Recidivism

Recidivism
Note: The term "sexual assault offender" was used as a direct quote, not because somebody who committed such a crime should be called a "sexual assault offender" or sex offender." 

     There's been a lot of talk lately about releasing people from prison before they complete their full prison sentence. Most of that conversation has centralized around the types of criminal convictions that should be excluded, out of fear the person releases would repeat the crime. It's a valid concern, considering just how many if us return to prison, so let's take an in-depth look at the figures, shall we?

     First if all, it's important to note that the statistics given to you are intentionally skewed. It's all in the wording. For example, take a look at the highlights of a report on the website for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). If you pay close attention to the actual wording, you'll see that what it actually says is that "rape and sexual assault offenders were less likely than other prisoners to be arrested..." Instead of stopping there, which would have sent a clear message rearrest for a sex offense wasn't in fact imminent, they continued on, saying that they were m"mote likely than other prisoners to be arrested for rape or sexual assault" or "three times as likely as other released prisoners to be arrested for rape or sexual assault (7.7% versus 2.3%)." This irrelevant and unnecessary information, particularly as worded, completely changes the narrative. It falsely implies that somebody with a sexual conviction is more likely to be rearrested, and for a sexual conviction, than any other category, when in fact, the exact opposite is true. People convicted of sex offenses are the least likely to return to prison, for any crime. The fact that somebody with a prior sex offense being 3 times more likely to return to prison for a sex offense than somebody with no previous sexual conviction means nothing. It should come as no surprise that people who return to prison do so because they stuck to committing the crimes they knew. What is surprising is the fact that 2.3% of the people returning to prison, people with no convictions for sexual offenses, returned as a result of having committed a sex offense.

     So, at the end of the day, when you're sitting there pondering who to release and who to keep in prison, perhaps the question you should be asking yourself isn't how to keep people convicted of murder and sex offenses in prison, but what your ultimate goal happens to be. If your goal is a safer community, then there's no justification for going out of your way to extend the sentences of those convicted if murder and sex offenses, people who have the lowest recidivism rates.

     Incidentally, it's important to note that the term recidivism includes not only committing new crimes, but also parole violations, and I've seen some of the terms. It's impossible to make it through a term of parole without violating a rule. For instance, my neighbor's terms don't allow him to enter any residence without his parole officer's prior approval. How exactly does that work? "Hi Mr. P.O. I want to go to Bob's house for a BBQ this weekend." "Sorry, parolee, but i'm busy for the next few weeks, you'll have to pass."

     Sadly, they make no mention of these facts when talking about recidivism. Just food for thought..

     

Within 9 years of their release from prison in 2005—

• Rape and sexual assault offenders were less likely than other released prisoners to be arrested, but they were more likely than other released prisoners to be arrested for rape or sexual assault.
• Released sex offenders were more than three times as likely as other released prisoners to be arrested for rape or sexual assault (7.7% versus 2.3%).
• About two-thirds (67%) of released sex offenders were arrested for any crime, compared to about five-sixths (84%) of other released prisoners.
• Half of released sex offenders had a subsequent arrest that led to a conviction.
• Released sex offenders accounted for 5% of releases in 2005 and 16% of arrests for rape or sexual assault during the 9-year follow-up period.