visits to these groups can significantly improve their mental health and provide the necessary social support. This paper seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the specific needs of the above groups of prisoners, but also to draw attention to the importance of adapting the visitation system to the specific needs of different categories of prisoners, in order to support their rehabilitation and preserve the family structure, which can have lasting positive effects on their behavior in prison and on the social reintegration process. The results presented in the paper were obtained as part of the project Assessment and possibilities for improving the quality of prison life of prisoners in the Republic of Serbia: Criminological-penological, psychological, sociological, legal and security aspects (PrisonLIFE). Some of the most significant results indicate that 87.2% of respondents receive visits, and that maintaining regular contacts with family and friends has a positive impact on the quality of prison life (Ilijić et al., 2025). Age as a predictor is negatively correlated with receiving visits, which means that as the age category of the respondent increases, the number of visits decreases. The travel distance between prison and home is a significant predictor of visits – the respondents whose home is less than an hour's drive away from prison receive visits more often. Also, respondents who have partners receive visits more frequently. The above results suggest that age plays a key role in social interactions and opportunities for social networking, where younger generations clearly have a better chance of achieving social connection and support. Elderly respondents, according to the analyses, receive fewer visits, which may indicate a decrease in social ties with the outside world as the age category changes. The distance between prison and home also plays a vital role, with a shorter travel distance correlating with a greater number of visits, which suggests that logistical barriers may significantly affect the frequency of visits. Analysis and monitoring of the experience of receiving or not receiving visits provide an opportunity to reflect on the existing visitation policies, but also to develop visitation strategies that would improve the prison treatment practice by introducing customized visitation support (therapeutic, psychological, social) based on the recognition of the specific needs of individual groups of prisoners. Keywords: Prisoners, at-risk categories of prisoners, Visits, Improving the practice of receiving visits

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