| Go to Jail! Go Back to Jail! | |
Dateline: 06/07/02
Sixty-seven percent of former inmates released from U.S. state prisons in 1994 were back in jail within three years, according to a study conducted by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The figures indicate re-arrest rates have increased by five-percent since 1983.
In the largest recidivism study ever conducted in the United States, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals data sure to fuel the ongoing debate over the functional role of prisons in American society. Do our prisons rehabilitate criminals, simply detain criminals, or do our prisons actually serve as "crime colleges," encouraging criminals to commit further, often more serious crimes after their release?
In the study, "Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994," BJS examines the criminal records of 272,111 prisoners after their discharge from prisons in 15 states. Former prisoners were tracked through fingerprint records made at various points of contact with the justice system. Results of the study showed that:
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Within three years, 52 percent of the 272,111 released prisoners were back in prison either because of a new crime or because they had violated their parole conditions (e.g., failed a drug test, possessed a firearm, failed to report to parole officer).• State prisoners with the highest re-arrest rates were those who had been incarcerated for stealing motor vehicles (79 percent), possessing or selling stolen property (77 percent), larceny (75 percent), burglary (74 percent), robbery (70 percent) or those using, possessing or trafficking in illegal weapons (70 percent).
• Those with the lowest re-arrest rates were former inmates who had been in prison for homicide (41 percent), sexual assault (41 percent), rape (46 percent) or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol (51 percent).
• About 1 percent of the released prisoners who had served time for murder were arrested for another homicide within three years, and about 2 percent of the rapists were arrested for another rape within that period.
• Men were more likely to be re-arrested than were women (68 percent, compared to 58 percent), blacks more likely than whites (73 percent vs. 63 percent) and non-Hispanics more than Hispanics (71 percent vs. 65 percent). Younger prisoners and those with longer records were also more likely to be re-arrested.
• Most re-arrested former convicts had originally been jailed for felonies: 22 percent for a violent offense (such as murder, rape, sexual assault or robbery), 33 percent for a serious property offense (mostly burglary, motor vehicle theft or fraud), 33 percent for a drug offense (primarily drug trafficking or possession) and 10 percent for public order offenses (mainly drunk driving or weapons crimes).
• Almost 8 percent of all released prisoners were re-arrested for a new crime in a state other than the one that released them. These alleged offenders were charged with committing 55,760 new crimes in states other than the imprisoning state within the three-year period. New York, Arizona and California had the most arrests of out-of-state offenders in this study.
• Most former convicts were re-arrested shortly after getting out of prison: 30 percent within six months, 44 percent within a year, 59 percent within two years and 67 percent by the end of three years.
• Post-prison recidivism was strongly related to arrest history. Among prisoners with one arrest prior to their release, 41 percent were re-arrested. Of those with two prior arrests, 47 percent were re-arrested. Of those with three earlier arrests, 55 percent were re-arrested. Among those with more than 15 prior arrests, that is about 18 percent of all released prisoners, 82 percent were re-arrested within the three-year period.
