ISD:
GROUP NAMES: Antwan Osorio, Anthony Campos
How can the justice system diminish negative patterns of recidivism in America?
Conflict is Composed of Opposing Forces
While conducting our research, we found out that our conflict is composed of two opposing sides; the justice system and prisoner advocacy groups. The motive of Justice System aims to punish those who commit crime while prisoner advocacy groups focus on reducing recidivism by giving ex-offenders an education or by creating rehabilitation programs. Nico A. Pingaro, the writer of an article titled, “America's War on Recidivism: How Correctional Education can Save a Country,” states, ”Jails originated in order to detain criminals, and ‘workhouses’ were used to rehabilitate criminals.” The justice system was implemented to “rehabilitate criminals” so they can reflect on their mistakes so they don’t commit crime again. The justice system also has the duty to keep our cities safe from crime. In a prisoner advocacy group’s perspective, incarceration does not reduce recidivism, but instead increases it. For example two senators, Chris Coons, and Thom Tillis stated in an article by CNN, “We share a strong belief that America's criminal justice system is broken, focusing far too much on criminalization and incarceration and far too little on rehabilitation.” These senators are claiming that the justice system in America is too busy focusing on locking up prisoners and not focusing on providing rehabilitation or education programs for prisoners. In an article by Michelle Chen published by “The Nation,” it states, ”Though research on prison education is still lacking, studies that have tracked the relationship between recidivism and educational attainment generally point to reduced recidivism and better preparation for transition back into their communities and the workforce upon release.” This article states that studies have shown that prison education reduces recidivism. Education greatly increases the chances of an ex-offender to get a job. Therefore, the less likely they are to commit crime again. The justice system wants to incarcerate those who commit crime so our communities can be safe, but prisoners advocacy groups believe that rehabilitation and education programs should be available for ex-offenders, creating a conflict between these two sides.
Conflict May be Natural or Man-made
As we were doing our research, we discovered that recidivism originates as both a man-made and natural conflict. According to a news article, “Recidivism - Its Causes and Cure”, by John Dewar Gleissner, he explains, “A wise prison warden in 1912 set forth the requirements of a good prison system, but our society has not listened to his advice. Instead, prisoners get worse over time by learning sick prison values, the process of ‘prisonization’.” Prisonization is a process in which new offenders accept prison lifestyles and criminal values. These prisoners never learn to change because by accepting these prison values, they keep committing crime. According to the Huffington Post in an article written by Paul Heroux it states, ”It is an aspiration that is, however, undermined by housing complications upon release, drug and medical issues after release, the lack of employment after release, and criminal records.” Along with prisonization, there are many other challenges that prisoners face when they are released from jail, which causes them to commit recidivism. For example, they may face unemployment, because of their criminal records. Without a job, ex-offenders won’t be able to afford housing or even basic needs. Under all these complications, they are bound to go back to committing crime. Mental issues also play a role in recidivism. An ex-offender with mental issues may commit crime without the intention of doing so. Amanda M. Nadeau author of “A Study of Mental Illness as a Causal Factor in Recidivism among Adult Inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions of Rhode Island,” claims, ”Biological and psychological factors also contribute, particularly due to the combined effects of substance addiction and mental illnesses. Mental illness has also been linked to an individual’s tendency to commit crime.” Mental illnesses impacts a person's ability to think properly, which as a result may lead to complications. Ex-offenders with mental illnesses are likely to commit crime again because they don’t know any better. In conclusion, recidivism is a conflict that is natural and man-made because of biological factors such as mental issues and hardships such as unemployment that converge to create recidivism.
Conflict May be Intentional or Unintentional
While conducting our research, we found some evidence that recidivism rates in American are unintentional. Recidivism is never intentional because it was never meant to happen. It is unintentional because some ex-offenders can suffer from mental illness, which is a biological factor. Someone with mental issues may accidentally commit a crime they didn't mean to commit According to an article by the organization, “NCBI,” the author explains, “We hypothesized that diagnosed mental illness is an independent risk factor for unintentional injury and it increases the risk of recidivism.” There seems to be a pattern where someone with mental illness may commit crime not because they meant to, but because they were mentally unstable. Thus, by being released from jail, they are likely to commit crime again. It is also unintentional because prisoners go through a process in jail in which they learn bad prison habits; like a prison code. They may also learn to accept the prison lifestyle and criminal values. Therefore, once prisoners have finished serving their time in jail and are released, they commit recidivism. According to a news article, “Recidivism - Its Causes and Cure,” by John Dewar Gleissner, he informs, “...prisoners get worse over time by learning sick prison values, the process of "prisonization." Prisonization is the prison code that most ex-offenders stick to, when they are released from prison. Although ex-offenders have the choice to let go of these prison values, they often choose to go back to committing crime. These prison values might even cause criminals to become even more dangerous. The prison system was meant to make criminals reflect on their actions so they don’t crime again, so the prison values that prisoners learn while being incarcerated, is unintentional.
Conflict May Allow for Synthesis and Change
Recidivism may allow for synthesis and change as we have observed while doing research. Since studies have shown that prison education reduces recidivism rates by over 40%, the justice system should implement as many education programs as possible in prisons. Not only will this change make the justice system benefit from seeing a decrease of recidivism, but ex-offenders will also see more job opportunities and their lives will be improved. Rehabilitation programs are also necessary for ex-offenders. According to an article by the National Reentry Resource Center, it states, “The new laws emphasized rehabilitation over incarceration for nonviolent offenders, and supervision and programs and services focused on addressing reentry needs. Experts projected that, once fully implemented, these policies would reduce the prison population by nearly 5,000 over 5 years, saving the state at least $264 million.” As the prison population goes down, recidivism rates go down as well. While conducting our student led research where we observed the states with the lowest and the highest recidivism rates, we came to a conclusion that the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and each state's population, was important. Although states like California had 13 rehabilitation programs, it still had one of the highest recidivism rates in America. This is partly due to its population of 39.25 million, since a bigger population means more people likely to commit crime. It is also mainly due to the effectiveness of these programs. An article by the CSG Justice Center claims, “Programs that are effective at reducing recidivism have three core elements in common: they target people who are most likely to reoffend; they use practices rooted in the latest research on what works to reduce recidivism, and they regularly review program quality and evaluate how closely the program adheres to its established model.” These attributes as stated by the CSG Justice Center seem to be reasonable. By targeting those that are likely to reoffend, rehabilitation programs can be more effective because they won’t be focusing on the prison population as whole, but they will be focusing on those who likely to commit recidivism which saves time, and money. Using practices that have been proven to reduce recidivism is effective because these methods work and leave a lasting positive impact in the lives of ex-offenders, which reduces recidivism. By reviewing program quality, rehabilitation programs can see in what areas they can improve upon. The convergence of rehabilitation and education programs for prisoners ensures a decrease of recidivism.
Conflict is Progressive
In our research, we found trends displaying that recidivism rates have been increasing. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the author states, “Among, prisoners released in 1983, 46.8% were reconvicted within 3 years compared to 46.9% among those released in 1994.” The growing prison population might explain why recidivism rates have been found to be higher than in the past. In a video produced by CNN, it shows that in 2017, 60% of released prisoners return back to prison within 3 years. This shows that recidivism in America is progressive as recidivism rates keep on growing. In another way, recidivism is progressive because there was a pattern in which for every year that passes by when an ex-offender is released, the higher the chances are of that person being arrested again. In an article by the “Daily Beast,” it states, “The study, released Tuesday, tracked 404,638 state prisoners from 30 states who were released in 2005. It found that 67.8 percent of them were re-arrested within three years of their release and 76.6 percent were re-arrested within five years.” There was an increase in recidivism within those 5 years. What may have caused this increase could include hardships that ex-offenders could have possibly faced. If ex-offenders struggle in life they are bound to commit a crime again, as they may not be able to cope with the struggle.
Parallel Connections
LANGUAGE OF THE DISCIPLINE
Recidivism - According to the National Institute of Justice, recidivism is defined as, “...one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It refers to a person's relapse into criminal behavior… Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrest, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner's release.”
Ex-offenders - An ex-offender is someone who has committed a crime before by violating the Education, Health, or Safety Codes, as stated in the Penal Code Section 12021.1(b).
Rehabilitation - According to an article called Criminal Law Information, rehabilitation is defined as, “...the path to restore a criminal to a useful existence in society. This path is often paved with hundreds of hours of therapy, pertinent education and more.”
Incarceration - Based on an article called “Legal System Definitions,” incarceration is defined as,” [Being] confined in jail or prison.”
STUDENT-LED RESEARCH - OUR METHOD
Our student-led research was to make an observation of the recidivism rate of every state in America. After that, we were going to find out how many rehabilitation programs the 5 states with the lowest and highest recidivism rates had. We chose to make an observation because we wanted to see if the number of rehabilitation programs each state had, really affected its recidivism rate. This connects to our driving question because once we finish our observation, we can find out if funding more rehabilitation programs will decrease recidivism in America. We also decided to interview the chief probation officer of Riverside because we wanted an expert’s perspective on this issue. This relates to our driving question because once we get our answers, we will be able to compare the experts' response to our research and try to find any connection that can help us find a solution to reducing recidivism in America.
OUR OBSERVATION
We did an observation of finding out what the recidivism rates were in all 50 states in America and what programs were available for prisoners. We did this to find out if the amount of rehabilitation programs each state had impacted the states recidivism rate. We also wanted to compare the effectiveness of programs that each state had. This relates to our driving question because we are trying to find out what states with the least recidivism are doing right, and what the states with the highest recidivism are doing wrong. Our findings show that the top 5 states with the highest recidivism rates were: Connecticut with 80%, Delaware with 71%, Wisconsin with 66%, California with 65%, and Hawaii with 63.6%. The top 5 states with the lowest recidivism rates were: North Dakota with 13%, Maine with 22.4%, Virginia with 22.4%, Texas with 22.6%, and Wyoming with 24.8%. Population seems to have some effect on our results too. We found out that although California has 13 major rehabilitation programs, it still has one of the highest recidivism rates. This might be due to its large population of 39,250,000 which means it may have more inmates that are likely to commit recidivism, or maybe these programs are not as effective. For example, Texas has a similar population just like California (27,860,000), and it has 8 major rehabilitation programs, but it has one of the lowest recidivism rates. Some of the programs that Texas has, but California doesn't such as the “Unlocking Doors” program, might be more effective at reducing recidivism. These findings relate to our driving question because by finding rehabilitation programs that are the most effective, we can find a way for these programs to be funded so recidivism could effectively be reduced in America. This might even help us figure out a resolution to America’s growing recidivism problem.
Top 5 States with the Lowest Rates of Recidivism
North Dakota
Recidivism Rate: 13%
Population: 757,952
Major Organizations: 3
Maine
Recidivism Rate: 22.4%
Population: 1,331,000
Major Organizations: 2
Virginia
Recidivism Rate: 22.4%
Population: 8,412,000
Major Organizations: 4
Texas
Recidivism Rate: 22.6%
Population: 27,860,000
Major Organizations: 8
Wyoming
Recidivism Rate: 24.8%
Population: 585,501
Major Organizations: 2
Top 5 States with the Highest Rates of Recidivism
Connecticut
Recidivism Rate: 80%
Population: 3,576,000
Major Organizations: 4
Delaware
Recidivism Rate: 71%
Population: 952,065
Major Organizations: 4
Wisconsin
Recidivism Rate: 66%
Population: 5,779,000
Major Organizations: 0
California
Recidivism Rate: 65%
Population: 39,250,000
Major Organizations: 13
Hawaii
Recidivism Rate: 63.6%
Population: 1,429,000
Major Organizations: 1
INTERVIEWING AN EXPERT
We interviewed a veteran chief probation officer of Riverside, Chief Hake. He works for the justice system so we thought he was the right person to ask for our topic of recidivism. Mr. Hake has been working for the Riverside County Probation Department for 28 years. We asked the following questions:
From this interview, I came to a conclusion that rehabilitation programs are an excellent approach to reduce recidivism, as Chief Hake described seeing a decrease of recidivism in Riverside with the help of the Rehabilitation programs they have implemented. The “Day Reporting Centers” in Riverside seem to be highly effective at reducing recidivism, which may be explained by the aid they provide in job employment, education, and counselling, all of which has also been proven by our research to decrease recidivism. According to Chief Hake, recidivism can be defined in two ways, reconviction in usually a timeframe of three years, or as an arrest of an ex-offender without any timeframe or even necessarily being convicted of a crime again. This interview helps answer my driving question because while conducting research I have often seen rehabilitation programs as being the solution to recidivism. By interviewing an expert like Chief Hake, I have seen that rehabilitation programs are effective at reducing recidivism but under some specific circumstances including what kind of aid it offers.
Reflections:
Based on the articles I have read so far, recidivism rates are increasing due to multiple problems prisoners face once they are released from jail. In the exploration of my topic, I learned that there was a correlation between age and recidivism rates as they were higher for younger inmates. I also changed my topic as I initially was going to do my symposium project on police brutality. I changed my topic because I didn’t find it too interesting and I believed there were better topics out there. In my next steps, I hope to find information about recidivism rates in every state America for my student led research. I also hope to later on find a solution to decrease recidivism rates in the United States. Everything seems to be going well as I have completed everything on time and have gotten mentorship when my group and I needed it.
GROUP NAMES: Antwan Osorio, Anthony Campos
How can the justice system diminish negative patterns of recidivism in America?
Conflict is Composed of Opposing Forces
While conducting our research, we found out that our conflict is composed of two opposing sides; the justice system and prisoner advocacy groups. The motive of Justice System aims to punish those who commit crime while prisoner advocacy groups focus on reducing recidivism by giving ex-offenders an education or by creating rehabilitation programs. Nico A. Pingaro, the writer of an article titled, “America's War on Recidivism: How Correctional Education can Save a Country,” states, ”Jails originated in order to detain criminals, and ‘workhouses’ were used to rehabilitate criminals.” The justice system was implemented to “rehabilitate criminals” so they can reflect on their mistakes so they don’t commit crime again. The justice system also has the duty to keep our cities safe from crime. In a prisoner advocacy group’s perspective, incarceration does not reduce recidivism, but instead increases it. For example two senators, Chris Coons, and Thom Tillis stated in an article by CNN, “We share a strong belief that America's criminal justice system is broken, focusing far too much on criminalization and incarceration and far too little on rehabilitation.” These senators are claiming that the justice system in America is too busy focusing on locking up prisoners and not focusing on providing rehabilitation or education programs for prisoners. In an article by Michelle Chen published by “The Nation,” it states, ”Though research on prison education is still lacking, studies that have tracked the relationship between recidivism and educational attainment generally point to reduced recidivism and better preparation for transition back into their communities and the workforce upon release.” This article states that studies have shown that prison education reduces recidivism. Education greatly increases the chances of an ex-offender to get a job. Therefore, the less likely they are to commit crime again. The justice system wants to incarcerate those who commit crime so our communities can be safe, but prisoners advocacy groups believe that rehabilitation and education programs should be available for ex-offenders, creating a conflict between these two sides.
Conflict May be Natural or Man-made
As we were doing our research, we discovered that recidivism originates as both a man-made and natural conflict. According to a news article, “Recidivism - Its Causes and Cure”, by John Dewar Gleissner, he explains, “A wise prison warden in 1912 set forth the requirements of a good prison system, but our society has not listened to his advice. Instead, prisoners get worse over time by learning sick prison values, the process of ‘prisonization’.” Prisonization is a process in which new offenders accept prison lifestyles and criminal values. These prisoners never learn to change because by accepting these prison values, they keep committing crime. According to the Huffington Post in an article written by Paul Heroux it states, ”It is an aspiration that is, however, undermined by housing complications upon release, drug and medical issues after release, the lack of employment after release, and criminal records.” Along with prisonization, there are many other challenges that prisoners face when they are released from jail, which causes them to commit recidivism. For example, they may face unemployment, because of their criminal records. Without a job, ex-offenders won’t be able to afford housing or even basic needs. Under all these complications, they are bound to go back to committing crime. Mental issues also play a role in recidivism. An ex-offender with mental issues may commit crime without the intention of doing so. Amanda M. Nadeau author of “A Study of Mental Illness as a Causal Factor in Recidivism among Adult Inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions of Rhode Island,” claims, ”Biological and psychological factors also contribute, particularly due to the combined effects of substance addiction and mental illnesses. Mental illness has also been linked to an individual’s tendency to commit crime.” Mental illnesses impacts a person's ability to think properly, which as a result may lead to complications. Ex-offenders with mental illnesses are likely to commit crime again because they don’t know any better. In conclusion, recidivism is a conflict that is natural and man-made because of biological factors such as mental issues and hardships such as unemployment that converge to create recidivism.
Conflict May be Intentional or Unintentional
While conducting our research, we found some evidence that recidivism rates in American are unintentional. Recidivism is never intentional because it was never meant to happen. It is unintentional because some ex-offenders can suffer from mental illness, which is a biological factor. Someone with mental issues may accidentally commit a crime they didn't mean to commit According to an article by the organization, “NCBI,” the author explains, “We hypothesized that diagnosed mental illness is an independent risk factor for unintentional injury and it increases the risk of recidivism.” There seems to be a pattern where someone with mental illness may commit crime not because they meant to, but because they were mentally unstable. Thus, by being released from jail, they are likely to commit crime again. It is also unintentional because prisoners go through a process in jail in which they learn bad prison habits; like a prison code. They may also learn to accept the prison lifestyle and criminal values. Therefore, once prisoners have finished serving their time in jail and are released, they commit recidivism. According to a news article, “Recidivism - Its Causes and Cure,” by John Dewar Gleissner, he informs, “...prisoners get worse over time by learning sick prison values, the process of "prisonization." Prisonization is the prison code that most ex-offenders stick to, when they are released from prison. Although ex-offenders have the choice to let go of these prison values, they often choose to go back to committing crime. These prison values might even cause criminals to become even more dangerous. The prison system was meant to make criminals reflect on their actions so they don’t crime again, so the prison values that prisoners learn while being incarcerated, is unintentional.
Conflict May Allow for Synthesis and Change
Recidivism may allow for synthesis and change as we have observed while doing research. Since studies have shown that prison education reduces recidivism rates by over 40%, the justice system should implement as many education programs as possible in prisons. Not only will this change make the justice system benefit from seeing a decrease of recidivism, but ex-offenders will also see more job opportunities and their lives will be improved. Rehabilitation programs are also necessary for ex-offenders. According to an article by the National Reentry Resource Center, it states, “The new laws emphasized rehabilitation over incarceration for nonviolent offenders, and supervision and programs and services focused on addressing reentry needs. Experts projected that, once fully implemented, these policies would reduce the prison population by nearly 5,000 over 5 years, saving the state at least $264 million.” As the prison population goes down, recidivism rates go down as well. While conducting our student led research where we observed the states with the lowest and the highest recidivism rates, we came to a conclusion that the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and each state's population, was important. Although states like California had 13 rehabilitation programs, it still had one of the highest recidivism rates in America. This is partly due to its population of 39.25 million, since a bigger population means more people likely to commit crime. It is also mainly due to the effectiveness of these programs. An article by the CSG Justice Center claims, “Programs that are effective at reducing recidivism have three core elements in common: they target people who are most likely to reoffend; they use practices rooted in the latest research on what works to reduce recidivism, and they regularly review program quality and evaluate how closely the program adheres to its established model.” These attributes as stated by the CSG Justice Center seem to be reasonable. By targeting those that are likely to reoffend, rehabilitation programs can be more effective because they won’t be focusing on the prison population as whole, but they will be focusing on those who likely to commit recidivism which saves time, and money. Using practices that have been proven to reduce recidivism is effective because these methods work and leave a lasting positive impact in the lives of ex-offenders, which reduces recidivism. By reviewing program quality, rehabilitation programs can see in what areas they can improve upon. The convergence of rehabilitation and education programs for prisoners ensures a decrease of recidivism.
Conflict is Progressive
In our research, we found trends displaying that recidivism rates have been increasing. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the author states, “Among, prisoners released in 1983, 46.8% were reconvicted within 3 years compared to 46.9% among those released in 1994.” The growing prison population might explain why recidivism rates have been found to be higher than in the past. In a video produced by CNN, it shows that in 2017, 60% of released prisoners return back to prison within 3 years. This shows that recidivism in America is progressive as recidivism rates keep on growing. In another way, recidivism is progressive because there was a pattern in which for every year that passes by when an ex-offender is released, the higher the chances are of that person being arrested again. In an article by the “Daily Beast,” it states, “The study, released Tuesday, tracked 404,638 state prisoners from 30 states who were released in 2005. It found that 67.8 percent of them were re-arrested within three years of their release and 76.6 percent were re-arrested within five years.” There was an increase in recidivism within those 5 years. What may have caused this increase could include hardships that ex-offenders could have possibly faced. If ex-offenders struggle in life they are bound to commit a crime again, as they may not be able to cope with the struggle.
Parallel Connections
- Personal: Recidivism is a personal conflict because I do not feel safe in a country with a high recidivism rate. I fear that I may confront an ex-offender later in life that will harm me. I hope that ex-offenders seek help from rehabilitation programs because even one of our relatives could be the ones being re-convicted of a crime. We would hate to see our relatives behind bars as it will emotionally make us upset and possibly change our lives negatively.
- Community: This conflict affects our communities because the higher the recidivism rate, the more unsafe our community will be. If our community is in danger, then many people’s lives will be at risk. This is comparable to the community of Detroit, one of the most dangerous cities in America. Crime is really high and criminals often reoffend in this city.
- Global: Recidivism is a global issue because countries like France have a recidivism rate of 59%, which means recidivism doesn’t only impact the United States but other countries as well. These countries may not have sufficient rehabilitation programs like America or they may not offer job opportunities to ex-offenders.
LANGUAGE OF THE DISCIPLINE
Recidivism - According to the National Institute of Justice, recidivism is defined as, “...one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice. It refers to a person's relapse into criminal behavior… Recidivism is measured by criminal acts that resulted in rearrest, reconviction or return to prison with or without a new sentence during a three-year period following the prisoner's release.”
Ex-offenders - An ex-offender is someone who has committed a crime before by violating the Education, Health, or Safety Codes, as stated in the Penal Code Section 12021.1(b).
Rehabilitation - According to an article called Criminal Law Information, rehabilitation is defined as, “...the path to restore a criminal to a useful existence in society. This path is often paved with hundreds of hours of therapy, pertinent education and more.”
Incarceration - Based on an article called “Legal System Definitions,” incarceration is defined as,” [Being] confined in jail or prison.”
STUDENT-LED RESEARCH - OUR METHOD
Our student-led research was to make an observation of the recidivism rate of every state in America. After that, we were going to find out how many rehabilitation programs the 5 states with the lowest and highest recidivism rates had. We chose to make an observation because we wanted to see if the number of rehabilitation programs each state had, really affected its recidivism rate. This connects to our driving question because once we finish our observation, we can find out if funding more rehabilitation programs will decrease recidivism in America. We also decided to interview the chief probation officer of Riverside because we wanted an expert’s perspective on this issue. This relates to our driving question because once we get our answers, we will be able to compare the experts' response to our research and try to find any connection that can help us find a solution to reducing recidivism in America.
OUR OBSERVATION
We did an observation of finding out what the recidivism rates were in all 50 states in America and what programs were available for prisoners. We did this to find out if the amount of rehabilitation programs each state had impacted the states recidivism rate. We also wanted to compare the effectiveness of programs that each state had. This relates to our driving question because we are trying to find out what states with the least recidivism are doing right, and what the states with the highest recidivism are doing wrong. Our findings show that the top 5 states with the highest recidivism rates were: Connecticut with 80%, Delaware with 71%, Wisconsin with 66%, California with 65%, and Hawaii with 63.6%. The top 5 states with the lowest recidivism rates were: North Dakota with 13%, Maine with 22.4%, Virginia with 22.4%, Texas with 22.6%, and Wyoming with 24.8%. Population seems to have some effect on our results too. We found out that although California has 13 major rehabilitation programs, it still has one of the highest recidivism rates. This might be due to its large population of 39,250,000 which means it may have more inmates that are likely to commit recidivism, or maybe these programs are not as effective. For example, Texas has a similar population just like California (27,860,000), and it has 8 major rehabilitation programs, but it has one of the lowest recidivism rates. Some of the programs that Texas has, but California doesn't such as the “Unlocking Doors” program, might be more effective at reducing recidivism. These findings relate to our driving question because by finding rehabilitation programs that are the most effective, we can find a way for these programs to be funded so recidivism could effectively be reduced in America. This might even help us figure out a resolution to America’s growing recidivism problem.
Top 5 States with the Lowest Rates of Recidivism
North Dakota
Recidivism Rate: 13%
Population: 757,952
Major Organizations: 3
- Centre Inc.
- ND Department Of Corrections: Reentry
- Compassion For All
Maine
Recidivism Rate: 22.4%
Population: 1,331,000
Major Organizations: 2
- Department Of Corrections:Reentry For Women
- Restorative Justice
Virginia
Recidivism Rate: 22.4%
Population: 8,412,000
Major Organizations: 4
- VA DOC: Reentry
- Virginia CARES
- City of Norfolk: Reentry
- Adult Alternative Program
Texas
Recidivism Rate: 22.6%
Population: 27,860,000
Major Organizations: 8
- Texas Department of Justice:Reentry
- TORI
- City of Houston: Reentry
- Unlocking Doors
- Cornerstone
- Tarrant County links for reentry
- Tarrant County Reentry
- Paradise Independent Living
Wyoming
Recidivism Rate: 24.8%
Population: 585,501
Major Organizations: 2
- CEC
- Compassion for all
Top 5 States with the Highest Rates of Recidivism
Connecticut
Recidivism Rate: 80%
Population: 3,576,000
Major Organizations: 4
- EMERGE Connecticut
- Family Reentry
- Project Fresh Start
- Hartford Reentry Services
Delaware
Recidivism Rate: 71%
Population: 952,065
Major Organizations: 4
- Delaware Center for Justice: Reentry
- VOA: Delaware Valley
- Relational Living: Second Chances Sojourners Place
- Sojourners Place
Wisconsin
Recidivism Rate: 66%
Population: 5,779,000
Major Organizations: 0
California
Recidivism Rate: 65%
Population: 39,250,000
Major Organizations: 13
- Timelist Group
- California Reentry Program
- CRCN
- California Reentry Institute
- Volunteers of America
- Center Force
- Prison Fellowship
- Alameda County Reentry
- I Recover
- A Brighter Day
- Families Forward
- Roots Clinic
- Clean 360
Hawaii
Recidivism Rate: 63.6%
Population: 1,429,000
Major Organizations: 1
- Hope Services Reentry Services
INTERVIEWING AN EXPERT
We interviewed a veteran chief probation officer of Riverside, Chief Hake. He works for the justice system so we thought he was the right person to ask for our topic of recidivism. Mr. Hake has been working for the Riverside County Probation Department for 28 years. We asked the following questions:
- What programs are available for those on probation that have shown to decrease recidivism?
- Have you seen a change in recidivism over the years while working as a probation officer?
- What are the most common hardships you see that those on probation face that may lead them to commit a crime again?
- We are also curious to know what you mean by recidivism being defined in different ways and how recidivism differs per county or state?
From this interview, I came to a conclusion that rehabilitation programs are an excellent approach to reduce recidivism, as Chief Hake described seeing a decrease of recidivism in Riverside with the help of the Rehabilitation programs they have implemented. The “Day Reporting Centers” in Riverside seem to be highly effective at reducing recidivism, which may be explained by the aid they provide in job employment, education, and counselling, all of which has also been proven by our research to decrease recidivism. According to Chief Hake, recidivism can be defined in two ways, reconviction in usually a timeframe of three years, or as an arrest of an ex-offender without any timeframe or even necessarily being convicted of a crime again. This interview helps answer my driving question because while conducting research I have often seen rehabilitation programs as being the solution to recidivism. By interviewing an expert like Chief Hake, I have seen that rehabilitation programs are effective at reducing recidivism but under some specific circumstances including what kind of aid it offers.
Reflections:
Based on the articles I have read so far, recidivism rates are increasing due to multiple problems prisoners face once they are released from jail. In the exploration of my topic, I learned that there was a correlation between age and recidivism rates as they were higher for younger inmates. I also changed my topic as I initially was going to do my symposium project on police brutality. I changed my topic because I didn’t find it too interesting and I believed there were better topics out there. In my next steps, I hope to find information about recidivism rates in every state America for my student led research. I also hope to later on find a solution to decrease recidivism rates in the United States. Everything seems to be going well as I have completed everything on time and have gotten mentorship when my group and I needed it.
