Not only does the prison help to keep offenders from the society, it ensures the path to their reformation by improving on their potentials and subsequent change unto better social functioning. This study therefore, assesses the effects of rehabilitation programmes on prison inmates in Benin City. The descriptive survey design is adopted for this study. The data for this study was collected using the structured questionnaire with a four point Likert type scale consisting of 24 items. The population of this study consists of all inmates, males and females, both awaiting trial and convicted in Benin-Sapele road and Oko maximum security prisons in Benin City, Edo State. A sample size of 140 inmates was selected using the non-purposive stratified random sampling method, selecting 70 inmates from each of the prisons. The data collected are subjected to descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. Findings reveal that the rehabilitation programmes in Benin City Prisons are social intervention services with highest mean value of 2.92 (70%), skills acquisition programmes account for 2.76 (69%); recreational activities account for 2.66 (66.5%) and educational services account for 2.51 (62.8%). It was also found that these rehabilitation programmes are worthwhile, as they influenced inmates’ behaviours and inventiveness at 2.69 (67.3).
Keywords: Inmates, Prison, Reformation, rehabilitation programmes, social intervention
