Recidivism of Offenders After Prison-A Quick Summation

Highlights

A quick overview of the number of people rearrested and reincarcerated after release from prison.

Author

Leonard Adam Sipes, Jr.

Retired federal senior spokesperson. Thirty-five years of directing award-winning public relations for national and state criminal justice agencies. Interviewed multiple times by every national news outlet. Former Senior Specialist for Crime Prevention for the Department of Justice’s clearinghouse. Former Director of Information Services, National Crime Prevention Council. Former Adjunct Associate Professor of criminology and public affairs-University of Maryland, University College. Former advisor to presidential and gubernatorial campaigns. Former advisor to the “McGruff-Take a Bite Out of Crime” national media campaign. Certificate of Advanced Study-Johns Hopkins University. Former police officer. Aspiring drummer.

Author of ”Success With The Media: Everything You Need To Survive Reporters and Your Organization” available at Amazon and additional booksellers.

Article

Readers are asking for a quick summation of the recidivism of offenders after release from prison.

I create long-form articles trying to address everything I think readers need to know. Sometimes, comprehensiveness backfires.

For example, I just did an article on a ten-year study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice stating that offenders committed well over two million new crimes after release, but because most crimes are not reported to law enforcement, that number is an obvious undercount.

Some readers don’t care about those details. If you do, see Crimes Committed By Released Offenders-Ten Year Study.

If you want a summation of all federal recidivism studies addressing rearrests and reconvictions after prison, see Offender Recidivism In The US.

The Most Common Understanding Of Recidivism

The most common understanding of recidivism is based on state data from the US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, stating that two-thirds (68 percent) of prisoners released were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years.

Within 3 years of release, 49.7% of inmates either had an arrest that resulted in a conviction with a disposition of a prison sentence or were returned to prison without a new conviction because they violated a technical condition of their release, as did 55.1% of inmates within 5 years of release.

A ten-year study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that 82% were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release.

Offenders committed well over two million new crimes.

About 61% of prisoners released in 2008 returned to prison within 10 years for a parole or probation violation or a new sentence.

Prisoners released had a median of nine prior arrests and five prior convictions in their criminal history.

Conclusions

As stated in other articles, police chiefs are blaming repeat and released offenders for the current crime wave in the US, US Crime Rates. They are generally correct. The data is clear, a minority of offenders commit the majority of crimes.

The majority of programs for offenders either don’t work or have dismal results, Do Offender Rehabilitation Programs Work?

But there are tens of thousands of former offenders living productive, crime-free lives. I interviewed hundreds of them for radio and television shows. They deserve our support while in prison and out.

We should provide the funds as to what works and improve services and programs while in prison. But that won’t happen because advocates keep insisting that current programs work.

See More

See more articles on crime and justice at Crime in America.

Most Dangerous Cities/States/Countries at Most Dangerous Cities.

US Crime Rates at Nationwide Crime Rates.

National Offender Recidivism Rates at Offender Recidivism.

An Overview Of Data On Mental Health at Mental Health And Crime.

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