The Effects of Intensive Postrelease Correctional Supervision on Recidivism: A Natural Experiment

In July 2018, the Minnesota Department of Corrections revised the criteria it uses to place soon-to-be-released prisoners on intensive supervision by shifting from mostly offense-based conditions to those based exclusively on risk. In doing so, this policy change provided a unique opportunity to eva...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCriminal justice policy review Vol. 32; no. 7; pp. 740 - 763
Main Authors Duwe, Grant, McNeeley, Susan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2021
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Cost benefit analysis
Intervention
Offenses
Prisoners
Recidivism
Reforms
Risk
Supervision
Violent crime
intensive supervision
recidivism
risk
parole
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Summary:In July 2018, the Minnesota Department of Corrections revised the criteria it uses to place soon-to-be-released prisoners on intensive supervision by shifting from mostly offense-based conditions to those based exclusively on risk. In doing so, this policy change provided a unique opportunity to evaluate not only the impact of intensive supervision on recidivism but also whether risk-based policies lead to better outcomes. Using Cox regression and negative binomial regression on a sample of 1,818 persons released in 2018, we found that intensive supervised release (ISR) significantly reduced the hazard for general, felony, and violent reoffending. We also found, however, that ISR significantly increased the risk of a technical violation revocation. The findings from our cost–benefit analysis showed that, despite the relatively high costs it incurred, ISR was a cost-effective intervention because it reduced reoffending for those with a higher risk of committing serious, violent crimes.
ISSN:0887-4034
1552-3586
DOI:10.1177/0887403421998430