NCJ Number
100107
Date Published
1985
Length
51 pages
Annotation
Recidivism data were collected for 1,167 male inmates released from the Iowa State Penetentiary and the Men's Reformatory between 1970 and 1984.
Abstract
Data examined included inmate age; employment status at time of arrest; race; prior commitments; offense type; type of arrest; and participation in educational, vocational, and substance abuse treatment programs. Failure rate analyses show that the variables most strongly associated with recidivism were revocation of parole, prior juvenile and/or adult commitment, the treatment program, and substance abuse (particularly alcohol abuse). In general, recidivism rates were lowest for inmates involved in vocational, educational, prison industry, and farm programs. While age was related to recidivism, race and length of incarceration were not. The failure of year of release to be associated with recidivism rates sugqests that the increasing use of risk assessment instruments and the introduction of a classification system have not had an impact on recidivism. The complexity of the relationships studied is discussed, and recidivism rates are presented in 23 graphs representing study variables. 3 notes and 8 references.