Report Finds 80 Percent Recidivism Rate in Connecticut

A report containing “the most detailed data ever compiled on the state’s recidivism rate“ will be released today (February 15) in Connecticut, according to the Hartford Courant . The study will show that of the 14,400 men released from state prisons in 2005, nearly 80 percent were arrested again by 2010.

The analysis was done by the Office of Management and Policy, an agency within the governor’s office, and its findings are likely to stir debate about criminal justice policy in Connecticut and other states.

Widely cited federal data showed in 1994 that about 67 percent of those released from 15 state prison systems were rearrested within three years. An updated analysis last year by the Pew Center on the States, Stateline ‘s parent organization, found that more than four in 10 offenders nationally still are rearrested within three years, “despite a massive increase in state spending in prisons.“

The Connecticut study takes a longer-term view, tracking offenders for five years after their release, rather than three. The author of the analysis, Ivan Kuzyk, tells the Courant that the results are “alarming.“ The paper notes that most offenders were rearrested despite having been on some form of post-release supervision, such as probation or parole.

A separate aspect of the study also may attract attention. According to the Courant , the report tracks recidivism rates among sex offenders in the broader group of 14,400 and finds that “only a small number committed new sex crimes.“