Okelola, Valerie and Irvine, Angela. (2015). Impact Justice: Evaluating the Actor’s [sic] Gang.
Author Affiliations: Impact Justice
Artforms: Theater, Drama
Program: The Actors’ Gang Prison Project
Program Description: The Prison Project is the outreach arm of The Actors’ Gang, the theater troupe founded by actor Tim Robbins. The program conducts at least three eight-week programs each year inside California’s prison system.
Program (Study) Location: Selected California correctional facilities
Study Published: Unpublished research.
Participant Type: Adult inmates, 41% Black, 33% Hispanic, 16% White, 10% “Other”male maximum-security psychiatric inmates, 47% sex offenders, 53% non-sex offenders, mean age 34.5 years
Sample Size: 49
Data Type: Quantitative.
Study Design: This study “analyzed data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on individuals who participated in The Actors’ Gang Prison Project between November of 2010 and February of 2015. Impact Justice conducted preliminary analysis to develop a demographic profile of program participants and conducted statistical test to explore changes in the number of disciplinary incidence over time (called ‘115’s).”
Evaluation Focus: Effect on disciplinary infractions among participants.
Summary of Impact: “Results indicate that the mean number of 115 incidences decreases over time. The number of 115 incidents varies among participant (between 0 and 34 incidents) but overall the number of incidents decreases over time. Prior to participation, prisoners that participated in Actor’s [sic] Gang were punished for an average of 5.31 disciplinary incidents. After participating, prisoners participating in Actor’s [sic] Gang were punished for .59 disciplinary incidents. The results illustration an 89% decrease in disciplinary incidents over time.”
KEYWORDS: adult, disciplinary infractions, drama, theater
