NCJ Number
72828
Date Published
1980
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The third report of a three-part evaluation of residents residing at Massachusetts Halfway Houses, Inc. (MHHI) on a prerelease basis during 1977 and 1978, investigates recidivism rates among the individuals released from MHHI during 1977 and 1978.
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to determine if those individuals who ended their terms of incarceration in a MHHI prerelease facility are less likely to be reincarcerated within 1 year of their release than are similar types of inmates who did not participate in a prerelease program prior to release. Data analysis was conducted on a combined sample of 185 releases in 1977-78, a sample of 1977 releases only, and 1978 releases only. Data collected for all samples consists of (1) commitment variables, (2) personal background variables, (3) criminal history variables, (4) furlough variables, and (5) recidivism variables. This material was collected from the computerized data base developed by the Correction and Parole Management Information System (CAPMIS). Additional data were collected from the files of the Department of Correction, the Parole Board, and the Board of Probation. Results indicated that for the combined sample of 1977 and 1978 MHHI releases, 36 individuals out of 306 had been reincarcerated during the 1-year followup period, resulting in a recidivism rate of 12 percent. For those individuals who had been released during 1977, 21 of the 185 individuals or 11 percent. During 1978, 121 individuals were released and 15 of them were reincarcerated during the 1-year followup, giving a recidivism rate of 12 percent. Results showed that the combined MHHI prerelease population of 1977 and 1978 had lower recidivism rates than the comparison group of individuals released from walled institutions. Also, it was found that this difference was not due to selection factors. MHHI prerelease program participants had statistically significant lower rates of recidivism for 1977 releases and for the combined sample of 1977 and 1978 releases than their expected rates. For the 1978 releases, the MHHI prerelease program participants had a lower actual rate of recidivism than the expected rate but the difference was not statistically significant. Six references and eight text tables are provided.