GUIDELINES FOR PREVENTING CRIMES COMMITTED BY FEMALE PRISONERS AT ANG THONG PROVINCIAL PRISON

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to 1) study the causes of crimes committed by female prisoners in Ang Thong Provincial Prison and 2) study guidelines for preventing crimes committed by female prisoners in Ang Thong Provincial Prison. The sample group consisted of 120 female prisoners detained in the Ang Thong Provincial Prison which was obtained by a simple random sampling method. The research tool was a questionnaire with a confidence value of 1. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation.  The results of the research found that: 1) The causes of crimes committed by female prisoners in Ang Thong Provincial Prison included: (1) Personal behavioral causes, overall, it was at a low level. The aspect with the highest average was personal character as a person who liked to drink alcohol and used drugs, followed by stress and anxiety as a person who was always under stress. (2) Environmental causes, overall, it was at a low level. The aspect with the highest average was the environment in the residential area before being sentenced as a person who was close to drug and gambling hotspots, followed by conditions in the community before being incarcerated as it was home to drug trading. (3) Family causes, overall, it was at a high level. The aspect with the highest average was family relationships, when having problems, they often could not consult or ask for advice from their family, followed by family status as their families separated and living in different directions. (4) Economic causes, overall, it was at a high level. The aspect with the highest average was unemployment of parents or family members, having no income/no occupation as the main thing, followed by poverty as the family's income was not enough to cover their expenses. 2) Guidelines for preventing crimes committed by female prisoners in Ang Thong Province Prison (1) The prison should provide prisoners relieve stress, such as sports, recreation, and music therapy. There should be training to provide knowledge about good health care, good nutrition to reduce stress caused by illness including having psychologists to provide counseling to prisoners before they were released from prison. (2) A center should be established to receive reports when crime occurred within the community. (3) Public health agencies should work together with the community to promote and prevent family violence, organize training to learn how to control emotions stress relief as well as there should be agencies in the field of mental health promotion to take care of women's psychological problems caused by domestic violence. (4) Prisons should coordinate with outside agencies to accommodate inmates for work after their sentences were released, and the prison should organize vocational training according to labor market needs, applying the knowledge gained to actual careers and the state should provide a stable source of employment.