[ceejayoz]

4. #2 means family visits are often impractical and time consuming, which leads to fewer visits, which leads to more crime. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/12/21/family_contact/

> A 1972 study on visitation that followed 843 people on parole from California prisons found that those who had no visitors during their incarceration were six times more likely to be reincarcerated than people with three or more visitors.

[willcipriano]

That's almost certainly correlation and not causation. Most families will probably visit you the first time you end up in prison, by the 5th time they will have written you off.

[ceejayoz]

You should read the article; that's addressed by using prisons that ended in-person visitation and saw changes as a result.

> In Travis County, Texas, there was an escalation of violence and contraband after that jail switched from offering both video calls and visitation for a few years, to banning in-person visitation altogether.

There are also behavioral changes generated by a pending visit:

> According to one study, misconduct tended to decrease in the three weeks before a visit. This may explain why more frequent visits lead to more consistent good behavior, better overall outcomes and post-release success.

[ch4s3]

You'd probably be surprised then. Familial attachments can be quite strong and most people will eventually end up out of prison and reunited with family.