NCJ Number
70638
Date Published
1976
Length
105 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effect of vocational training, general education development tests, and the conditions of release on recidivism rates of inmates.
Abstract
Subjects were 350 men who were released from a training center in Missouri either on parole or on completion of sentences and who had received vocational training there. A total of 1704 inmates who had not had formal training comprised the comparison group. Collected data included records of assignments while institutionalized, form of education and training received, and frequency of recidivism. Analysis of the data showed that there was a significant difference between the recidivism rate of those inmates who completed a formal vocational training program at the center and the total recidivism rate of the male inmate population of the State. Those who completed a formal vocational program had a smaller recidivism rate and were less likely to return to prison. Results also indicated that those who enroll in a vocational program but do not finish are as likely to return to prison as those who never enrolled. The rate of recidivism of those who left on parole was less than of those who left by completion of sentence. Tabular data, 30 references, and 2 appendixes are included.