Scholar Examines Race, Gender and Recidivism Among Released Prison Inmates

A University of Cincinnati researcher reports a significant finding in examining inmates released after serving their time, and their risk for returning to prison. Michael Wehrman, a doctoral student in the UC Department of Sociology, will present his research, “Race, Sex and Recidivism: An Event History Analysis Approach” from 8:30-10:10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 11, at the 101st annual meeting of the American Sociological Association in Montreal.

Wehrman’s analysis of the Bureau of Justice Statistics data focused on more than 290,000 inmates released from federal and state prisons in 1994. The data set covered 15 states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and Virginia – which made up two-thirds of the nation’s prison population in 1994.

Wehrman found a significant spike in the risk for recidivism after the first year of release. He reports that regardless of race or gender, the hazard rate for ex-offenders during the eleventh month after release is 0.21 percent, but surges to 1.94 percent during the twelfth month after release, a 924 percent increase within that two-month period.

The study differentiated rates of re-arrest based on race and gender during the first three years of their release from prison, as well as how long they were out of prison before they were arrested again. Because men compose a significantly higher number of the prison population, the data set involved:

• 264,027 (90.1 percent) men – 133,455 or 50.5 percent white, 130,572 or 49.5 percent African-American
• 26,849 (9.9 percent) women – 12,884 or 48 percent white, 13,965 or 52 percent African-American

The paper also examined whether treatment programs (drug and alcohol treatment, treatment for sex offenders, educational or vocational programs) affected returning to criminal behavior. The study reported no significant differences in recidivism among race and gender when factoring treatment program evaluations into the variables.

On the whole, more than 60 percent of the released inmates were returned to prison. The results after the three-year observation period are as follows:

• Nearly 65 percent of black males had recidivated
• 56.6 percent of white males had recidivated
• 53.5 percent of black females had recidivated
• 46.2 percent of white females had recidivated

Wehrman recommends future research on the post-release environment of prison inmates. He suggests exploring whether the many strains experienced by ex-offenders adjusting to life outside of prison – finding employment, lack of a support group, neighborhood environment or socializing with deviant groups – could play a role in re-arrests.