NCJ Number
232381
Date Published
June 2008
Length
109 pages
Annotation
This report examines the likelihood of re-arrest after release from jail or prison among convicted offenders.
Abstract
Results showed that all of the Criminal Court and Supreme Court offenders in the at-risk sample had extensive criminal justice involvement at the time of the sample's initial arrest. The significantly high re-arrest rates for the at-risk samples as well as for the subgroups suggest that their criminal behavior did not stop after release from jail or prison. One-fifth of the re-arrests for offenders with a split sentence of 6 months or definite sentences of 6 to 12 months were made for violent felony offense (VFO) charges, suggesting that some of these offenders after their release presented a serious threat to the safety of the community. Of the statistically significant predictors of re-arrest, top charge at conviction, prior arrests, and prior warrants proved to be the strongest predictors of post-sentencing re-arrest. Findings suggest that an offender's criminal history as measured by prior arrests and prior warrants, as well as disposition charges, should be taken into account when considering eligibility for options other than incarceration. Additionally, a large proportion of offender in the sample had prior warrants, which suggests that these offenders may also present a risk for non-appearance. Tables, references, and appendixes