NCJ Number
174083
Date Published
1995
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study evaluated the impact on post-release recidivism of participating in an Ohio Penal Industries (OPI) job; offenders used in the evaluation included 744 inmates who were released from the Ohio prison system in fiscal year 1992 and who had a meaningful experience in an OPI job while incarcerated.
Abstract
Overall, meaningful participation in an OPI job appeared to reduce recidivism by about 20 percent. The recidivism rate for offenders who had a meaningful OPI experience was 24.6 percent, while the recidivism rate for comparison offenders was 29.9 percent. Meaningful participation in an OPI job appeared to produce a 5.3 percent decrease in recidivism, and the difference translated into a 17.7-percent reduction in recidivism. Recidivism rates of offenders who had high skill OPI jobs showed a 50-percent reduction. The positive impact of having had a high skill OPI job remained substantial regardless of the offender's demographic characteristics or the characteristics of the offender's conviction offense. The OPI experience substantially reduced the large disparity in recidivism between blacks and whites. OPI participation seemed to have the most positive impact on males, blacks, offenders between 26 and 40 years of age at release, offenders committed for crimes against persons, drug offenders, and more serious offenders. An appendix provides supplemental data on recidivism rates. 24 tables