NCJ Number
179598
Date Published
1999
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Data from England and Wales were used to study reconvictions of offenders sentenced or released from prison in those countries in 1994, as a measure of the effectiveness of different sentences and treatment programs in deterring or rehabilitating offenders.
Abstract
The research also included a 7-year follow-up of offenders released from prison or starting community penalties in 1987 and an analysis of reconviction rates for disposals such as fines and discharges for offenders sentenced for standard-list offenses during 3 weeks in 1994. Results revealed that 56 percent of all sentenced prisoners discharged in 1994 were reconvicted of a standard-list offense within 2 years, compared with 54 percent of offenders who began community sentences in 1994. Forty-three percent of offenders given a conditional discharge and 45 percent of offenders fined for a standard-list offense in 1994 were reconvicted for another such offense within 2 years. These rates were lower than those for community penalties and partly resulted from offender characteristics. Twenty-six percent of the adult male offenders and 48 percent of young male offenders released from prison in 1994 were recommitted to custody within 2 years. Thus, no discernable difference existed in reconviction rates for custody and community penalties; little real difference existed in reconviction rates over time as well. Tables and figures