Standpunten en kanttekeningen
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Treatment within prison walls ;is this Utopia ?- Treatment of prison inmates has always led to controversies. Should they be punished or should they be treated ? A few fundamental principles form the basis of our working as a psychiatrist, treating inmates within prison walls. Criminals are human beings who cause a lot of trouble, not only financially, but even more psychologically. Investment in criminal factors is more cost effective than protecting a whole society. Only for a very small group can one effect fundamental personality changes. The largest part will adapt their behaviour so that they fit into society’s rules. A not so small group will never change and has to remain in jail for ever. When treating these men (for most of the prison inmates are men), some characteristics of theirs such as immaturity, impulsivity, aggression, extreme sensitivity to rejection and, both from the guards’ and from the inmates’ point of view, a fundamental distrust must be taken into account in any approach other than authoritarian. At the end of the article we describe a project of care for inmates in one of the biggest jails in Belgium.
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How to Cite: Martin, V. (1997) “Behandeling binnen de muren van de gevangenis: een utopie?”, Tijdschrift voor Sociale Wetenschappen. 42(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/tvsw.95260