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The Response of the Criminal Justice System to Prison Overcrowding: Recidivism Patterns Among Four Successive Parolee Cohorts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

William R. Kelly  and
Sheldon Ekland-Olson
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Abstract

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Over the past decade crowded prison conditions became the subject for lawsuits across the country, resulting in restrictions on the “capacity” of prison systems in a number of states. These restrictions produced pressures throughout the criminal justice system, from arrest to release on parole. The question addressed in this research is whether these restrictions and pressures affected the probability and pattern of return to prison among parolees. Data were collected at yearly intervals from four successive cohorts of parolees in Texas. Each cohort was followed for thirty-six months to determine the pattern and probability of returning to prison. Four alternative explanations for shifts in recidivism probabilities are explored using “survival analysis” techniques. Evidence is found for reduced deterrence in addition to effects from cohort composition and administrative discretion.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , 1991 , pp. 601 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 by The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Justice. We would like to thank Hee Jong Joo, Michael Eisenberg, Jeff Olbrich, Pablo Martinez, and Eve Van Cleve for their assistance throughout the project.

References

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