NCJ Number
82576
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 9 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1982) Pages: 121-125
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Recidivism rates of released female prisoners are examined in relation to the salient factor score, an actuarial device used by the U.S. Parole Commission as an aid in assessing the likelihood of recidivism.
Abstract
A sample of Federal prisoners serving sentences of more than 1 year and 1 day who were released to the community during 1970, 1971 and 1972 provides the informational base for this research. A sample of 3,982 cases was obtained, including 193 females. All three major forms of release from the Federal prison system (parole, mandatory release with supervision, and expiration of sentence without supervision) are included. The 1970 portion of the sample consists of a 50 percent subsample of prisoners released during the first half of 1970; the 1971 portion of the sample consists of a 30 percent subsample of prisoners released during the second half of 1971; and the 1972 portion of the sample consists of a 25 percent subsample of prisoners released during the first half of 1972. For the purposes of this research, favorable outcome was defined as no arrest for a new criminal offense, no return to prison as a parole mandatory release violator, and no parole/mandatory release warrant outstanding during the followup period (2 years). Although limited by the small size of the female sample, findings suggest no substantial difference between male and female released Federal prisoners in recidivism rate, once control has been exercised for salient factor score. Tabular data and five references are provided.