Report says over a quarter of released Arkansas inmates are re-incarcerated

LITTLE ROCK -- A new report shows that more than a quarter of inmates released from the Arkansas Department of Community Correction were re-incarcerated within three years.

The department's analysis shows an estimated 28.5 percent of the 5,115 inmates released between 2008 and 2010 were re-incarcerated within three years, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The agency's deputy director, Dina Tyler, said the report helps officials "determine if we're on the right track."

"We are able to unpack and look in there to see what we have," Tyler said. "Let's say that we know females have a lower recidivism rate than males. We know that we've got to do something to address the males specifically because something's not working."

The report comes at a time when the state's prisons and other detention facilities are at overcapacity.

The number changes daily, but data show there are almost 21,000 state inmates.

The department's "Measuring Recidivism" report was compiled internally by researchers using data gathered from its Electronic Offender Management Information system and from the Arkansas Crime Information Center's Uniform Crime Reporting Program.

"We need to know what is going on," Tyler said, "How do you know if what you're doing is working if you don't measure it? This is a jumping-off point for us. You have to start somewhere."

According to the report, of the inmates who were released from 2008 and 2010, more than 77 percent were white; around 68 percent were male; almost 50 percent were between the ages of 20 and 29; 58.5 percent held a high school diploma; and almost 48.5 percent were single.

Only 19.4 percent who were released were black and 2.2 percent were Hispanic.

State Desk on 06/25/2015

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