The cycle of recidivism.

• Position: STATESTATS

The recidivism rate has remained relatively stable for the country as a whole between 1999 and 2004. Rates in Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon and Utah, however, decreased by more than 10 percent (Oregon by almost 32 per cent), while rates in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and South Carolina increased by more than 10 percent (South Dakota and Washington by more than 30 percent).

Differences in rates vary widely from state to state and are a result of policy choices that affect which offenders are sentenced to prison, how inmates are selected for release, and what happens when offenders break the rules of parole. States also vary in how they track recidivism, making state-to-state comparisons difficult. Policymakers can benefit most from analysis of how rates within their state change over time.

State Rates

Changes in recidivism rates comparing two, 3-year periods, 1999-2002 and 2004-2007.

DECREASED

Less than 10%

Between 10% and 20%

More than 20%

No Data

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

INCREASED

Between 10% and 20%

More than 20%

No Data

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Potential Saving

If these states--Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas--reduced their recidivism rates by 10 percent, they could collectively save more than $470 million a year.

Note: Potential saving were calculated by multiplying states' annual operating costs per inmate by 1/10 of the number of offenders who return to prison, based on data from 2004-2007, from the Pew Center on the States.

CALIFORNIA, $2331 million

NEW YORK, $42.0 million

ILLINOIS, $39.8 million

TEXAS, $33.6 million

ALASKA, $24.6 million

OHIO, $24.3 million

NORTH CAROLINA, $23.0 million

CONNECTICUT...