Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues

The article was inspired by the desire to broaden the knowledge on the existence of adult men just after the loss of freedom – that is, during the transitional period of imprisonment. The research was inspired by the specific nature of the temporary cell and the conviction that for many researchers, this area is almost inaccessible and the research itself difficult to conduct. The aim of the research is an attempt at identifying factors that may be related to the sense of security among inmates in the temporary cells of prisons and detention facilities. I have personally conducted three studies among men in the transitional period of imprisonment, twice in the correctional facility in Pińczów (2013 and 2016) and in 2017 in the Detention facility in Kielce. The randomly selected research sample includes 422 inmates. the author’s own questionnaire for studying the sense of security among inmates in the temporary cell of the correctional facility and detention facility also made it possible to examine their moods and a tendency to present oneself in an excessively favourable manner. In order to verify the research hypotheses, a diagnostic survey method and a method of statistical and comparative analysis were adopted.A factor analysis revealed that the sense of security among inmates in temporary cells is determined by three factors: fear of inmates’ threatening behaviour, fear of inmates and anxiety. It appeared that the first-time inmates in temporary cells demonstrated more Fear of Inmates than the prisoners returning to it. As far as the fear of inmates’ threatening behaviour and anxiety are concerned, there were no significant differences between first-time inmates in the temporary cell and the prisoners returning to it.