Federal Recidivism In America

A recent opinion piece in the UT got me thinking again, about prisoners in our federal system, early release, and what happens to felons after release.  I checked out the recidivism rates of prisoners, and here's some of what I learned:

50% of prisoners who are released on probation are rearrested within 8 years for a new crime or a violation of the condition of their probation.  25% of these men and women are reincarcerated.  Most  people reoffend within two years.

Age has much to do with who reoffends.  Those who are released  from prison prior to age 21 have the highest rate of recidivism, 67%!  Contrast that with prisoners over the age of 60 who were released only had 16% recidivism.

Why do the young ones reoffend, and the seniors do not?  My opinion, and I have no scientific evidence is this:  The older men and women are probably NOT returning to the work force.  They are of retirement age, and are not faced with having to find work.  Finding work is extremely difficult for convicted felons.  A young person emerging from prison after several years of incarceration has little chance of success.  Rental applications and job applications ask if you are a convicted felon.  If you answer YES, you are usually eliminated from consideration.  If you answer NO, you are lying.  What's a person to do?  Fortunately there are some programs to help convicted felons, but for most young men and women, they go back to their old ways, hence 67% recidivism.

I have no idea what the answer is, but I do know this.  We are a country of second chances, or so I thought.  If someone makes a mistake, employers need to give non violent offenders another chance.  If they can't get work, they can't turn  their lives around.  America incarcerates more men and women than almost any other country, and our recidivism rate is high too.  We are clearly doing something wrong!

The day after I wrote this blog, Governor Brown was in San Diego talking about this very topic.  He was urging businessmen to hire men and women with skills, and give them a second chance.  Many prisoners attend college or trade school in prison, and when they are released have skills to offer an employer, if given a chance.  Governor Brown was encouraging business owners to do just this.