Procedural justice and language barriers in a Swiss penitentiary

Perceptions of procedural justice (PJ) by prisoners have been found to be associated with a number of public health and safety outcomes. As language skills are an important prerequisite, PJ is at risk in countries with a high proportion of non-nationals in prisons, such as Switzerland. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between perceptions of PJ and language barriers among male prisoners ( N = 241) incarcerated in the largest penitentiary in Switzerland. A questionnaire containing a PJ scale was translated into 11 languages and administered to measure both perceptions of PJ as well as experiences with expressive and receptive language barriers during incarceration. Average PJ scores were in the middle of the scale, suggesting neither positive nor negative overall perceptions, although both expressive and receptive language barriers were reported by over a third of participants, together with significantly worse perceptions of PJ. Due to the protective nature of PJ, it is essential to address language barriers in prisons.