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Contents of Reentry Trends in the U.S.
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Reentry Trends in the U.S.
Recidivism
In a 15 State study, over two-thirds of released prisoners were rearrested within three years
Rearrest
of releases |
Reconviction |
Returned to prison
To
view data, click on the chart.
 [D]
- Two studies come
closest to providing "national" recidivism rates for the United States.
One tracked 108,580 State prisoners released from prison in 11 States
in 1983. The other tracked 272,111 prisoners released from prison in
15 States in 1994. The prisoners tracked in these studies represent
two-thirds of all the prisoners released in the United States for that
year.
Rearrest within 3 years
- 67.5% of prisoners
released in 1994 were rearrested within 3 years, an increase over the
62.5% found for those released in 1983
- The rearrest rate
for property offenders, drug offenders, and public-order offenders increased
significantly from 1983 to 1994. During that time, the rearrest rate
increased:
- - from 68.1%
to 73.8% for property offenders
- - from 50.4%
to 66.7% for drug offenders
- - from 54.6%
to 62.2% for public-order offenders
- The rearrest rate
for violent offenders remained relatively stable (59.6% in 1983 compared
to 61.7% in 1994).
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Reconviction within 3 years
- Overall, reconviction
rates did not change significantly from 1983 to 1994. Among, prisoners
released in 1983, 46.8% were reconvicted within 3 years compared to
46.9% among those released in 1994. From 1983 to 1994, reconviction
rates remained stable for released:
- - violent offenders
(41.9% and 39.9%, respectively)
- - property offenders
(53.0% and 53.4%)
- - public-order
offenders (41.5% and 42.0%)
- Among drug offenders,
the rate of reconviction increased significantly, going from 35.3% in
1983 to 47.0% in 1994.
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Returned to prison within
3 years
- The 1994 recidivism
study estimated that within 3 years, 51.8% of prisoners released during
the year were back in prison either because of a new crime for which
they received another prison sentence, or because of a technical violation
of their parole. This rate was not calculated in the 1983 study.
BJS Sources:
Recidivism
of Prisoners Released in 1983, April, 1989
Recidivism of Prisoners Released
in 1994, June, 2002.
Related information
From BJS
- Topical pages
- National,
State, and Federal correctional data in spreadsheets
From the Office
of Justice Programs
- Serious
and violent offender reentry initiative
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