Adult Offender Recidivism Rates: How Effective is Pre-Release and Vocational Education Programing and What Demographic Factors Contribute to an Offenders Return to Prison

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections’ 100 hour pre-release program and vocational education had a significant impact on offender recidivism. Additionally, a model of predicating offender recidivism using demographic data was another aspect of the study. Offenders in the study were 404 offenders who completed the pre-release program, 404 offenders who completed vocational education and 808 offenders who composed the control group. All offenders were released from prison in the year of 2010, and if they returned to prison between their release and December 31, 2013, they were considered to have been a recidivist for the purpose of the study. The effectiveness of the 100 hour pre-release and vocational education was conducted using SPSS with the chi-square test for program significance. Based on the test, neither program was found to have a significant impact on recidivism. However, when examining percentages of return to prison between the three groups, vocational education offenders performed the best and offenders who completed the 100 hour pre-release program had the highest percentage of offenders returning to prison. The ability to develop a predictive model for recidivism utilizing select demographic factors was attempted using SPSS with the Binary Logistical Regression analysis. The demographic factors used were age, sex, race, marital status and education. A predictive model was unable to be established with this population. However, when looking at the population, being a male or a young offender was found to be predictors that were significantly tied with offender recidivism as individual characteristics. Based on the body of research and the findings of the study, recommendations concerning the 100 hour pre-release program and vocational education suggest these programs need additional components of cognitive development training and community supports to show a greater impact on recidivism. Also, the creation of a reliable and valid risk model based on the total offender population is necessary. By implementing effective programs and having the correct offenders entering these programs, a reduction in recidivism may be more significant.