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Abstract
The Massachusetts Recidivism Study is a collaborative effort between the Urban Institute's Justice Policy Center and the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) that aims to better understand to the experiences of recidivists and how their previous incarceration and time in the community relate to their returns to prison. The study consists of three interrelated components: an analysis of DOC administrative data, interviews with recidivists as they return to prison, and parole officer focus groups. This report presents findings from interviews with male prisoners returned to the DOC within three years of release. The report describes respondents' incarceration experiences, preparation for reentry, and life in the community, as well as criminal offending and the circumstances leading up to their reincarceration. This analysis also examines the role of parole supervision in prisoner reentry and the connection between technical parole violations and underlying criminal behavior.
Introduction
The rising incarceration rate in America over the past quarter century has resulted in more
prisoners being admitted to and released from prison each year. In 2005 alone, more than
698,000 state and federal prisoners returned to communities across the country, a four-fold
increase over the past two decades Incarceration and release trends in Massachusetts generally
mirror this growth. Between 1980 and 2006, the Massachusetts state adult prison population
increased more than threefold—from 2,754 to 9,405 individuals. The number of people being
released from Massachusetts’ prisons has also increased substantially. In 1980, 1,015 individuals
were released from the state’s prisons. Over the past two-and-a-half decades, this number more
than doubled to 2,337 individuals.
The phenomenon of prisoner reentry has been increasingly recognized as an important public
safety issue not only because of the increasing volume of releases from prison, but particularly
because of persistently high recidivism rates. Nationally, the Bureau of Justice Statistics reports
that over two-thirds of released prisoners are rearrested for a new offense within three years of
their release, and over half are back in prison serving time for a new offense or a technical
violation of their parole.
Recent Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC) figures show that three-year recidivism
rates among Massachusetts prisoners, as measured by a return to prison, were lower than the
national average, though still substantial. Thirty-nine percent of DOC prisoners released in 1999
were returned to a state, county, or federal facility within three years of release. The majority of
those who recidivated in Massachusetts were reincarcerated for conviction of a new crime, but
more than a third were returned for technical violations of parole.
Research on recidivism has generally focused on static predictors of recidivism and the
characteristics of career criminals. It is now widely known, for instance, that a young age at the time of first offense and a higher number of previous arrests are among the strongest predictors
of recidivism, and that a small fraction of offenders are responsible for the majority of crime.10
Research also shows that persistent career offenders are more likely to be drug users.11 In
addition to substance abuse, the emerging prisoner reentry literature documents the enormous
challenges of housing, employment, and health among this population.12
What is missing from recidivism research is an understanding of the processes that lead a
released prisoner to reoffend—in other words, why he or she commits a new crime. The
postrelease circumstances and experiences of released prisoners as well as their previous
incarceration experiences are critical to understanding the recidivism process. Because this
information is best gathered through personal interviews, here we present findings from field
research with recently reincarcerated prisoners as well as parole officers. This report attempts to
deepen our understanding of recidivism in Massachusetts and factors that contribute to returning
to prison.
(End of excerpt. The entire report is available in PDF format.)
The nonpartisan Urban Institute publishes studies, reports, and books on timely topics worthy of public consideration. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders.
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