Recidivism | National Institute of Corrections

Welcome to the National Institute of Corrections' Recidivism Topic Page. This comprehensive hub serves as a repository of resources focused on exploring a range of issues associated with recidivism, including effective practices that significantly reduce recidivism rates, detailed statistical research, and evidence-based programming within correctional facilities. Whether you are a policy maker, a corrections professional, a researcher, or an advocate for justice reform, here you will find a curated collection of insights and tools aimed at understanding and improving the outcomes for individuals in the corrections system. Our goal is to support informed decision-making and foster interventions that enhance public safety while ensuring successful reintegration for those returning to their communities.

Probation office, a probation officer interviews a woman across an office desk filled with books and papers

Topic Categories and Resources

Below, you’ll find expandable gray bars (accordions) that contain curated resources for this topic. For additional research help, please contact our help desk. Click any accordion to explore the resources in that section.

Mental Health

Does In-Prison Physical and Mental Health Impact Recidivism?

In this paper, the iatrogenic effects of incarceration in the United States are considered on health and future recidivism by discussing how, in the period after being released from prison, personal health is a mechanism that facilitates the churning of individuals through the prison system.

Does Specialized Psychological Treatment for Offending Reduce Recidivism?

Numerous program variables appeared important for optimizing the effectiveness of specialized psychological offense programs (e.g., arousal reconditioning for sexual offense programs, treatment approach for domestic violence programs). The findings show that such treatments are associated with robust reductions in offense specific and non-offense specific recidivism. Treatment providers are urged to pay particular attention to staffing and program implementation variables for optimal recidivism reductions.

Implementing Specialized Caseloads to Reduce Recidivism for People with Co-Occurring Disorders

This brief presents five key practices for successful implementation of specialized caseloads for people with co-occurring disorders. It relies on a coordinated and collaborative approach and reinforces the need for probation officers to have the appropriate resources to connect people to individualized treatments and supports.

Information on Inmates with Serious Mental Illness and Strategies to Reduce Recidivism

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) selected six states that varied in their adult incarceration rates and provided geographic diversity. At the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and the six states’ departments of corrections, GAO analyzed criminal offense and incarceration and mental health care cost data and interviewed officials about strategies for reducing recidivism for inmates with serious mental illness. The results from these six states are not generalizable, but provide insights.

Programming

The Effectiveness of Education and Employment Programming for Prisoners

The evidence is clear that prisoners tend to be undereducated and underemployed. What if US prison systems placed a greater emphasis on improving educational and employment outcomes for prisoners? Would it improve other outcomes such as recidivism or prison misconduct? If so, to what extent? And, if US prison systems invested in more education and employment programming, would the benefits outweigh the costs? This report addresses these questions by providing an overview of the available evidence on the effectiveness of education and employment programming.

Evaluating the Impact of Probation and Parole Home Visits

In 2014, Abt Associates began work on a grant from the National Institute of Justice to evaluate the effectiveness of home and field contacts in community supervision. The study was designed to describe the varying practices of home and other field contacts in community supervision, to document their use nationwide, and to evaluate their effectiveness in maintaining public safety and promoting compliance with supervision requirements. Abt’s research is designed to address the gap in our understanding of home and field contacts as part of community supervision.

Evaluating the Impact of Two Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Programs on Recidivism in Chronic Juvenile Offenders

The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of two cognitive behavioral therapy programs on recidivism in a sample of chronic youthful offenders (N = 156) and to evaluate the relationship between commonly identified recidivism risk factors (i.e., prior criminal charges, parental history of criminal behavior, gang involvement, mental health diagnoses, and number of probation violations) and re-offending.

Recidivism and Federal Bureau of Prisons Programs

This report is the sixth in a series continuing the United States Sentencing Commission’s study of the recidivism of federal offenders released in 2010.1 In this report, the Commission provides an analysis of data on the recidivism of federal offenders who participated in Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) vocational and work programming while incarcerated.

Research

BOP 2024 CARES Act: Analysis of Recidivism Report

This study investigated whether rates of the (Federal Bureau of Prisons) FBOP home-confinement failure differed between individuals in custody with a (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) CARES home confinement placement compared to similar, matched persons in home confinement whose length of community placement was statutorily constrained.

First Step Act: An Early Analysis of Recidivism

This analysis estimates recidivism rates among individuals released from BOP prior to the First Step Act (FSA) who had similar risk profiles and were tracked for similar periods of time as those released under the FSA.

Looking Beyond Recidivism: New Research on Well-Being in Prisons

At the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) 2023 National Research Conference, Angel E. Sanchez led a discussion on corrections research that looked beyond preventing recidivism to explore evidence-based ways of improving individual experiences and institutional culture within prisons and jails. The conversation was a direct outgrowth of Sanchez’s belief that services focused on improving people’s lives after prison cannot come at the expense of efforts to expand their opportunities while inside.

Recidivism of Federal Offenders Released in 2010

(Published September 30, 2021) This report is the first in a series continuing the Commission’s research of the recidivism of federal offenders. It provides an overview of the recidivism of federal offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to a term of probation in 2010, combining data regularly collected by the Commission with data compiled from criminal history records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This report provides an overview of recidivism for these offenders and information on key offender and offense characteristics related to recidivism. This report also compares recidivism outcomes for offenders released in 2010 to federal offenders released in 2005. In the future, the Commission will release additional publications discussing specific topics concerning recidivism of federal offenders.

Supervision Violations and Their Impact on Incarceration

New data from The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center shows that in 2023, 1 in 5 people in state prison on any given day were incarcerated for a community supervision violation. A system designed to support rehabilitation and enhance public safety is instead contributing to incarceration—underscoring the urgent need to break the cycle between technical supervision failures and prison.

The Workforce Impact of Second Chance Hiring

A deep dive into data shows increasing employment of millions of formerly incarcerated individuals, or those with a criminal record, would bolster the country's workforce and create opportunities for those who need a second chance.

Created: April 8, 2024

Updated: January 2, 2026