Ex-offender Reentry Program Statistics
FAST RESEARCH FACTS: EX-OFFENDER REENTRY PROGRAMS Recidivism Statistics Note: Arrest rates may not be the best way to measure recidivism. Take into consideration that someone may be arrested for a crime that they did not commit. At the same time, it is believed that criminals commit many crimes for which they are never arrested. Demographic Characteristics of Prisoners Released from Prison in 1994 and Recidivism Rates of those Prisoners by Characteristic % of released prisoners % rearrested within 3 years % reconvicted within 3 years % returned to prison* Total 100 67.5 46.9 51.8 Male 91.3 68.4 47.6 53.0 Female 8.7 57.6 39.9 39.4 50.4 62.7 43.3 49.9 Black 48.5 72.9 51.1 54.2 Other 1.1 55.2 34.3 49.5 Hispanic 24.5 64.6 43.9 51.9 Non-Hispanic 75.5 71.4 50.7 57.3 Age at release 14-17 0.3 82.1 55.7 56.6 18-24 21.0 75.4 52.0 52.0 25-29 22.8 70.5 50.1 52.5 30-34 22.7 68.8 48.8 54.8 35-39 16.2 66.2 46.3 52.0 40-44 9.4 58.4 38.0 50.0 45 or older 7.6 45.3 29.7 40.9 Most serious offense for which the inmate was serving Violent 22.5 61.7 39.9 48.8 Property 33.5 73.8 53.4 56.4 Drugs 32.6 66.7 47.0 49.2 Public-order 9.7 62.2 42.0 48.0 Other 1.7 64.7 42.1 66.9 *Those returned to prison with or without a new prison sentence. SOURCE: Criminal History · 93.1% of prisoners had been arrested at least once prior to the crime for which they were being released in 1994. · 81.4% had prior convictions. · 43.6% had served prior prison sentences. · The prisoners with the highest re-arrest rates were those who had been serving time for motor vehicle theft (78.8% rearrested within 3 years), possessors/sellers of stolen property (77.4%), larceny (74.6%), and burglary (74.0%), all of which are considered crimes for money. In contrast, the prisoners with some of the lowest re-arrest rates had been serving time for homicide (40.7%), sexual assault (41.4%), rape (46.0%), and driving under the influence (51.5%). SOURCE: Recidivism Among Prisoners Released in 1994 Cumulative % of released prisoners Rearrested Reconvicted In prison under a new sentence Within 6 months 29.9 10.6 5.0 Within 1 year 44.1 21.5 10.4 Within 2 years 59.2 36.4 18.8 Within 3 years 67.5 46.9 25.4 SOURCE: Arrest Charges · The 272,111 prisoners released in 1994 had been arrested for about 4.1 million offenses prior to their release and about .8 million during the 3 years after their release for a total of about 4.9 million, an average of about 17.9 charges each. · In actuality, a small number of high offenders (accounting for about 6.4% of the prisoners released in 1994) were responsible for almost 14% of the arrest charges, each being responsible for 45 or more offenses. · Of the 4.1 million offenses committed prior to their release, 13.3% were violent crimes, 35.8% were property-related crimes, 22.3% were drug related, and 17% were public-order offenses. · Of the arrest charges accumulated during the three years after their release in 1994, 13.5% were for violent crimes, 28.0% were for property-related crimes, 25.7 were for drug-related offenses, and 20.9 were for public-order offenses. SOURCE:
|
Criminal History of Inmates in 2002 |
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|
|
% with no prior sentence |
% who were violent recidivists |
% who were nonviolent recidivists |
|
Total |
38.1 |
28.3 |
33.6 |
|
Male |
36.8 |
29.9 |
33.3 |
|
Female |
48.7 |
16.0 |
35.3 |
|
33.3 |
26.5 |
40.2 |
|
|
Black* |
39.3 |
30.4 |
30.3 |
|
Hispanic |
46.7 |
24.4 |
29.0 |
|
*Non-Hispanic SOURCE: |
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· Parole violators accounted for 36.6% of all state prison admissions in 1998.
SOURCE:
Realities About Ex-offenders for Consideration by Leaders of Reentry Programs
Alcohol/Drug Use
· 66.0% of prison inmates in 2002 drank alcohol regularly and 33.4% drank alcohol at the time of the offense.
· 82.2% of prison inmates in 2002 had used drugs at least once during their lifetime, 68.7% used drugs regularly, and 28.8% of convicted inmates had used drugs at the time of the offense.
· 49.7% of convicted inmates were using either drugs or alcohol at the time of their offense.
SOURCE:
· In 1997, 26.5% of federal prison inmates and 39.7% of state inmates did not have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
· In 1997, 12.0% of federal inmates and 14.2% of state inmates had only an 8th grade education or less.
SOURCE:
· In 2002, 57.4% of prison inmates reported that they had been working full-time at the time they were arrested and 10.9% had been working part-time. The rest had only been working occasionally or were unemployed.
SOURCE:
· Up to 60% of ex-offender do not hold legitimate employment one year after being released from prison.
· 65% of employers will not knowingly hire an ex-offender.
· 30-40% of employers report having checked the criminal records of most of their recent hires.
SOURCE: Russell Sage, What Employers Want: Job Prospects for Less-educated Workers by H. Holzer, 1996.
Physical/Mental Health
· In 1997, 16.2% of state prison inmates said they had a mental or emotional problem or had spent a night in a mental health facility. Sixty percent of these said they had received some sort of treatment since being admitted to prison.
· That same year. 18.9% of state prison inmates reported that they were taking medications for mental or emotional disorders.
SOURCE:
Housing
· In 1997, it is estimated that 10% of all parolees in the state of
· In 1997, it is estimated that 30% to 50% of parolees in
SOURCE: California Department of Corrections, Preventing Parolee Failure Program: An Evaluation, 1997.
For Further
The Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Release Preparation and Transitional Reentry Programs
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/audit/BOP/0416/intro.htm
HIV in Prisons and Jails
by Laura M. Maruschak
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/hivpj02.pdf
Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers
by Paula M. Ditton
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/mhtip.pdf
Offenders Returning to Prison, 1986-97
by William J. Sabol, William P. Adams, Barbara Parthasarathy, and Yan Yuan
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/orfp97.pdf
Profile of Jail Inmates, 2002
by Doris J. James
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pji02.pdf
Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994
by Patrick A. Langan and David J. Levin
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/rpr94.pdf
Recidivism among Federal Prisoners Released in 1987
by Miles D. Harer
Federal Bureau of Prisons, Office of Research and Evaluation, August 1994
http://www.bop.gov/orepg/oreprrecid87.pdf
When Prisoners Return to the Community: Political, Economic, and Social Consequences
by Joan Petersilia
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/184253.pdf
