Study: Prisons failing to deter repeat criminals in 41 states

The number of inmates returning to state prisons within three years of release has remained steady for more than a decade, a strong indicator that prison systems are failing to deter criminals from re-offending, a new study has concluded.

In one of the most comprehensive reports of its kind, the Pew Center on the States found that slightly more than four in 10 offenders return to prison within three years, a collective rate that has remained largely unchanged in years, despite huge increases in prison spending that now costs states $52 billion annually.

National recidivism, or return, rates are holding steady even as state officials have launched programs to help prisoners re-enter society and as the recent financial crisis has forced states to cut their budgets and re-evaluate the types of offenders who should return to prison.

The system designed to deter (inmates) from continued criminal behavior clearly is falling short, according to the study by Pews Public Safety Performance Project, an arm of the non-profits public policy analysis group. That is an unhappy reality, not just for offenders but for the safety of American communities.

The group analyzed full or partial data provided by 41 states for inmates released in 1999 and for prisoners leaving in 2004. By 2002, slightly more than 45% in the first wave of releases returned to prison. In 2007, about 43% of the second group returned.

Of the 33 states that provided data for both periods, 15 reported recidivism rates had increased by as much as 30% by 2007. Among them:

•In South Dakota, the return rate rose 35% in 2007.

•Washington state reported a 31% jump during the same period.

•Minnesotas rate increased 11%, and by 2007 the state posted the highest prisoner return rate of all participating states at 61.2%.

John Schadl, spokesman for Minnesota prisons, said the rising rate is likely tied to the states major push to track recidivism more closely. When you become more statistically accountable, sometimes your numbers are going to go up, he said.

Adam Gelb, director of the Pew project, said that national prisoner return rates are likely to remain steady unless states more deeply embrace programs that better prepare offenders for re-entry and reward corrections officials for finding alternatives to prison for many non-violent offenders.

Since the mid-80s, annual state prison costs have risen from $10 billion to $52 billion, according to Pew.

Right now, the incentives are mostly backwards, Gelb said. When offenders (on probation or parole) are breaking the rules, supervision agencies win by sending them back to prison and getting them off their caseloads. That needs to be flipped, so the agencies get rewarded with a share of the savings when they reduce returns to prison.