Funding Agency: PEW Charitable Trust

Principal Investigator: Todd Clear

Co-Principal Investigator: Michael Ostermann

Abstract: While research has demonstrated that evidence-based prisoner reentry programs can lower reoffending, few studies have addressed how supervision in its various forms affects post-release criminal behaviors. Rutgers will use 10 years of data about released prisoners in New Jersey to explore the relationship between supervision and reoffending. The analysis will examine how factors such as offender risk level and prison time served impact offender recidivism rates and how these factors can be used to adjust rates of return to prison. These adjusted return rates will advance policy maker and public understanding of recidivism, allow for more accurate comparisons of agency performance, and provide a model for measuring and reporting recidivism rates in other states.