A report released Wednesday by Delaware’s Criminal Justice Council finds that nearly eight in ten inmates who serve at least a year in prison are re-arrested within three years of their release. More than two-thirds of inmates who serve a year or more in prison wind up back in Delaware’s correction system.
The report studied recidivism and details of prisoners released in 2008 and 2009 over a three year period, including age, gender, race and crimes committed. Executive Director Drew Fennell, says the report is the first of its kind in Delaware since the year 2000.
“It will give us some baseline information and we’ll begin to be able to track whether new programing or different ways for addressing this population -- how their doing. Are they succeeding? Are they failing? Are they good investments in public safety and rehabilitation?” said Fennell.
Among the study’s findings: recidivism was highest for property offenses, when compared to violent crimes or drug offenses. Also persons under age 24 returned to prison at significantly higher rates than those over 45.
“But we don’t really know why. And, we have to figure out strategies to reduce their recidivism rate," said Fennell. "Using a report like this, we can test effectiveness. This report doesn’t tell us what those programs should be, but it does tell us who we should be expending our resources on.”
In 2011, Governor Jack Markell (D-Delaware) signed a law mandating an annual report on recidivism rates. He says its now up all parties to put this first one to good use.
"Too many people released from our prisons go on to commit more crimes. We need to change that, and this report gives us benchmarks for measuring progress as we pursue new strategies to prevent crime and reduce recidivism," said Markell in a statement. "The data released today can help us measure the effectiveness of programs, both in and outside of prison, targeted to helping offenders become productive members of society while improving public safety.”
Roughly one thousand prisoners are released annually in Delaware who have served a year or more in jail.