Soc 329 Reentry

Prisoner Reentry in Perspective

Urban InstituteJustice Policy Center2001

“Research for Safer Communities”

Soc 329 Reentry

Study is ten years old but much useful info

Executive Summary

Huge increases in incarceration, releases, etc.

Rate of releases decreased in 1990s because of longer prison terms – longer stays means less contact with families and less participation in drug/job/educ programs

Soc 329 Reentry

But as volume of released prisoners increased in 1990s aggregate crime rates dropped

(note: drop in crime rates “masked” problems with release increases)

Widely assumed that “supervision” reduces recid -- but unsupervised have lower rates of recid

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Increase of “churners”

75% of first time releases “successful” (2001 – this is now down to about 40%)

Few churners “successful” (about 20%)

Pool of churners increasing rapidly (then) (increasing even more rapidly now)

Soc 329 Reentry

Rel prisoners concentrated in few large statesCore counties, central cities, metro areas

Calif, NY, Texas, Florida, Mich, Ill, Ohio, Georgia, etc.

LA, NYC, Houston-DFW, Miami, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.

Soc 329 Reentry

Appears to be a transition from inner cities to adjacent working class neighborhoods – impact might destabilize near-poor communities

Excons competing with “welfare-leavers”

Note: consistent with Parenti’s explanation – poor being driven out of inner cities and into adjacent working class communities

Soc 329 Reentry

One key point – ten years ago we were at the tail end of huge drops in serious crime.

We now know this was mainly driven by demographics (aging population) plus a strong economy (driven by tech markets)

So emerging problems with released prisoners were not very visible to policymakers “masked”

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Introduction

Various policy proposals put forward: who should deal with this problem?

More community supervision Reentry courts Focus on individual responsibility More supervision for some, less for others Zero tolerance approaches

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Three measures of overall release population:

Annual releases (short focus)

Parolees (longer focus – under supervision)

Ex-prisoners not under supervision (much longer and broader focus

-- millions of ex-prisoners)

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Annual Releases

The number of prisoners released each year has increased, but the rate of increase has declined

Parolee expenditures have doubled -- but the parolee population has tripled

So less spent per parolee (and still dropping)

Soc 329 Reentry

The number of prison releases has increased more slowly than the prison population has increased

We built more prisons in the prosperous 1990s and lengthened sentences across the board

Theoretically, this should lower crime rates thru incapacitation and deterrence

But research now shows that it doesn’t

Soc 329 Reentry

Proportion of violent offenders stable 25%

But absolute numbers increasing:1990 100,000 1998 141,000

and numbers continue to increase

Much bigger proportionate and absolute increases among less serious offenders

Soc 329 Reentry

Churners increasing rapidly – now constitute more than half of admissions

Spending longer in prison makes it harder to adjust when they get out, thus they are more likely to “fail” parole and return to prison, and more likely to repeat the pattern, thus become increasing proportion of prison population.

Soc 329 Reentry

Huge increases in “first timers” to prison -- half of all prison admissions

Mostly minorities from poor communities

Most released into communities containing large numbers of churners

First timers, churners, ex-welfare and jobs

Soc 329 Reentry

Most prisoners do not participate in programspre-release, educ, vocational

Proportion still dropping

Absolute numbers getting out after getting no help increasing rapidly

Soc 329 Reentry

The Parole Population as the Reentry Population

(population under supervision)

Huge increases but growth is slowing -- mainly because of growth of unsupervised release

Decline of parole – “truth in sentencing”

Soc 329 Reentry

Unconditional releases have better record

But - because can’t be returned on tech viol

plus some are less serious offenders

Not enough research to know whether they are a larger or smaller risk to communities

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Time on parole increasing for first timers

(“get tough” changes?)

But decreasing for churners

(tech viols?)

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First timers are much more successful on parole (more than 50%) than are churners (20%)

So key to successful reentry is parole success after first term in prison

Dilemma – tech violations create more churners from first timers, but might also lower crime rates among first timers

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Returning to Communities

Not just one reentry problem for communities

More violent offendersMore first time prisonersMore churners

Each poses different problems

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It is also very doubtful if “communities” “want” returning prisoners back at all

Returning prisoners – in the long run several million - are returning mostly to core counties in a few states, and mostly to specific n’hoods within those core counties (the badlands)

Most are petty offenders (drug, property) and most have no “prospects” (job skills, etc.)

Soc 329 Reentry

“Attachments to society” are overall weak

2/3 +/- single unattached2/3 +/- had children2/3 +/- employed (but very low pay)2/3 +/- less than high school educ

Longer stays in prison further weaken attachments

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Contact with families has decreasedDivorces have increasedMismatch of jobs and work skillsRacial discriminationCore counties have high unemploymentMany working residents below poverty level

A growing intractable surplus population?