The Relationship between Inmates' Length of Stay in Prison and Their Perception of Prison Reforms: A Case of Eldoret Gk Prison, Kenya

Abstract

Prison reforms have long been seen as a requirement in prisons so as to enable prisoners live in humane conditions as they serve their terms. Various stakeholders have been involved in the advocacy of these reforms at different levels. Indeed, since 2003, the Kenyan government introduced these reforms in prisons. These reforms have led to some critics claiming that the reforms amount to turning prisons into 'holiday camps'. Interestingly, no one had taken trouble to find out how prisoners themselves perceive these reforms. Are these reforms as good as perceived by the public or there is more to them as far as implementation is concerned? This study sought to establish the relationship between Inmates’ length of stay in prison and their perception of prison reforms. The Survey and causal comparative research designs were adopted in this study as quantitative research methods. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 310 participants for the study. Data was collected by use of biographical form and questionnaires and later analyzed by both descriptive and inferential statistics by use of SPSS.  Finally, the inmates imprisoned after prison reforms had a more positive perception of reforms than those who were in prison before reforms. Finally, the study recommends that urgent measures be taken to help reduce the reported congestion in the male prisons.

Keywords: Relationship, Inmates', Length of Stay, Prison, Perception, Prison Reforms.