NCJ Number
229439
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 37 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2010 Pages: 175-187
Date Published
February 2010
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This study compared the rate of recidivism between a sample of offenders with serious mental illness (SMI)and a sample of non-SMI offenders.
Abstract
Serious mental illness (SMI) represents a major risk for repeated incarceration, yet recidivism studies often do not specifically focus on persons with SMI as compared to non-SMI offenders. The study reported here systematically identified Utah State prisoners released from 1998 to 2002 (N = 9,245) who meet criteria for SMI and compared SMI and non-SMI offenders on length of time to prison return. Findings indicate that 23 percent of the sample met criteria for SMI (n = 2,112). Moreover, survival analyses demonstrated a significant difference in return rates and community tenure for offenders with SMI compared to non-SMI offenders when controlling for demographics, condition of release, offense type, and condition of return (parole violation vs. new commitment). The median time for all SMI offenders to return to prison was 385 days versus 743 days for all non-SMI offenders, 358 days sooner (p < .001). Implications of these findings are discussed. (Published Abstract)