WA- Sex Offender Sentencing in Washington State: Recidivism Rates

August 2005:

SUMMARY
This report describes the recidivism rates of Washington State sex offenders.

Findings

• Compared with the full population of felony offenders, sex offenders have the lowest recidivism rates for felony offenses (13 percent) and violent felony offenses (6.7 percent) but the highest recidivism rates for felony sex offenses (2.7 percent).

• Sex offenders who victimize children have the lowest felony recidivism rates as well as the lowest sex (2.3 percent) and violent felony (5.7 percent) recidivism rates. Rapists have the highest sex (3.9 percent) and violent felony (9.5 percent) recidivism rates. Some select populations of sex offenders in the state have been found to have much higher recidivism rates.3

• Sex offenders who complete SSOSA,4 an outpatient treatment sentence, have the lowest recidivism rates in all categories. In contrast, sex offenders sentenced to prison have the highest rates. Those sentenced to jail or community supervision have rates similar to, but slightly below, the recidivism rates of those sentenced to prison.

The relatively low “base rate” of recidivism makes it challenging to predict reoffending. Subsequent reports will cover this topic in detail.



Introduction:
The 2004 Legislature directed the Washington State Institute for Public Policy to analyze the impact and effectiveness of current sex offender sentencing policies.1 Because the topic is extensive, we are publishing a series of reports.

This report describes the recidivism rates of Washington State sex offenders. It examines the 4,091 sex offenders placed in the community from 1994 to 1998 after release from prison or jail or a community supervision sentence. Typically, news articles report sex offender recidivism with one number. This study examines recidivism from multiple perspectives, looking at the type of sex offender (child victim, rapist, sex offender with priors) and the categories of crimes after release (sex, violent, non-violent, misdemeanor).

This study defines recidivism as a conviction occurring during the first five years after release to the community. In addition, the time between the date of a recidivism offense and the conviction for that offense—the adjudication period—is taken into account. Our previous work indicates that a one-year adjudication period captures nearly all convictions.2

For the remainder of this study: by Washington State Institute for Public Policy