By Aaron Falk
The Salt Lake Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — More than half of Utah’s ex-cons return to prison within three years for new crimes or technical violations, according to a new study released Wednesday, though the data mark a considerable drop in the state’s recidivism rates from previous years.
In the study by the Pew Center on the States, Utah showed one of the most dramatic improvements of any state between 1999 and 2007, after once claiming the country’s highest recidivism rate.
Among Utah inmates released in 2004, about 54 percent were back behind bars within three years, according to the study. Between 1999 and 2002, that number was a national high mark of 65.8 percent.
But while Utah remains one of just six states with recidivism rates above 50 percent, state Corrections officials say they are neither surprised nor worried by the data.
“I think it’s an encouraging sign that we are declining as sharply as we are,” said Corrections spokesman Steve Gehrke. “There are so many factors that you can’t make state-versus-state comparisons. ... But that doesn’t mean we’re just going to sit back on our laurels and think things will fix themselves.”
Utah reserves prison space for only its most serious offenders, Gehrke said. Meanwhile, roughly 80 percent of the ex-cons who returned to Utah’s prisons between 1999 and 2002 did so due to technical violations, which was the highest rate of any state.
“That’s a sign that our probation and parole agents out in the field are doing their job looking for warning signs and red flags,” Gehrke said. “If we see some warning signs that they’re having some broader struggles, then we will return them to prison. ... These are not people that are committing new crimes and leaving new victims in their wake.”
The Pew Center study found nationally about 43 percent of prisoners released in 2004 had returned to prison by 2007, only a slight improvement from the 45.4 percent who returned to prison between 1999 and 2002 despite substantial corrections spending.
Minnesota claimed the highest rate at more than 61 percent, while Wyoming and Oregon had the lowest with rates around 25 percent.
The yearly state and federal spending on corrections has grown to about $52 billion, a nearly 300 percent increase over the past 20 years, according to the Pew Center.
With recidivism rates largely unchanged, Pew Center officials said state leaders must rethink their public safety policies.
The Pew Report calculated that the 41 states that provided 2004 data could save $635 million combined in one year if recidivism rates dropped 10 percent.
“We know so much more today than we did 30 years ago when prisons became the weapon of choice in the fight against crime,” Adam Gelb, of the center’s Public Safety Performance Project, told the Associated Press. “There are new technologies and new strategies that research has shown can make a significant dent in return to prison rates. There are fewer and fewer policymakers who think that spending more taxpayer money to build more prisons is the best way to reduce crime.”
Utah Corrections officials have made a concerted effort over the past four years to prepare prisoners for parole as soon as they enter prison, Gehrke said. State lawmakers this year also set aside about $3 million in funding to pay for a 300-bed center for parole violators, which will help keep low-level offenders from returning to prison, Gehrke said. Alt Heads:
54% of ex-cons return to prison Prison’s in and out
Utah made one of the most dramatic improvements in recidivism rates between 1999 and 2007, according to a new study. But Utah remains one of just six states with a recidivism rate above 50%.
The Utah State Prison in Draper. A new study shows that more than half of Utah’s ex-cons return to prison within three years for new crimes or technical violations, though this marks a considerable drop in the state’s recidivism rates.