David Kirk, assistant professor at the University of Texas (Austin), discusses his study that examined how the forced residential migration caused by Hurricane Katrina affected the likelihood that ex-offenders from New Orleans would be re-incarcerated. His study also explored potential strategies for fostering residential change among ex-prisoners, such as parole residency policies and the provision of public-housing vouchers. The New Orleans study found that those people who moved had a lower likelihood of recidivism compared to those who returned to the New Orleans area after the Hurricane. The findings suggest that moving may still be beneficial for ex-offenders in reducing recidivism, even if they are not moving to a great neighborhood in terms of jobs and socioeconomic conditions. Almost 40 percent of the ex-offenders who moved back to their home parishes were in some form of detention within 1 year of their release. For those who moved to new areas, 30 percent were in some form of detention within 1 year. Kirk proposes that the reason for this is that those who moved had a greater likelihood of establishing a new set of daily routines that were conducive to desistance from crime. This desistance in crime persisted for up to 3 years, suggesting that major changes in behavior occurred after the move to a new area. Suggestions are offered for how released prisoners might be persuaded or at least given the opportunity to move to a new area after their release.
Downloads
Similar Publications
- Predicting Pretrial Misconduct with Drug Tests of Arrestees: Evidence from Eight Settings
- Double Jeopardy: Persons With Mental Illnesses in the Criminal Justice System
- Hair Assays for Drugs of Abuse in a Probation Population: Implementation of a Pilot Study in a Correctional Field Setting; Final Report