The Limits of Recidivism: Chapter 2

• In Event: The Limits of Recidivism

Abstract

Over the last two decades, more than 600,000 individuals have been released from state and federal prisons in the United States each year. Efforts to evaluate the outcomes of criminal justice system involvement, particularly for people released from prison, rely on measures of recidivism – the likelihood that previously convicted individuals will commit new crimes and eventually become re-imprisoned. In 2021, the Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a committee to examine measures of recidivism and consider broader measures of success. The committee approached its work by first critically analyzing the strengths and limitations of current measures of recidivism, and identifying key factors and outcomes not adequately captured by this measure alone. Second, the committee reviewed the correlates of positive outcomes for individuals who do not return to incarceration. In doing so, the committee considered broader measures of success such as health, victimization, family attachment, educational attainment, employment, income, and civic engagement. The final report offers recommendations for how to improve measures of success for individuals released from prison.

Author

• William Sabol, Georgia State University