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Four measures of recidivism <br />This section measures recidivism four <br />ways: <br />• percent rearrested for any type of <br />crime <br />• percent reconvicted for any type of <br />crime <br />• percent returned to prison with a new <br />prison sentence for any type of crime <br />• percent returned to prison with or <br />without a new prison sentence. <br />"Percent rearrested" is calculated by <br />dividing "the number rearrested" by <br />"the number released from prison in <br />1994." <br />"Percent reconvicted" is obtained by <br />dividing "the number reconvicted" by <br />"the number released from prison in <br />1994." (it is not calculated by dividing <br />"the number reconvicted" by "the <br />number rearrested. ") <br />"Percent returned to prison with a new <br />sentence" is calculated by dividing "the <br />number returned to prison with a new <br />sentence" by "the number released <br />from prison in 1994." (It is not calcu- <br />lated by dividing "the number returned <br />to prison with a new sentence" by "the <br />number reconvicted. ") <br />Except where stated otherwise, all four <br />recidivism measures — <br />• refer to the full 3 -year period follow- <br />ing the prisoner's release in 1994 <br />• include both "in- State" and "out -of- <br />State" recidivism. <br />"In- State" recidivism refers to new <br />offenses committed within the State <br />that released the prisoner in 1994. <br />"Out -of- State" recidivism is any new <br />offenses in States other than the one <br />that released him in 1994. <br />Not all 4 of the recidivism measures <br />are based on data from 15 States — <br />• "Percent rearrested" is based on 15 <br />States <br />• "Percent reconvicted" is based <br />on 14 of the 15 States participating <br />in the study <br />• "Percent returned to prison with a <br />new sentence" is based on 13 of <br />the 15 States <br />• "Percent returned to prison with or <br />without a new sentence" is based <br />on 9 of the 15. <br />Three of the four recidivism measures <br />were calculated from data on fewer <br />than 15 States because the information <br />needed to perform the calculations was <br />not available (or not readily available) <br />from each of the 15 participating <br />States. Notes at the bottom of the <br />tables alert readers to such missing <br />data. <br />Four measures <br />All sex offenders <br />The 9,691 sex offenders in this study <br />were all released from prison in 1994 <br />Within the first 3 years following their <br />release — <br />• 43% (4,163 of the 9,691) were <br />rearrested for at least 1 new crime <br />(table 7) <br />• 24% (2,326 of the 9,691) were <br />reconvicted for any type of crime <br />• 11.2% (1,085 of the 9,691) were <br />returned to prison with another <br />sentence <br />• 38.6% (3,741 of the 9,691) were <br />returned to prison with or without <br />a new sentence. <br />For approximately three - fourths of the <br />4,163 men who were rearrested for <br />some new crime, their most serious <br />rearrest offense was a felony; for the <br />remaining fourth, the most serious was <br />a misdemeanor (not shown in table). <br />Of the 4,163 men rearrested for some <br />new offense, nearly 9 in 10 (87 %) were <br />still on parole when taken into custody <br />(not shown in table). <br />Table 7. Recidivism rate of sex offenders released from prison in 1994, <br />by recidivism measure and type of sex offender <br />Percent of released prisoners <br />Recidivism Sexual <br />measure All Rapists assaulters <br />Within 3 years following release: <br />Rearrested for any type of crime 43.0% 46.0% 41.5% <br />Reconvicted for any type of crimes 24.0% 27.3% 22.4% <br />Returned to prison with a new <br />sentence for any type of crime' 11.2% 12.6% 10.5% <br />Returned to prison with or <br />without a new sentence` 38.6% 43.6% 36.1% <br />Total released 9,691 3,115 6,576 <br />Note: The 9,691 sex offenders were released in 15 States. <br />'Because of missing data, prisoners released in Ohio were excluded <br />from the calculation of percent reconvicted. <br />b "New prison sentence" includes new sentences to State or Federal prisons <br />but not to local jails. Because of missing data, prisoners released in Ohio and Virginia <br />were excluded from the calculation of percent returned to prison with a new sentence. <br />"With or without a new sentence" includes prisoners with new sentences to State or <br />Federal prisons plus prisoners returned for technical violations. Because of missing data, <br />prisoners released in 6 States (Arizona, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia) <br />were excluded from the calculation of percent returned to prison with or without a new sentence. <br />New York State custody records did not always distinguish prison returns from jail returns. <br />Consequently, some persons received in New York jails were probably mistakenly classified <br />as prison returns. Also, California with a relatively high return -to- prison rate affects the overall <br />rate of 38.6 %. When California is excluded, the return -to- prison rate falls to 27.9°/x. <br />Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994 13 <br />