Delaware Juvenile Recidivism: 1994-2002 Juvenile Level III, IV and V Recidivism Study

• NCJ Number: 199700
• Author(s): Jorge Rodriguez-Labarca; John P. O'Connell
• Date Published: November 2002
• Length: 71 pages
• Corporate Author: Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr
• Sale Source: NCJRS Photocopy Services; Delaware Statistical Analysis Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report presents recidivism rates for juvenile offenders released from residential placements in Delaware’s Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF), Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (YRS), between 1994 and 2001.

Abstract

In this report, recidivism rates and detailed juvenile offender profiles are provided for juvenile offenders released from residential placement under Delaware’s Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (YRS) between 1994 and 2001. Residential placements fall into two major levels of security: secure and non-secure with youth sentenced to different program levels. The program levels reflect a graduated approach requiring increasingly intensive programming according to risk and needs assessments of each juvenile. This report reflects program levels III (residential, non-secure setting), IV (staff secure programs), and V (locked secure institutional setting). The measure of recidivism used in this study was a Delaware felony re-arrest following release from placement. Recidivism rates were reported for four different at-risk intervals: 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Results indicate on average, over the past 5-year period the felony re-arrest rate was 28 percentage points lower than the misdemeanor-felony recidivism rate for Level IV and Level V. In looking at the difference in the frequency of re-arrest for Level IV and V release cohorts by fiscal year since 1997, on average, over the past 5 years the number of arrests per release event was 0.9 percent lower for Level IV and 1.1 percent for Level V when felony re-arrest patterns were compared to misdemeanor-plus-felony arrests. Results for felony re-arrest by level of sanction for fiscal year 2001 included: (1) Level V release cohort recidivism rate at 12 months at-risk for a felony arrest was 36 percent; (2) Level IV recidivism rate for a felony arrest was 39 percent; and (3) Level III recidivism rate at 12 months at-risk for a felony arrest was 19 percent. Tables and appendix