Fewer people released from New Jersey prisons are returning, report says
Reconvictions fall as technical parole violations drive most returns to custody
People released from state prisons in New Jersey are getting sent back at historically low rates, with just 6% of those freed in 2021 reincarcerated after a new conviction within three years, according to a recently released state report.
About a quarter of the more than 4,100 people released that year ended up back in custody, but not because they committed new crimes. Instead, they returned because they violated their parole or probation. Only about 3 in 50 are going back because of a new criminal conviction.
That’s a big drop from 2011, when the reconviction rate reached about 12%, according to the report released April 1 by the New Jersey Department of Corrections that tracked people released in 2021 for three years. Agency administrators attributed the drop in part to the “continued effectiveness of the department’s rehabilitation and reentry initiatives.”
“The data suggests that efforts to support and provide resources for individuals during their reintegration process may be yielding positive results, though there is room for further improvement, particularly in the immediate months following release,” the report reads.
The state’s Democratic governor agreed.
“I know firsthand that this kind of work can reduce crime and improve lives,” Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a former federal prosecutor, said in a statement accompanying the report. “While there is more work to be done, New Jersey is moving in the right direction, and we will continue these programs that are proven to strengthen public safety.”
The state corrections department, which has about 7,000 employees and a $1 billion budget to care for its 14,000 prisoners, is legally mandated to create and release recidivism studies so it can measure the effectiveness of the state’s reentry programs.
Current data can be hard to find, but the Garden State’s falling rates seem in line with the national average, according to a study from the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments.
Nationally, reincarceration rates have tumbled over the last decade, falling from 35% to 28%.
And New Jersey is one of eight states, including California, New York, and Massachusetts, that has watched its reincarceration rate drop by 30% or more over that time.
“As a result, 72 out of every 100 people released today do not return to prison within 3 years, compared with 65 a decade ago, about 30,000 fewer people returning to prison each year,” the study says.
“Public safety is most effectively strengthened when rehabilitation is at the heart of our mission,” said Department of Corrections Commissioner Victoria Kuhn in a written statement.
“By prioritizing successful reintegration, accountability, and a robust offering of educational, vocational, substance use, mental health, and social services, coupled with reentry wraparound resources, the NJDOC directly contributes to the safety and stability of our communities,” she added.
Despite the progress, the report also highlighted some trouble spots, specifically, the rise in the number of people who returned to prison after a so-called “technical parole violation.”
That number was 36% in 2011. By 2021, it had risen to 66%.
“The overwhelming majority of reincarcerations for both genders stemmed from violations of parole or probation conditions,” the report said. “This underscores the importance of tailoring rehabilitation programs, support services, and reentry strategies to address the specific needs and circumstances of different gender groups who are under supervision at release.”
Department of Corrections administrators also believe the COVID-19 pandemic, which created a trial backlog, may have influenced the spike in technical parole violations, especially considering that other indicators plummeted.
For instance, reconviction rates fell precipitously in the state, with men seeing a 27% decrease since 2011 and women’s rates dropping by 21%.
Reincarceration similarly fell, with men’s rates dropping by 19% and women’s falling by 33%.
Former prisoners who finished a Residential Community Reintegration Program had the lowest reoffending rates, with only 12% getting sent back to prison within three years.
Beyond that, more than half of those who completed a vocational education program while they were locked up were employed at some point in the next three years. And 86% of prisoners who took a mandatory education program passed the High School Equivalency Test.
The report also noted that nearly all of the recidivists were men; women accounted for just 3%.
About a third of the recidivists were between 30 and 40 years old, and 76% of the men who returned to jail did so because of a supervision violation, the report said. About 8% were readmitted after a violent offense, 7% because of a weapons charge, and 4% because of drugs.
Among women, about 9 in 10 were jailed because of a supervision violation.
The overall recidivism rate has also dropped, falling to 25% in 2021 from 31% in 2011.
“The data indicates a substantial decline in reoffending events over the last 10 cohort years,” the report said.
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Steve Janoski is a multi-award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Post, USA Today, the Associated Press, The Bergen Record and the Asbury Park Press. His reporting has exposed corruption, government malfeasance and police misconduct