Section 2 Treatment
1 Treatment at penal institutions
(1) Period served at a penal institution
The period served at a penal institution (period between the commencement date of the sentence and the release date) of the research subjects was on average 6.1 years for homicide, 3.2 years for injury causing death, 4.6 years for robbery, 3.1 years for rape, and 3.7 years for arson. The percentage of those serving a period of over eight years was 25.6% for homicide, 1.3% for injury causing death, 8.0% for robbery, 2.5% for rape, and 5.2% for arson.
(2) Vocational training
The percentage of those who were provided with vocational training was 5.5% of all released inmates in 2000 (Source: Annual Report of Statistics on Correction). Among the research subjects it was 10.5% for homicide, 18.4% for injury causing death, 22.6% for robbery, 27.9% for rape, and 17.2% for arson.
(3) Treatment category based guidance
In order to eliminate/correct the problems that inmates may have guidance for reform is currently being provided under the Penal Detention Facilities Act. Under the Prison Act, however, “treatment category based guidance” was provided as part of living guidance to inmates classified into certain categories with attention paid to the type and cause of the offense, etc. they committed. Examining the implementation status of the treatment category based guidance provided to the research subjects (limited to those that could be verified by records) revealed that six of 70 Boryokudan members, etc. had been provided with guidance for withdrawal from Boryokudan, nine of 64 persons with problematic drug use had been provided with education on stimulants abuse prevention, and nine of 73 persons with alcohol problems had been provided with education on the harmful effects of alcohol.
(4) Disciplinary punishments
Fig. 7-2-2-1 shows the percent distribution of research subjects by number of disciplinary punishments and type of index offense. The proportion of those who had not received disciplinary punishments was low at 37.5-52.2% for each type of offense when compared to that of all released inmates in 2000 of 59.2%, while the proportion of those who had received three or more disciplinary punishments was high at 20.9-28.9% when compared to that of all released inmates in 2000 of 12.6% (Source: Annual Report of Statistics on Correction). By type of index offense the proportion of those who had received disciplinary punishments was the highest with robbery. Being limited to those serving a period of over two years and then examining the percentage of those who had received disciplinary punishments within one year of being released in eliminating the factor of the length of the period served at a penal institution revealed that it was 17.5% for homicide, 28.8% for injury causing death, 24.8% for robbery, 25.6% for rape, and 17.1% for arson, thus indicating the high proportion for injury causing death.
Fig. 7-2-2-1 Percent distribution by number of disciplinary punishments and type of index offense
(5) Release
The parole rate of offenders for serious offenses was generally higher than that of all inmates (See Fig. 7-1-4-1). The parole rate of research subjects was 71.4% for homicide, 67.1% for injury causing death, 77.7% for robbery, 72.1% for rape, and 69.4% for arson (55.9% for all released inmates in 2000) (Source: Annual Report of Statistics on Correction).
Of research subjects released on completion of their term of imprisonment, the percentage of those who had returned to their relatives was 61.8% for homicide, 52.0% for injury causing death, 39.5% for robbery, 64.7% for rape, and 41.5% for arson.