Recidivism Among Federal Prisoners Released in 1987

Published 1994

Introduction
Within 3 years of their release from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in 1987, 40.8 percent of the former inmates had either been rearrested or had their parole revoked, that is, recidivated. This finding is based on a representative sample of 1,205 BOP inmates released to the community during the first 6 months of 1987.

In line with these past and ongoing recidivism studies, the current study will update our understanding of recidivism among Federal prison releasees by examining the association between pre-prison, prison, and post-release characteristics and experience and recidivism rates; revalidating the U.S. Parole Commission's Salient Factor Score and the U.S. Sentencing Commission's Criminal History Score; and testing the effectiveness of several BOP policies, operations, and programs aimed at reducing recidivism.

The study report is presented in five parts. Part I summarizes the study's findings and defines its sources. It also describes the release population and sample and the two-way, or bivariate, associations between each of the background, prison experience, and community variables and recidivism. Recidivism is also compared among 1970, 1978, 1980, 1982, and 1987 release cohorts. ..more.. by Federal Bureau of Prisons, Office of Research and Evaluation, Washington, DC