A Look at Recidivism Rates among Released Prisoners

Dr. Isaac Ashley Young, an experienced counselor and educator, has more than two decades of experience in public administration and education. Dr. Young serves as an employment specialist at Mid-Atlantic States Career and Education Center in New Jersey, where he works to increase opportunities of parolees and reduce recidivism.
Recidivism occurs when a person who has engaged in criminal behavior reoffends after previously being convicted of a criminal offense. This tendency to relapse into criminal behavior is a core challenge facing the criminal justice system, as it hinders efforts to reduce crime and rehabilitate individuals who commit criminal acts. Alternatively, the term desistance refers to criminal offenders resisting the tendency to relapse into crime after their release from incarceration.
Another reason recidivism rises to the forefront of challenges facing the criminal justice system is that rates are so high. Recent research found that nearly 70 percent of released prisoners were rearrested within three years of their release, and that over 75 percent were rearrested within five years of release. Moreover, over 55 percent of released prisoners are arrested again within a year of their release.
