Parole, Desistance from Crime, and Community Integration (2008)

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Committee on Community Supervision and Desistance from Crime Committee on Law and Justice Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education 

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS  500 Fifth Street, N.W.  Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Govern- ing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer- ing, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropri- ate balance. This study was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Justice. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or rec- ommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project. International Standard Book Number-13:  978-309-11081-5 International Standard Book Number-10:  0-309-11081-5 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area); Internet http://www.nap. edu. Printed in the United States of America. Copyright 2008 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Suggested citation: National Research Council. (2008). Parole, Desistance from Crime, and Community Integration. Committee on Community Supervision and Desistance from Crime. Committee on Law and Justice, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Acad- emy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding en- gineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineer- ing programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is presi- dent of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Insti- tute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sci- ences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Coun- cil is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org 



COMMITTEE ON COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AND DESISTANCE FROM CRIME JOAN PETERSILIA (Cochair), School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine RICHARD ROSENFELD (Cochair), Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri, St. Louis RICHARD J. BONNIE, University of Virginia School of Law ROBERT D. CRUTCHFIELD, Department of Sociology, University of Washington MARK A.R. KLEIMAN, Department of Public Policy, University of California, Los Angeles JOHN H. LAUB, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland CHRISTY A. VISHER, Justice Policy Center, The Urban Institute, Washington, DC CAROL PETRIE, Study Director EUGENIA GROHMAN, Senior Project Officer LINDA DePUGH, Administrative Assistant  

COMMITTEE ON LAW AND JUSTICE 2006-2007 JAMES Q. WILSON (Chair), Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles PHILIP J. COOK (Vice Chair), Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University DAVID H. BAYLEY, School of Criminal Justice, University of Albany, SUNY RICHARD J. BONNIE, Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, University of Virginia Law School MARTHA CRENSHAW, Department of Political Science, Wesleyan University ROBERT D. CRUTCHFIELD, Department of Sociology, University of Washington JOHN J. DIIULIO, JR., Institute of Government, University of Pennsylvania STEVEN N. DURLAUF, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison JOHN A. FEREJOHN, Hoover Institution, Stanford University ARTHUR S. GOLDBERGER, Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison BRUCE HOFFMAN, Director, Washington Office, RAND Corporation ROBERT L. JOHNSON, Chair of Pediatrics, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School JOHN H. LAUB, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland TRACEY L. MEARES, School of Law, University of Chicago TERRIE E. MOFFITT, Institute of Psychiatry, University of London MARK H. MOORE, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University RUTH PETERSON, Department of Sociology, Ohio State University RICHARD ROSENFELD, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis ROBERT J. SAMPSON, Department of Sociology, Harvard University JEREMY TRAVIS, President, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York CHRISTY VISHER, Justice Policy Center, The Urban Institute, Washington, DC CAROL PETRIE, Director BETTY CHEMERS, Senior Program Officer LINDA DePUGH, Program Associate vi 

Contents Preface ix Executive Summary 1 1 Introduction and Background 7 2 Dimensions of Desistance 19 3 Parole: Current Practices 32 4 Services and Programs for Releasees 40 5 Criminal Justice Institutions and Community Resources 63 6 Conclusions, Recommendation, and Research Agenda 72 References 83 Appendixes A Workshop Agenda 97 B Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff 100 vii 



Preface Because the United States has the highest rate of imprisonment in the industrialized world, it also has the highest number of offenders—more than 600,000—returning to their communities, mostly cities, every year. Unfortunately, more than one-half of all released offenders will return to prison within 3 years of their release. The proportion of released offenders who return to prison has changed very little over the past three decades. It is in broad public interest to provide services and treatment in prison and as part of community supervision that will reduce the rate of recidivism—the return to prison for parole violations or the commission of new crimes. Reductions in recidivism would simultaneously reduce state corrections costs and improve community safety. In this volume we attempt to pull together what is known from research about various models of community supervision designed to reduce recidi- vism and promote desistance from crime. We identify gaps in the research literature, and we discuss how currently available resources might best be used to improve community supervision outcomes. This report is based in part on a workshop held by the Committee on Community Supervision and Desistance from Crime in January 2006. Four leading scholars presented papers to stimulate and guide the committee’s discussion of traditional and new models of community supervision. The committee owes much to their work: David Farabee of the University of California Los Angeles; Faye S. Taxman of Virginia Commonwealth Uni- versity; David B. Wexler, University of Arizona and University of Puerto ix 

 PREFACE Rico; and Pamela K. Lattimore, University of South Carolina and Research Triangle Institute. The committee’s work was also aided by the workshop discussants, who represented a distinguished group from the research and practice communities: Michael Jacobson, Vera Institute in New York City; Martin Horn, commissioner, New York City Department of Corrections; Tom LeBel, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Sharon Neumann, assistant deputy director, Community Sentencing Division, Oklahoma Department of Corrections; Jennifer L. Skeem, University of California, Irvine; Honorable Cindy Lederman, administrative judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Juvenile Division, Miami-Dade County, Florida; Peggy B. Burke, Center for Effective Public Policy, Silver Spring, Maryland; and Jeremy Travis, president, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York City. The committee is grateful to all of these wonderful scholars and practitioners whose papers and com- ments provided such a sound foundation for this report. The committee also offers grateful thanks to Glenn R. Schmitt, acting director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) at the time the workshop was held. He not only facilitated funding for the committee’s work, but also gave unstintingly of his time and shared his ideas with the committee and workshop participants. The committee also thanks Thomas Feucht, assis- tant director for research and evaluation at NIJ for his invaluable support for this project, and Patrick Clark, acting director of the evaluation division at NIJ, who first broached the idea of focusing on desistance and the ways in which community supervision could foster less or zero offending among those released from prison. The successful reintegration of former prisoners is one of the most formidable challenges facing society today. We hope that this volume will be of practical use to both the research and corrections communities in helping released offenders to desist from crime and become fully integrated and law-abiding citizens. This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in mak- ing its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Shawn Bushway, Program on the Economics of Crime and Justice Policy, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany, State University of New York; Michael E. Ezell, Department of Sociology, Vanderbilt University; Julie Horney, Office of the Dean, School of Criminal Justice, University at 

PREFACE xi Albany, State University of New York; Lila Kazemian, Department of So- ciology, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/City University of New York; Michael D. Maltz, Criminal Justice and Information and Decision Sciences (emeritus), University of Illinois at Chicago; Ray Paternoster, Department of Criminology, University of Maryland, College Park; Alex R. Piquero, John Jay College of Criminal Justice/City University of New York; Steven Raphael, Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley; and Amy L. Solomon, The Urban Institute, Wash- ington, DC. Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Alfred Blumstein, The H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Carnegie Mellon University. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was respon- sible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution. Joan Petersilia and Richard Rosenfeld Cochairs, Committee on Community   Supervision and Desistance from Crime