Toward the end of 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice published a report titled “Prison Reform: Reducing Recidivism by Strengthening the Federal Bureau of Prisons.” The report opened with a discussion about how the Federal Bureau of Prisons was undertaking major reforms designed to reduce recidivism and improve public safety.¹

The reforms have been designed to focus intently on the offenders themselves, from intake to discharge. Quoting the report, “The reforms are targeted to address the core behavioral issues that result in criminality, with the goal of reducing the likelihood that inmates re-offend either while incarcerated or after their release.” The report accurately identified recidivism as the primary problem that needs to be addressed, and the report’s authors identified employment, education, and purpose as the three areas that can and should be improved in order to reduce recidivism.

What Is the Recidivism Rate?

In its report, the Justice Department said that reducing recidivism is one of the best ways to prevent crime. What is recidivism, and how prevalent is it?

Recidivism is defined as a return to crime—in other words, it is committing a crime and becoming re-incarcerated after having already served a sentence for a previous crime or crimes. Understanding recidivism is crucial because the goal of prison is to rehabilitate offenders. If offenders are completing prison sentences and returning to a life of crime, prisons are not working.

Different sources publish varying figures on recidivism in the U.S., and recidivism rates vary from state to state. Still, the consensus is that anywhere from 44% to 70% of people who serve time in prison will go on to commit new crimes after their release and will end up re-incarcerated as a result.²

That means the prison system is not working for most people who go through it, suggesting the dire need for reform.

Key Points Outlined in the Report

The Justice Department identified the following reforms as being essential to reduce recidivism:

• From day one, identifying an inmate’s individualized “criminogenic” needs
• Building a “school district” within the federal prison system
• Launching a tablet-based pilot program for inmate education
• Supporting the Second Chance Pell Pilot Program
• Encouraging inmates to develop marketable job skills
• Developing standardized, evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism
• Prioritizing mental health treatment for inmates
• Ensuring inmates receive appropriate substance abuse treatment
• Helping inmates maintain family ties while incarcerated
• Enhancing programs for female inmates
• Reducing the use of solitary confinement and other forms of restrictive housing
• Phasing out BOP’s use of private prisons
• Reforming and strengthening federal halfway houses
• Helping inmates obtain government-issued ID prior to their release
• Equipping inmates with information and resources as they return to the community

While some of the report’s highlighted reforms have to do with improving the quality of life and environment for inmates (reducing solitary confinement, phasing out private prisons, helping inmates maintain family ties), most of the reforms discussed in the report centered around employment, education, and purpose.

A Job

Numerous studies have shown that inmates who engage in vocational training, prepare themselves for employment while they are still in prison, and secure employment as soon as they leave prison are far less likely to return to a life of crime. Today, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is implementing programs that ensure inmates develop the job skills they need to find work after their release from custody. As part of that effort, BOP has revitalized and improved multiple job training programs. According to BOP, inmates working in prison industries were 24 percent less likely to recidivate and 14 percent more likely to be gainfully employed after release from custody than other inmates, indicating the value and importance of working while incarcerated and receiving vocational training.

An Education

According to the BOP report, an educated inmate is more likely to find healthy, responsible ways of coping with life’s challenges after being released from prison as opposed to returning to a life of crime. Incarcerated individuals need access to educational services. Therefore, BOP is implementing reforms like tablet-based teaching methods, Second Chance Pell programs, school districts within prisons, and reentry handbooks and roadmaps for a successful life after prison.

A Purpose

Incarcerated individuals often wound up in prison because of poor decisions made from a lack of knowledge of how to solve life’s problems without resorting to crime. Offenders may have turned to a life of crime because they lacked the purpose to face life in other ways, so several of the reforms in the report outlined the need to reform offenders on a deeply personal, meaningful level. The report highlighted the need for utilizing substance abuse treatment, improving inmates’ connections with their families, providing evidence-based rehabilitation, and prioritizing mental health treatment as just some of the ways inmates can be helped and cared for to assist them in finding purpose.

Reform Is Achievable

A 44% to 70% recidivism rate is not something that is arbitrarily built into the criminal justice system in the United States. With the proper reforms in prisons, the U.S. can rehabilitate offenders so that they go on to lead happy, productive, responsible, and crime-free lives. And with the help of evidence-based educational programs, achieving a 0% recidivism rate isn’t just a pie-in-the-sky dream; it could be a reality.

Sources:

1. DOJ. “Prison Reform: Reducing Recidivism by Strengthening the Federal Bureau of Prisons.” United States Department of Justice, 2023. justice.gov
2. DOJ. “Recidivism and Reentry.” United States Department of Justice, 2023. justice.gov