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The 2,326 reconvicted for a new crime
<br />consisted of 1,672 (71.9 %) whose
<br />most serious conviction offense was a
<br />felony, and 654 (28.1%) whose most
<br />serious offense was a misdemeanor
<br />(not shown in table).
<br />Of the 2,326 reconvicted for any new
<br />crime after their release, 1,085 were
<br />resentenced to prison, and the remain-
<br />ing 1,241 were placed on probation or
<br />ordered to pay a fine or sentenced to
<br />short -term confinement in a local jail.
<br />The 1,241 not resentenced to prison
<br />made up a little over half (53 %) of the
<br />total 2,326 reconvicted. One reason
<br />why over half were not resentenced
<br />to prison was that the new conviction
<br />offense for about 650 of the 2,326
<br />newly convicted men (approximately
<br />30 %) was a misdemeanor rather than
<br />a felony, and State laws usually do not
<br />permit State prison sentences for
<br />misdemeanors.
<br />Altogether, 3,741 (38.6 %) of the 9,691
<br />released sex offenders were returned
<br />to prison either because of a new
<br />sentence or a technical violation. Of the
<br />3,741, 2,656 (71 %) were returned for a
<br />technical violation, such as failing a
<br />drug test, missing an appointment with
<br />the parole officer, or being arrested for
<br />another crime; and 1,085 were
<br />returned with a new prison sentence.
<br />The 2,656 consisted of 664 who were
<br />reconvicted but not resentenced to
<br />prison, plus 1,992 not reconvicted.
<br />As previously explained, a total of
<br />1,241 released sex offenders were
<br />reconvicted but not resentenced to
<br />prison for their new crime. The 1,241
<br />included 664 (described immediately
<br />above) who were returned to prison for
<br />a technical violation. The 664 were
<br />54% of the 1,241, indicating that most
<br />of those who were reconvicted but not
<br />given a new prison sentence were,
<br />nevertheless, returned to prison.
<br />Sex offenders compared to
<br />non -sex offenders
<br />The 15 States in this study released
<br />272,111 prisoners altogether in 1994.
<br />The 9,691 released sex offenders
<br />made up 3.6% of that total. The
<br />remaining 262,420 released prisoners
<br />were non -sex offenders. Of the
<br />262,420 non -sex offenders, 68%
<br />(179,391 men and women out of the
<br />262,420) were rearrested for a new
<br />crime within 3 years (not shown in
<br />table). The 43% overall rearrest rate of
<br />the 9,691 released sex offenders
<br />(4,163 out of 9,691) was low by
<br />comparison.
<br />Another difference was the rearrest
<br />charge. The rearrest offense was a
<br />felony for about 3 out of 4 (75 %) of the
<br />4,163 rearrested sex offenders (not
<br />shown in table). By comparison, about
<br />84% of the 179,391 non -sex offenders
<br />were charged by police with a felony
<br />(not shown in table).
<br />Of the 4,163 sex offenders rearrested
<br />for a new crime, nearly 9 in 10 (87 %)
<br />were on parole when taken into cus-
<br />tody; of the 179,391 rearrested non -sex
<br />offenders, also about 9 in 10 (85 %)
<br />were on parole (not shown in table).
<br />There was a difference in recon-
<br />victions. The reconviction rate for the
<br />9,691 released sex offenders was
<br />24.0 %, compared to 47.8% for 262,420
<br />non -sex offenders released in 1994
<br />(not shown in table). The 2,326 sex
<br />offenders reconvicted for any new
<br />crime included 1,672 (71.9 %) whose
<br />most serious conviction offense was a
<br />felony (not shown in table). Of the
<br />262,420 non -sex offenders, 125,437
<br />(47.8 %) were reconvicted, which
<br />included 94,078 (75.0 %) whose most
<br />serious reconviction offense was a
<br />felony (not shown in table).
<br />14 Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994
<br />Rapists and sexual assaulters
<br />Within the first 3 years following
<br />release -
<br />• 46.0% of the 3,115 rapists (1,432
<br />men) and 41.5% of the 6,576 sexual
<br />assaulters (2,731 men) were
<br />rearrested for all types of crimes
<br />(table 7)
<br />• 27.3% of the 3,115 rapists (850 men)
<br />were reconvicted, compared to 22.4%
<br />of the 6,576 sexual assaulters (1,473
<br />men) for all types of crimes
<br />• 12.6% of the 3,115 rapists (392 men)
<br />and 10.5% of the 6,576 sexual as-
<br />saulters (690 men) were resentenced
<br />to prison for their reconviction offense
<br />• 43.6% of the 3,115 rapists (1,358
<br />men) and 36.1% of the 6,576 sexual
<br />assaulters (2,374 men) were returned
<br />to prison either because of a new
<br />sentence or because of a technical
<br />violation of their parole.
<br />For approximately three - fourths of the
<br />1,432 rapists who were rearrested for a
<br />new crime, the crime was a felony; for
<br />the remainder, the most serious was a
<br />misdemeanor (not shown in table).
<br />As indicated earlier, 2,731 sexual
<br />assaulters were rearrested for a new
<br />offense after their release, and for
<br />about three - fourths, their most serious
<br />rearrest offense was a felony; for the
<br />remainder, the most serious crime was
<br />a misdemeanor (not shown in table).
<br />The 850 rapists reconvicted for any
<br />new crime included 617 (72.6 %) whose
<br />most serious reconviction offense was
<br />a felony; the 1,473 reconvicted sexual
<br />assaulters included 1,052 (71.4 %) who
<br />were reconvicted for a felony (not
<br />shown in table).
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