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Recidivism

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Recidivism—the act of repeating an undesirable behavior despite having suffered negative consequences for that behavior—is most often associated with criminal behavior and substance abuse. RAND research explores how to reduce reoffending among former convicts in the adult and juvenile justice systems.

Research Brief
Supportive Housing Program Broke the Jail-to-Homeless Cycle and Mostly Paid for Itself
The Just in Reach Pay for Success program diverted people with a history of homelessness from Los Angeles County jails into permanent supportive housing. It achieved a one-year housing stability rate of 82 percent. And most of its costs were offset by a reduction in the use of other county services.
Aug 16, 2022
Research Brief
A More Accurate Way to Predict Recidivism Risk in Background Checks
Roughly 30 percent of people in the United States have criminal histories, so exclusions resulting from background checks can foreclose job and other opportunities for many. But what if it were possible to show that some people pose a low risk of recidivism?
Jan 6, 2022

Explore Recidivism

Report
Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of LA DOOR: A Proposition 47-Funded Program in Los Angeles: Cohort 2 Final Evaluation Report
The authors discuss the Los Angeles Diversion, Outreach, and Opportunities for Recovery program, which uses a health-focused preventative approach to engage those at risk of misdemeanors related to substance use, mental illness, or homelessness.
May 24, 2023
Research Brief
Wraparound Services Are Key to Helping Justice-Involved Los Angelenos Get and Keep Jobs
A team of researchers from the RAND Corporation and Harder+Company Community Research partnered with the Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Reentry to evaluate Cohort 2 of Project imPACT. This brief highlights program implementation and outcome findings.
May 12, 2023
Report
Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of Project imPACT — A Proposition 47–Funded Program in Los Angeles: Cohort 2 Final Evaluation Report
This report presents findings related to individuals served by Project imPACT, an employment-focused reentry program, between June 2020 and September 2022, demonstrating how service providers helped Fellows achieve several of the program's goals.
May 12, 2023
Blog
Reflecting on the Pandemic, RAND Turns 75, Labor Trafficking: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, 75 years of influential RAND research, reducing labor trafficking in the United States, and more.
May 12, 2023
Blog
RAND Turns 75: A Look Through the Decades At World-Changing Research
From anticipating the Space Age in the 1940s to studying gun policy and COVID-19 responses in the 2020s, RAND is celebrating 75 years of research that has made a difference.
May 8, 2023
News Release
Providing Legal Counsel at Initial Bail Hearings Reduces Use of Cash Bail, Lowers Incarceration
Providing defendants with legal counsel during their initial bail hearing decreases use of monetary bail and pretrial detention, without increasing the likelihood that defendants fail to appear at the subsequent preliminary hearing.
May 5, 2023
Journal Article
Failing to Follow the Rules: Can Imprisonment Lead to More Imprisonment Without More Actual Crime?
We find that people involved in low-level crime receiving a prison sentence are more likely than those with non-prison sentences to be re-imprisoned due to technical violations of parole, rather than due to new crimes.
Mar 30, 2023
Report
Promising Services for Justice-Involved Youth: A Scoping Review with Implications for the Los Angeles County Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act
The authors of this report provide a review of the literature that evaluates programs for youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system to identify promising and effective practices, describing implications for Los Angeles County.
Jan 5, 2023
News Release
L.A. Program to Divert Homeless from Jail into Supportive Housing Decreases Use of County Services
A program that diverts some people with a history of homelessness from Los Angeles County jails into permanent supportive housing can significantly lower taxpayer spending on services such as hospital care and shelter use.
Aug 16, 2022
Report
Just in Reach Pay for Success: Impact Evaluation and Cost Analysis of a Permanent Supportive Housing Program
This report examines a Los Angeles County initiative to provide long-term housing and supportive services as an alternative to jail for individuals with a history of homelessness and chronic behavioral or physical health conditions.
Aug 15, 2022
Report
Evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Correction's Career Navigators Program: Final Report
The authors conducted an independent process and outcomes evaluation of the Minnesota Department of Corrections' Career Navigators program, which aimed to help people with educational and career opportunities before and after being incarcerated.
Feb 15, 2022
Blog
Extremism and Substance Use Disorder, Criminal Background Checks, Vaccine Diplomacy: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the parallels between extremism and substance use disorder, a better way to measure recidivism risk, global vaccine diplomacy, and more.
Jan 7, 2022
Report
How Different Sampling Methods Paint Vastly Different Pictures of Recidivism, and Why It Matters for Policy
In this paper, the authors argue that the recidivism statistics cited most often in debates about the collateral consequences of conviction overrepresent the behaviors of frequent recidivists and so are not appropriate evidence in those debates.
Jan 6, 2022
Report
Providing Another Chance: Resetting Recidivism Risk in Criminal Background Checks
The authors propose the reset principle that anchors assessments of recidivism risk at the time of a background check rather than the time of conviction, as current methods derived from the criminal justice context do.
Jan 6, 2022
Report
Final Evaluation of LA DOOR: Proposition 47 Grant Program
In this report, the authors summarize their findings from an evaluation of Cohort 1 of the Los Angeles Diversion, Outreach, and Opportunities for Recovery program.
Sep 30, 2021
Journal Article
A Better Path Forward for Criminal Justice: A Report by the Brookings-AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform
In this volume, experts offer policymakers with analysis and recommendations to support sustained, bipartisan reforms to move the criminal justice system toward a more humane and effective footing.
Sep 1, 2021
Research Brief
Helping Los Angelenos Involved in the Criminal Justice System Get and Keep Jobs
Project imPACT is a City of Los Angeles program that helps individuals find employment after they are released from prison. Participants may also receive behavioral health and legal services. An evaluation of the program offers important lessons about its successes and challenges.
Aug 16, 2021
Report
Project imPACT Cohort 1 Final Local Evaluation Report
The authors summarize findings from a process and outcome evaluation of Cohort 1 of Project imPACT, an employment program for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system, which provided services from July 2018 to December 2020.
Aug 16, 2021

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RAND Topic:
Recidivism

Topic Synonyms:
Re-Offend;
Repeat Offender

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Marika Booth

Statistical Analyst

Marika Suttorp Booth (she/her) is a statistical analyst at the RAND Corporation. Her current projects include systematic reviews and meta-analysis of social health determinants and robotic bariatric surgery. She analyzes the impact of socio-economic and disability status on STAR ratings and is…
Shawn D. Bushway

Adjunct Policy Researcher

Shawn D. Bushway is an adjunct policy researcher at the RAND Corporation and a professor at the University at Albany (SUNY), where he received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship.

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