NCJ Number
233467
Date Published
December 2009
Length
64 pages
Annotation
Return-to-custody (recidivism) data are presented for inmates released from the New York State Department of Correctional Services in 2005, based on a 3-year follow-up period; and the data are analyzed in relation to several demographic characteristics and legal history of those returning to custody.
Abstract
Among the 24,223 inmates released in 2005, 9,992 (41percent) returned to custody within 3 years, including 11 percent recommitted with new felony convictions and 30 percent returned for parole violations. Since the 1996 cohort of released inmates, the total return rate has stabilized at approximately 40 percent, with increasing parole-violation rates and decreasing new conviction rates. Those released by a Parole Board decision returned at a higher rate (46 percent) than inmates released at their conditional release dates (40 percent). Inmates released at the maximum expiration of their sentence, who can return for a new felony conviction but are not subject to return for parole violations, had a return rate of 21 percent. Just over two-thirds of the 9,992 inmates who returned were re-committed within the first 18 months after their release. The median time to return to custody declined significantly among parole violators in the 1999 cohort and remained at just under 11 months until 2004, when it increased to 11.5 months. In 2005, this figure decreased slightly to 11.1 months. Thirty percent of the released women returned to custody, compared to 42 percent of the men. Property offenders and youthful offenders had the highest rates of return (47 percent). Those returned to custody for the commitment of new crimes were most often returned for new drug offenses. Fifty-three percent of those released in 2005 who were under 21 years old returned to custody, compared to 41 percent of released inmates 21 years old or older. Extensive tables and figures and 10 appendixes with supplementary data