CURRENT STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING RECIDIVISM

Current Strategies for Reducing Recidivism

Current Strategies for Reducing Recidivism

Introduction

Recidivism is the relapse into criminal activity and is generally measured by a former prisoner's return to prison for a new offense. Rates of recidivism reflect the degree to which released inmates have been rehabilitated and the role correctional programs play in reintegrating prisoners into society. The rate of recidivism in the U.S. is estimated to be about two-thirds, which means that two-thirds of released inmates will be re-incarcerated within three years. High rates of recidivism result in tremendous costs both in terms of public safety and in tax dollars spent to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate re-offenders. High rates of recidivism also lead to devastating social costs to the communities and families of offenders, as well as the personal costs to the offenders themselves. Due to these severe costs, programs for inmates and released inmates that reduce recidivism can be cost effective—even those that have modest rates of success.

An analysis of the purposes for prisons in the U.S. justice system

The Developing Justice Coalition requested that the Center for Impact Research (CIR) conduct a study to identify the five states that have been the most successful in reducing rates of recidivism and the programs that have contributed to the state's success. CIR's research finds that states vary widely on their formula for determining rates of recidivism. Furthermore, data from program evaluations and measures of the impact of programs on recidivism are uneven in scope and quality. These limitations in data on recidivism and program evaluation make it impossible to directly compare states and specific programs for their effects on recidivism. Therefore, CIR adopted an approach that reviewed published data and evaluations on programs for inmates and released inmates throughout the U.S. Thus, this study examines program components that were cited by multiple programs and states as being effective in reducing recidivism.

Substance abuse is a widespread problem among the prison population, with re-addiction after release a frequent cause of recidivism and a barrier to obtaining stable employment. The report specifically examines the role of drug courts and mandatory treatment, which are associated with a 31 percent reduction in recidivism. It also discusses the new Sheridan Correctional Facility in Illinois, which is a promising and robust model of not only substance abuse treatment in prison but also continued treatment and intensive case management and parole supervision for released inmates.

Educational programs address the needs of released prisoners to attain the skills to find and retain employment and typically include secondary, GED, higher education, and vocational training. Education is reported to reduce recidivism by 29 percent with the completion of high school education found to be the most pervasive need. Employment services programs address the need of released inmates to find work and typically include job preparedness, career development skills, and job placement. The report specifically discusses New York's Community and Law Enforcement Resources Together program (ComALERT) as an example, which reports recidivism rates of 17 percent compared to 41 percent ...