Over Two Million Crimes By Released Prisoners After Ten Years

Highlights-Ten Years After Release From Prison

Most police chiefs are blaming increased crime on repeat offenders. Based on this and other data, they are correct.

82% were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release.

Prisoners released in 2008 had a median of nine prior arrests and five prior convictions in their criminal history.

40% of persons released from prison in 2008 were arrested for a violent offense.

An estimated 2.2 million arrests occurred among the approximately 409,300 persons released from prison across 24 states in 2008.

Nearly 7 in 10 state prisoners released across 22 states had an arrest within 10 years that led to a conviction.

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

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.

Notes

A comprehensive summation of all recidivism studies is available at Offender Recidivism.

There is an immense difference between a prison sentence and the time actually served. The average state prison sentence served is less than two years for property offenders and less than three years for violent offenders, Time Served-USDOJ.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics previously released data stating that most revocations (rearrests and reincarcerations) are based on new crimes, not technical violations (i.e., escapes from custody, not reporting to parole and probation agencies).

“ Almost all prisoners who were re-arrested (96% of released sex offenders and 99% of all released offenders) were arrested for an offense other than a probation or parole violation,” BJS.

Fifty-eight percent of state male offenders are “currently” serving sentences for violent crimes, Bureau Of Justice Statistics. The percentage would be much higher if criminal history was included.

President Biden promised to cut the prison population in half during the campaign, President Biden.

Article

I just offered an article on the latest data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the US Department of Justice in August 2021 regarding a five-year follow-up of people released from prison, see USDOJ-Recidivism-Five Year Follow Up.

Quick summation:

Released prisoners who served less time had higher arrest rates.

During the five-year follow-up period, an estimated 1.1 million arrests occurred among the approximately 408,300 prisoners released in 2012.

This article summarizes the latest Bureau Of Justice Statistics report regarding ten years after release.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Summation-Ten Years After Release

Among persons released from state prisons in 2008 across 24 states, 82% were arrested at least once during the 10 years following release.

The annual arrest percentage among persons released from prison in 2012 declined over time, with 43% arrested at least once in Year 1 of their release, 29% arrested in Year 5, and 22% arrested in Year 10.

This is BJS’s first recidivism study with a 10-year follow-up period.

One-quarter (25%) of persons released from prison across 24 states in 2008 had been serving time for a violent offense. Nearly the same percentage of persons released from prison in 2008 had been serving time for property and drug offenses (30% each), and the remaining 16% had been serving time for public order offenses.

Prisoners released in 2008 had a median of nine prior arrests and five prior convictions in their criminal history.

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

Post-Release Arrests

During the study’s 10-year follow-up period, an estimated 2.2 million arrests occurred among the approximately 409,300 persons released from prison across 24 states in 2008. Considering that most violent and property crimes are not reported to law enforcement, this figure is an undercount.

Sixteen percent were arrested within 10 years outside of the state that released them.

Males (83%) were more likely than females (76%) to be arrested within 10 years of release.

Ninety percent of prisoners who were age 24 or younger at the time of release in 2008 were arrested within 10 years of release. A smaller percentage of those who were ages 25 to 39 (85%) and age 40 or older (75%) at the time of release were arrested within 10 years of release.

Persons released from prison in 2008 after serving time for a violent offense (77%) were less likely to be arrested for any offense than prisoners released after serving time for other types of offenses within 10 years.

During this period, 4 in 10 (40%) persons released from prison in 2008 were arrested for a violent offense.

Nearly half of persons released from prison in 2008 were arrested for a property (47%) or drug (47%) offense within 10 years.

Among persons released from prison in 2008 in the 18 states with data on persons returned to prison, about half (49%) had a parole or probation violation or an arrest that led to a new sentence within 3 years, a rate that increased to about 6 in 10 (61%) within 10 years.

A greater percentage of prisoners age 24 or younger (69%) than those ages 25 to 39 (64%) or age 40 or older (53%) at release had returned to prison within 10 years.

Chart-Who Is Rearrested-Click Open In A New Tab For A Better Presentation

Conclusions

As I stated in previous articles, I personally know or have interviewed (for radio and television shows) hundreds of former inmates who are now law-abiding citizens doing well in the community. They deserve our respect.

Regardless of the numbers above we can’t stereotype every released offender. We need to support programs for those in and out of prison (although the data on the effectiveness of programs is mostly dismal).

But we live in a time of rising violence, US Crime Rates, and most police chiefs are blaming repeat offenders. Based on this and other data, they are correct.

Not everyone convicted of a crime needs to go to prison, but violent offenders, currently 58 percent of the male state prison population (the percentage would be much higher when considering criminal history) need to be separated from society for probably longer than the less than three years they are currently serving.

Source

Bureau Of Justice Statistics

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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