NCJ Number
244939
Date Published
October 2012
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report presents data on trends in recidivism rates for persons released from prison in Wisconsin over a period of 20 years (from 1993), which involves approximately 125,000 offenders.
Abstract
For the purpose of this study, recidivism is defined as a new offense resulting in a conviction and sentence to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. The analyses showed that recidivism rates had steadily declined since 1993. The 3-year follow-up recidivism rate decreased by 28.5 percent (or 12.9 percentage points) from 1993, when the recidivism rate was the highest at 45.3 percent, to 2007, when it was 32.4 percent. As recidivism rates decreased, the number of releases from prison dramatically increased, tripling between 1990 and 2009. An offender released in 1993 was 1.4 times more likely to recidivate within 3 years than an offender released in 2007. Recidivism rates for 124,661 offenders released from prison between 1990 and 2009 are reported. Data on recidivism trends from 2000-2009 indicate that males had consistently higher recidivism rates than females for every release year and every follow-up period. For this same period, recidivism rates decreased as age increased. The largest age group for recidivists was 20-24 during this period. Fifty percent of the offenders who recidivated within 3 years did so within the first year following release from prison. This is the first in a series of recidivism reports that will be regularly published by the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. The next report will include recidivism rates broken down by a number of additional factors not included in this report. In the near future, reports will include recidivism rates for offenders admitted to supervision and those discharged from supervision. 6 tables and appended methodology