Recidivism Down in TN prisons
Felons released from Tennessee prisons are now less likely to return to custody, a recent study showed. In its latest study on recidivism, the Tennessee Department of Correction reports that the return rate for ex-felons dropped 3 percentage points. For 2005, the recidivism rate stood at 39 percent for offenders who had been out of prison for three years. Reported in the Jackson Sun.
While there is no recognized national average for recidivism, TDOC officials say return rates range as high as 65 percent for individual states.
The study also showed the state is maintaining extremely low return rates for felons convicted of violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault.
“While any return of such serious offenders is undesirable, the consistent ability of the TDOC to achieve these low return rates is noteworthy,” said Correction Commissioner Gayle Ray.
TDOC spokeswoman Dorinda Carter said a systemwide comparison of felon return rates on the basis of race revealed black return rates to be lower than those of whites. The average return rate for blacks three years after release is 19.5 percent, while the average for whites is 20.6 percent.
“The lower recidivism rates show that rehabilitation efforts which include evidence-based programming are working and must continue,” Ray said.
A report released last year by the Pew Center on the States shows that one in 31 adults in America is imprisoned or jailed, or on probation or parole. In Tennessee, it’s about one in 40.
The report suggested states make a greater effort to prevent those on probation or parole from returning to prison and to strengthen their “community corrections systems.”
Tennessee correction officials planned to revoke fewer probations through diversion programs, including those for “technical parole violators” — probationers or parolees who may get in trouble for minor offenses such as driving on a suspended license or missing a counseling session.
As part of the initiative, the state tries to identify factors that indicate whether offenders would be more likely to violate probation or parole — from substance abuse to mental health and medical issues.
When the indicators show that an offender is at high risk, the state planned to offer help through a network of social workers.
Tennessee has 14 prisons. Eleven are operated by the state, and the remaining three are run by Nashville-based Corrections Corporation of America.
In 1983, the state’s prisons were placed under federal court supervision because of a lawsuit over overcrowding. The state was released in 1993.
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