Recidivism of Sex Offendes Released from Prison in 1994

from data on first releases (forexample, percent of sentence served),Michigan was excluded from all tablesbased on first releases.Analysis of statutory rape lawsThe publication’s analysis of statutoryrape laws in the United States benefittedgreatly from the report “SexualRelationships Between Adult Malesand Young Teen Girls: Exploring theLegal and Social Responses,” bySharon G. Elstein and Noy Davis,American Bar Association, Center onChildren and the Law, October 1997.Sampling errorIn 1994 State prisons in 15 Statesreleased 302,309 prisoners altogether.A total of 38,624 were sampled for arecidivism study. Results of that studyand information regarding samplingand other methodological details areavailable in the BJS publication Recidivismof Prisoners Released in 1994,NCJ 193427, June 2002.The 302,309 total released consistedof 10,546 released sex offenders plus291,763 released non-sex offenders.The 38,624 sample consisted of10,546 released sex offenders plus28,078 released non-sex offenders.The number of sex offenders in thesample was the same as the number inthe 302,309 total because all sexoffenders released in 1994 in the 15States were selected for the study, nota sample of them.Because no sampling was used toselect sex offenders, numbers andpercentages in this report for sexoffenders were not subject to samplingerror. However, comparisons in thereport between sex offenders andnon-sex offenders were subject tosampling error because sampling wasused to select non-sex offenders.Where sex offenders were comparedto all non-sex offenders released in1994, sampling error was taken intoaccount. All differences discussedwere statistically significant at the .05level.Not all 10,546 sex offenders in thesample were used in the report. To bein the report, the sex offender had tobe male and meet all 4 of the followingcriteria:1. A RAP sheet on the prisoner wasfound in the State criminal historyrepository.2. The released prisoner was alivethroughout the entire 3-year followupperiod. (This requirement resulted in 21sex offenders’ being excluded.)3. The prisoner's sentence was greaterthan 1 year (missing sentences weretreated as greater than 1 year).4. The State department of correctionsthat released the prisoner in 1994 didnot designate him as any of the followingrelease types: release tocustody/detainer/warrant, absentwithout leave, escape, transfer, administrativerelease, or release on appeal.A total of 9,691 released male sexoffenders met the selection criteria.The number of them released in eachState is shown in the appendix table.Other methodological detailsTo help the reader understand thepercentages provided in the report,both the numerator and denominatorwere often given. In most cases, thereader could then reproduce thepercentages. For example, the reportindicates 38.6% (3,741) of the 9,691sex offenders were returned to prison.Appendix table. Number of sexoffenders released from State prisonsin 1994 and number selected for thisreport, by StateSex offendersreleased fromprison in 1994Selectedto be inState Total this reportTotal 10,546 9,691Arizona156 122California 3,503 3,395Delaware 53 45Florida 1,053 965Illinois775 710Maryland 277 243Michigan 477 444Minnesota 249 239New Jersey 449 429New York 799 692North Carolina 508 441Ohio824 606Oregon452 408Texas708 692Virginia263 260Note: "Total released" includes both male andfemale sex offenders; "Total selected to be inthis report" includes only male sex offenders.Using the 3,741 and the 9,691, thereader could exactly reproduce theresults. However, the reader should beaware that in a few places, the calculatedpercentages will differ slightlyfrom the percentages found in thereport. This is due to rounding. Forexample, 43.0%, or 4,163, of the 9,691sex offenders were rearrested;however, 4,163 / 9,691 is 42.96%,which was rounded to 43.0%.Offense definitions and other methodologicaldetails are available in the BJSpublication Recidivism of PrisonersReleased in 1994, NCJ 193427, June2002.Recidivism of Sex Offenders Released from Prison in 1994 39