Tracking Vulnerability and Resilience: Gambling Careers in the Criminal Justice System

Internationally, incarcerated offenders are known to have higher rates of problem gambling with studies finding that up to one third of prisoners may be medium or high risk problem gamblers.
This project will identify the nature and extent of connections between gambling and crime careers, including sources of resilience and vulnerability, in order to address and prevent further re-offending. Two wings in six prisons in England and Scotland will be screened using a questionnaire that includes the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a resilience measure and questions relating to offending and co-morbidity.
The full sample of 400 women, 200 young offenders and 600 men will be tracked on the Police National Computer collecting data on offending history and re-offending over 12 months. Statistical analysis will identify crimes most frequently associated with problem gambling offenders, recidivism, resilience and co-morbidity.
A longitudinal cohort of 9 problem gamblers, 9 non-problem gamblers and 9 abstainers from each prison (N=162) will be interviewed pre and post release to collect in-depth data on personal histories, crime, gambling and points of potential intervention through career narratives. Findings will be disseminated to academic, policy and practice audiences including a work shop for criminal justice and related professionals.