Citation URL: http://www.urban.org/BarbaraParthasarathy

Using data from the Returning Home study of male prisoners returning to Chicago, this policy brief examines the extent of and reasons for residential mobility among released prisoners and how mobility affects reentry outcomes. Findings indicate that residential mobility among this group is not particularly high, and that those who do move are not necessarily at greater risk of relapse and recidivism. In fact, it appears that those who move do so either to avoid family conflict and/or to be more independent. Many change residences in order to reside with an intimate partner or friend. From a policy perspective, there may be little reason to identify movers as a particularly vulnerable population. Indeed, moving could be a sign of increased financial responsibility on the part of the released prisoner.

The number of people released from Texas prisons and state jails in 2001 was over five times the number released two decades ago. One-quarter of those released in 2001 returned to Harris County, and many were even more concentrated within a few distressed neighborhoods. This report describes the process of prisoner reentry in Texas by examining the policy context surrounding reentry, the characteristics of Texas's returning prisoners, their geographic distribution after release, and the social and economic climates of the communities that are home to the highest concentrations of returning prisoners. [View the corresponding press release]

This evaluation examined the impact of Maryland's Break the Cycle (BTC) initiative, designed to reduce drug use and crime among probationers and parolees. The evaluation was based on a quasi-experimental design and used statistical procedures to control for systematic differences between BTC and non-BTC jurisdictions. The designs and exclusive reliance on secondary data from existing computer systems did have limitations. The evaluation concluded that BTC was an effective strategy for reducing drug arrests among probationers and parolees with drug conditions.

Third in an annual series, this report provides statistics that describe defendants processed at different stages of the Federal criminal justice system for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2000. The data presented are compiled from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' Federal justice database which is maintained by the Urban Institute for the U.S. Department of Justice.

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