(BOP) - On March 9, 2015, the United States Sentencing Commission released a comprehensive report on recidivism among federal offenders. Their report focused on the number of inmates from 2005 that were rearrested within eight years for a new crime or for a violation of the conditions of their probation or release. Recidivism is most commonly defined as rearrest for a new crime or revocation of supervision within three years after release from prison. While not published in the USSC report, at the request of the Bureau, the USSC reported this traditional recidivism measure: only 33.7% of the inmates released from the Bureau of Prisons in 2005 were rearrested or had their supervision revoked over a three year period. This figure reflects a 16% decline compared to historic Bureau of Prisons rates of recidivism and compares favorably to the rate of 67.8 percent average rate across the largest states.
The staff in the Bureau of Prisons work with inmates from the first day of incarceration to prepare for a successful return to the community; these efforts are paying off.
The complete USSC report can be viewed here: http://www.ussc.gov/news/press-releases-and-news-advisories/march-9-2016