NCJ Number
149206
Date Published
1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
An overview of absconders and parolees from long-term release facilities of New York's Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) during the 1988-1992 period indicates that participation in long-term release increased by 220 percent, while the proportion of participants paroled from long-term release rose by 190 percent, and that growth in the absconder population was the greatest (494 percent).
Abstract
Participation in work release increased from 4,702 inmates in 1988 to 15,028 inmates in 1992 (220 percent). Growth in the proportion of inmates paroled from work release facilities was slightly smaller, from 1,650 parolees in 1988 to 4,794 parolees in 1992 (190 percent). The absconder population increased by 1,832 inmates between 1988 and 1992 (494 percent). The abscondence rate rose from a low of 7.9 absconders per 100 participants in 1988 to a high of 16.9 in 1991 and fell to 14.6 in 1992. Over half of all absconders were committed to the DOCS for drug offenses, while slightly less than half of all parolees were. Just under 60 percent of absconders had served prior jail or prison sentences, compared with roughly 43 percent of parolees. Conversely, a larger proportion of parolees than absconders (26 versus 16 percent) had no prior arrests or convictions. In both 1991 and 1992, parolees served longer in general confinement facilities than did absconders. Absconders were slightly more likely than parolees to have never married, and 29 percent of all absconders and parolees reported using cocaine prior to incarceration. 5 notes and 17 tables