NCJ Number
225782
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 70 Issue: 6 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 56-60
Date Published
December 2008
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article provides data on the recidivism of Naval personnel released from military correctional confinement between 1997 and 2003.
Abstract
The analysis draws two primary conclusions. First, the number of military offenders (those confined for a military-specific crime) increased between 1997 and 2003. Second, the recidivism rate of military offenders increased during this time. For the 1997 releasees, 9.1 percent were rearrested within 1 year, 17.7 percent within 2 years, and 23.6 percent within 3 years. The percentage of those arrested for public order crimes has increased significantly since 2000. This includes a substantial increase in driving under the influence. Generally, the rate at which released military inmates committed sex crimes remained fairly static during the study period; however, the rate at which released Naval inmates were arrested for violent and drug crimes after release increased slightly. In addition to public-order crimes, arrests for property crimes saw the most dramatic increase from 1997 through 2003. Efforts to broaden and enhance substance abuse rehabilitation programs for incarcerated naval personnel may help to address the Navy’s increasing recidivism rate, which is apparently due mostly to increased arrests for public-order offenses that involve alcohol and/or drug intoxication. Data for this study pertains to all 13,997 individuals released from a Navy confinement facility in the 7 years from 1997 through 2003. Demographic information maintained by the U.S. Navy was combined with criminal history information provided by the FBI. 5 figures