Tougher criminal sanctions have driven up the jail and prison population for more than 25 years. After sentencing reform in the early 1980s, a flood of inmates overcrowded prisons and jails and strained state budgets. About half a million people were incarcerated in 1980, 2.3 million by 2007.
Our justice policy researchers inform and guide strategies to reduce recidivism by helping ex-offenders reenter society productively. Related research examines crime trends, assesses investigation techniques, and evaluates crime prevention programs and strategies.
More people serving time behind bars also means more people being released. About 700,000 people return home from state and federal prisons each year, and 9 million exit U.S. jails. All return to their communities with a strike against them when searching for jobs. Many lack stable housing and struggle with substance abuse or mental health problems.
Nearly two-thirds of prisoners are rearrested for a new crime within three years of their release and half are back behind bars. The statistics look better for ex-offenders who find work since they’re less likely to reoffend. And the higher their wages, the less likely they are to commit another crime. But job training in prison and such services as substance abuse treatment are limited. Less than a third of released prisoners nationwide received vocational training while incarcerated.
Jurisdictions from Maine to California are experimenting with strategies to reduce recidivism by helping ex-offenders reenter society productively. The Justice Policy Center's definitive multistate study of prisoner reentry reveals barriers to reentry, but also potential solutions.
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