Friends as Social Capital: A Preliminary Analysis of Previous Experience with – and Current Willingness to Befriend – Offenders in Malaysia

ABSTRACT Offenders who return to the community need social support to prevent recidivism, which has been challenging, necessitating a formal program (i.e., befrienders programs) where volunteers “befriend” these offenders as a way to provide social capital. However, the challenge to the recruitment to these programs is the question if just anyone could be a befriender for these offenders. This study explores the willingness of individuals to befriend an offender, along with their previous experience of exposure to a friend with a criminal background, which will provide insights for the recruitment purpose. This mixed-design study explored if 180 university students had a friend with an offender-status and their willingness to befriend other offenders along with their explanation. Chi-square tests of independence showed that having a friend with an offender-status has a relationship with the participants’ willingness to befriend other offenders, while there is no gender difference in their willingness. Content analysis showed various motivations for willingness that point to the general aspect of humanity and empathy of the participants, although prior contacts with an offender may impact getting to know other offenders. The study argues that recruitment process for the befriending program can be done through assessing prior contact with an offender.