Return to the Scene of the Punishment: Recidivism of Adult Male Property Offenders on Felony Probation,1986-1989

Abstract

Felony probation has become a prominent alternative for overcrowded prisons in the United States. Using a national sample, the results of this felony probation study indicate a recidivism rate of 31.2 percent among male property offenders sentenced to felony probation. Extending past research, we also look at White, Black, and Hispanic male probationers separately. Recidivism among White, Black, and Hispanic felony probationers is 25, 35.8, and 39.8 percent, respectively. More importantly, following prior studies of recidivism using state-level samples, equations were designed to examine the influence of race, ethnicity, drug abuse history, age, marital status, education level, employment history, prior felony convictions, probation term, and supervision level on felony rearrests. Overall, this study indicates that supervisors of felony property offenders need to pay particularly close attention to those probationers with a drug-abuse history, who have shorter probation sentences, and, perhaps, to those who are older.