CHARACTERISTICS AND RECIDIVISM EXPERIENCE OF CALIFORNIA PRISONERS - A STUDY (ISSUED IN TWO NUMBERED VOLUMES)

• NCJ Number: 7967
• Author(s): S E KOLODNEY
• Date Published: 1970
• Length: 35 pages
• Corporate Author: Public Systems Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

DATA ON CHANGES IN THE PROFILES OF FELONS ADMITTED TO PRISON, RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TIME SERVED AND RELEASE OUTCOMES, AND OUTCOME OF PAROLE DECISION MAKING.

Abstract

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT COMMITMENTS FOR CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON HAVE INCREASED, THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF COMMITMENTS WITH PREVIOUS PRISON RECORDS HAS INCREASED, AND THAT THE AVERAGE PRISONER AGE AT ADMISSION HAS DECREASED. THE DATA, WHICH COVERED ALL PRISON ADMISSIOUS FROM 1960 THROUGH 1968, ALSO REVEALED THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF NEW COMMITMENTS WITH NORMAL MENTAL ABILITIES HAS INCREASED AND THAT THE MEASURED ACADEMIC ACHIEVMENT OF PRISONERS HAS NOT CHANGED APPRECIABLY OVER THE YEARS STUDIED. MATHEMATICAL MODELS, WHICH WERE CONSTRUCTED TO PREDICT RECIDIVISM IN DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS, INDICATED THAT TIME SERVED IS NOT A USEFUL PREDICTOR OF POST-RELEASE OUTCOMES. IT WAS ALSO FOUND THAT THE BASE EXPECTANCY MODEL, A MEASURE DEVELOPED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS FOR PREDICTING PAROLE SUCCESS PROBABILITY, WAS HIGHLY ACCURATE WHEN PROPERLY USED.