Oregon’s Department of Corrections published a report in 2022 revealing that inmates released early exhibited the same or lower recidivism rates as inmates who served their full sentences. The state’s policymakers used the report to highlight how inmates who complete rehabilitation programs and exhibit good behavior may deserve shortened sentences.

Details of the Oregon Report

In 2020, the State of Oregon released 963 inmates from prison early, a pandemic measure the state instituted to reduce the spread of Covid in Oregon’s prisons. In 2022, researchers examined recidivism rates for a randomly selected 266 of the 963 released individuals to examine the program’s efficacy. They found the recidivism rates to be no different than recidivism rates for prisoners released in previous years. The cohort of 266 released in 2020, in fact, had slightly lower recidivism rates than prisoners released in the previous year.¹

Within one year of the 266 prisoners being released and analyzed, 18% were arrested, 8% were convicted of a new misdemeanor or felony, and 2% were returned to prison or jail. Those figures are lower than 2019’s recidivism rates, even as 2019 presented the lowest recidivism rates in Oregon since 2014.

Oregon officials found the findings interesting, publishing them as a suggestion that evidence-based and reform-based incarceration works. As overall crime rates went up in Oregon in 2020, the expectation was that recidivism would be much higher that year. Yet the opposite occurred. “What’s interesting about this data is that the 2020 cohort had a higher risk of recidivism than the 2019 cohort,” said Ken Sanchagrin, commission executive director. “In spite of patterns of rising crime in the state, it doesn’t look like that has been exacerbated by the early release of these folks.” The report’s findings suggest there may be better ways to reform prisoners and reduce recidivism than simply locking offenders away for long periods, as the individuals who were released early had lower recidivism rates, despite being released during a higher-than-average crime year.²

What did the state do to determine who to release early and why? Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s press secretary Elizabeth Merah offered some insight. “Rather than releasing adults in custody en masse, Governor Brown selectively granted commutations to nonviolent offenders and released individual adults in custody on a rolling basis once she had assurances from the Department of Corrections (DOC) that the individuals had housing, a re-entry and release plan, and were not a threat to public safety,” Merah said. Critical factors surrounding the early-release decisions included only considering prisoners particularly vulnerable to Covid, who had served at least half their sentence, were not convicted of a personal crime, and recorded good conduct for at least 12 months.

The report showed that individuals convicted primarily of nonviolent drug or property crimes, who express good behavior in prison, and who serve most of their sentences create no higher risk to public safety when released early than individuals who are made to serve their full sentences. Releasing such individuals early would improve their lives and the lives of their families without putting undue burden on the public while simultaneously reducing taxpayer spending on lengthy prison stays.

A Summary of Crime and Incarceration in Oregon

Oregon is among the best representations of average U.S. crime and incarceration rates. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Oregon has the 24th-highest incarceration rate nationwide. Half the country is ahead of it in incarceration, and half of the country is behind it. Oregon incarcerates 310 residents for every 100,000 living in the state. Oregon publishes average crime rates, too. However, Oregon spends significantly more than most states on its prisoners, at approximately $40,000 per prisoner per year. That figure suggests the state is more invested in providing inmates with the tools they need to reform and lead crime-free lives.³

The Rehabilitative Services an Inmate Receives Make All the Difference

As one of the highest-spending states regarding per-inmate costs, Oregon has invested much in helping offenders reform. The state has implemented evidence-based programs in several areas, including:

• addiction treatment programs for offenders convicted of drug crimes
• hands-on programs oriented toward teaching life skills and coping strategies to offenders
• job skills programs and work release so offenders can learn valuable trades for post-incarceration life

Sensible, compassionate, case-by-case approaches to prisoners seem to be a better way of approaching criminal justice. Rather than using a heavy-handed maximum penalty approach with mandatory lengthy sentences and little recourse offered, Oregon’s data show that rewarding good behavior and treating inmates with a focus on reform can lead to better outcomes.

In the future, other states should consider adopting similar models in which inmates are offered the tools and resources they need to rehabilitate and recover. When offenders are provided with educational materials and rehabilitative services that help them understand why they committed crimes in the first place, they are much more likely to rebuild their lives toward morality, responsibility, and crime-free activities and endeavors.

Sources Cited:

1. ODOC. “Recidivating Patterns of Individuals Commuted in 2020.” State of Oregon Department of Corrections, 2022. oregon.gov
2. OCC. “Oregon inmates released early mirror recidivism of those serving full sentences.” Oregon Capital Chronicle, 2022. oregoncapitalchronicle.com
3.  BJS. “Prisoners in 2020 – Statistical Tables.” Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2022. bjs.ojp.gov