Abstract:
In connection with a seminar at the Hamburg University in summer 1970 a research study was carried out at a small correctional Institution in Hamburg. Some hypotheses were tested concerning relations between the goal of reintegration, organizational structure and its effects upon inmates. Simultaneously an observation schedule for controlled participant observation was supposed to be developed. It follows from the study that the institution in question is an improvement compared to traditional correctional practice. The study also shows, however, that there was a conflict between therapeutic and custodial-punitive organizational goals. That conflict effected both the formal as well as the informal organizational structure and role acting in a way which probably impeded the offenders’ successful reintegration. The study cannot claim methodical accuracy. It was planned as a pilot study for a larger action research project of the Hamburg Institute for Social Sciences.
