Exploring the factors influencing prison incentive scheme status among adult males: a prospective longitudinal study

Despite its impact on imprisonment, no quantitative study has examined the factors related to people’s status on prison incentive schemes. This study addresses this gap by using administrative data to explore the factors related to the status of 405 men on a prison incentive scheme. Results revealed that those with a prior history of passing prison drug tests at time 1, and spent more time imprisoned during the follow-up period, were more likely to be on the highest level of the scheme one-year later at time 2. In contrast, those with a history of past involvement in misconduct, referrals for serious self-harm/attempted suicide in prison, had not taken a prison drug test, property offences and greater periods of custody at time 1 were more likely to be on the lower levels of the scheme at time 2. The potential implications for theory, policy and practice are discussed.