Transcription
Lifers' Group, Inc.
Recidivism Study
2016
On Saturday, November 19, 2016 members of the Lifers' Group, Inc. Board of Directors asked 115 random prisoners in the prison yard a pointed question: "Have you been previously incarcerated in either state prison or county jail before this present incarceration? We are also considering Department of Youth Serves juvenile secure facility sentences."
Of the 115 prisoners interviewed, 78 indicated that they had in fact done a previous prison/jail sentence. This affords us a "pure" recidivism rate of 67.8%.
Only 5 prisoners out of the 115 surveyed indicated that they had served a DYS secure facilities sentence. They were figured in the 67.8% finding. If these 5 men are removed from the study, we then have 110 interviewed with 73 indicating that they had been previously incarcerated in jail or prison. This gives an associated recidivism rate of 66.2%. The average of those two rates equals a recidivism rate of 67%.
The Council on State Governments Justice Center has reported that the Massachusetts Department of Correction indicates they have "reduced" recidivism in the state to approximately 38%. We found this figure to be out of sorts with what we see from living with the men in prison.
Our study, which we characterize as a "pure" recidivism study, is in our opinion the most accurate in reflecting the true recidivism rate in Massachusetts. With statistical and demographical manipulations, the Department of Correction can offer inflated or deflated recidivism rates to suit their instant needs. Higher rates to indicate a need to build prisons or raise staffing rates, lower rates to display a job well done by the department. We must always question any facts provided by the Department of Corruption.
"Pure" recidivism rate: 67%.
Unacceptable and no excuses can be accepted. The Department of Correction NEVER corrects. It is a jobs program for state employees.
The current prison system creates murderers as it turns low level offenders into angry, authority despising individuals and then releases them, unprepared and desperate, onto the streets of your cities and towns.
Report conducted by Timothy J. Muise
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Replies (3)
Thanks for distributing this information; it's definitely useful to illustrate what a large portion of your facility's population the DOC has failed to "correct", according to its own stated goals! In fact, according to the most recent numbers from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the national recidivism rate over five years (2005-2010) is actually as high as 76.6%. The most recent number supplied by the Massachusetts DOC (32%) is indeed somewhat misleading, since it only measures re-convictions over the last three years (2012-2015). In general, if we want to get a complete and accurate picture of what the true recidivism rate is, we should be looking at everyone who is re-convicted, as you did, not just people who were re-convicted within a certain number of years of release. Unfortunately, to do that with maximum accuracy, we would have to also compare the number of re-convictions to the whole US population of ex-offenders not currently in prison, a number that the BJS does not seem to collect.
Thanks again for this report. Keep up the good fight!
Jeff Sherwood