3 Months after Release: Parolees, Expirees, Etc, Figure 11. Performance of Misdemeanants on Work Release 28.8% A & R's 12 13.6% 2.4% .8% 7.2% 6 9 12 Months after Release: Abaconds & Revokes (A&R's) -32 drawn primarily from the groups that ordinarily go out as expirees and conditional releasees. The work releasees appear in other words, to be a high-risk group. Recommendation To provide better information on the effects of work release on recidivism, it is essential to follow up with two kinds of research: 1) The Department should conduct one or more controlled experiments which randomly assign work release eligibles to control and experimental statuses. The latter should include several varieties of work release experience and settings. Comparison of the outcomes among controls and the several experimental groups should provide relatively. precise information on the effectiveness of work release with various kinds of offenders in different kinds of work release programs or settings. 2) The Department should develop parole success probability measures to assist in the evaluation of programs in which controlled experimental designs are not feasible. In addition to assessments in terms of recidivism, future work release should examine the cost-effectiveness of the work release program. Costs of the program should be analyzed against new correctional costs, earnings in the program, reductions in relief costs and effects on post-release earnings. Publication Stuart Adams and Joseph B. Dellinger, InProgram and Post-Release Performance of Work Release Inmates: A Preliminary Assessment of the Work-Release Program, pp. 23, March 1969. -33 14) A STUDY OF FELONS AND MISDEMEANANTS Purpose and Method In April 1966, the D.C. Department of Corrections inaugurated a Work Release Program to provide in-community employment experience for felony offenders prior to release on parole or at expiration of sentence. A similar program was started in March 1967 for misdemeanant offenders. This report presents a general analysis of the first 16 months' operation of the program. Findings Population Movement: Between April 1, 1966, and July 31, 1967, a total of 156 felony offenders and 125 misdemeanants moved into and out of the program. Felony offenders averaged 11.3 weeks on the program; misdemeanants were on the program for an average of 6.0 weeks. Program Completions: Felons: Of the 156 felony offenders, a total of 50 left the program by absconding or being revoked for rule or law violations. Virtually all these 50 cases were returned to a D. C. Corrections institution within a short time to serve an average of 4.2 months additional time. Of the remaining felony offenders, 71 were released to parole and 35 went out by expiration of term. of Program Completions: Misdemeanants: the 125 misdemeanants, a total of 36 were lost to the program because of absconding or revocation. These 36 offenders were reincarcerated for an average of 3.0 months before release by expiration of term. Of the remainder, 6 went out on parole, 67 by expiration of sentence, 10 by suspension of sentence, 2 by payment of fine, 2 by doctor's request, and 2 by the offender's own request. Court-Ordered Misdemeanants: Among the 125 misdemeanants, 51 had been ordered into the Work Release Program by the sentencing court. There were no absconders and only 7 revokees -34 among the 51 court-order cases. 12-Month Follow Up: Felons: To evaluate the Work Release Program, a twelve-month follow-up was made of all cases in both the felon and misdemeanant categories (including absconds and revokees after second release) to ascertain numbers of bookings back into the D.C. Jail. For the felony offenders, the parolees and expirees showed a total of 24 cases (15.4% of the 156) booked at the end of 12 months. of the absconds and revokees, a total of 15 cases (9.6% of the 156 cases) had been booked back at 12 months. 12-Month Follow-Up: Misdemeanants: For the misdemeanants, the parolees and expirees showed a total of 18 cases (14.4% of the 125) booked at the end of 12 months. Of the abscondees and revokees, a total of 8 cases (6.4% of the 125) had been booked back at 12 months. In the category of "other" (own request, Doctor's request, etc.) a total of 5 cases (4.0% of the 125) had been booked back at 12 months. Earnings: The felony offenders earned a total of about $108,200 during their time in the program, averaging approximately $61 per week. The misdemeanants earned a total of $44,764, for an average of about $60 per week. Weekly earnings for the 51 court-ordered misdemeanants were $4.00 per week higher than the earnings of the average misdemeanant in the program. Recommendations Several recommendations appear appropriate on the basis of the findings of this study: 1) Counselor caseloads at the Work Release Program should not exceed 25 men; 2) educational or trade training programs should be included in Work Release on a more intensive basis; 3) small community-based hostels or half-way houses should be established to house the Work Release Program, which should be move out of the D.C. Jail; and 4) the Work Release Program should have ready access to contractual medical and psychological services. Publication -35 Joseph B. Dellinger and Stuart Adams, A Study of Felons and Misdemeanants in Work Release Prior to August 1, 1967, pp. 31, April 1969 15) THE IMPACT OF INSTITUTIONALIZATION ON Purpose and Method A study was made of the attitudes and functioning of 170 inmates in a medium security prison. This institution, located in the midwest, enjoys a reputation for progressiveness and has available a full complement of treatment resources. The subjects were divided about equally into four groups: 1) beginning firsttermers, 2) first-termers about one year after sentence, 3) recidivists beginning a new term, and 4) recidivists about one year into the current term. Attention focused on attitudes toward law and law enforcement, aggression, masculine self-concept, guilt, anxiety, concern about independence of functioning, and flexibility of thinking. Findings Inmates institutionalized for one year differed significantly from those institutionalized for one week on only one characteristic -- inmates institutionalized one year had lower guilt scores. Recidivists differed significantly from first-termers by showing less favorable attitudes toward law and law-enforcement and less inclination to cooperate with other persons generally and with other persons in authority particularly. Recidivists also tended to be more suspicious, more prone to assaultiveness, more concerned with their independence, and less given to feelings of guilt. |