Criminal Recidivism in Alaska: Alaska Judicial Council

January 2007:

Executive Summary:
How well does Alaska’s criminal justice system work to protect the public? What works best? What needs improvement? Can less costly alternatives more effectively promote public safety? Knowing what happens after offenders serve their sentences can help answer these questions.

This report by the Judicial Council is the first general study of recidivism in Alaska. It describes the percentages of offenders who were re-arrested, had new court cases filed, were re-convicted, or remanded to custody for new offenses or for probation or parole violations. The report shows how soon after release these events occurred, and what factors were most closely related to an increased chance that offenders would be involved again in the criminal justice system. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services funded the report.

The Council followed 1,934 offenders, all of whom were charged with at least one felony in 1999 and convicted. Of those, 59% were convicted of a felony, and 41% of a misdemeanor. This report focuses on the 1,798 offenders who had been out of custody for at least three years after they had served their sentence. The Council found that within three years after release from their sentence on the 1999 offense:

• 66% of all offenders in the sample had been re-incarcerated at least once, for a new offense or a probation or parole violation.

• 59% were arrested at least once for a new offense.

For the remainder of this paper: by the Alaska Judicial Council

A few selected highlights about sex offenders:

Sexual offenders were the group least likely to be convicted of the same type of offense that they were convicted of in the 1999 sample.

No Sexual offenders were convicted of any offense more serious than their 1999 offense.

3% of the persons who were convicted of a Sexual offense in a 1999 case had at least one new Sexual conviction.

Offenders whose 1999 felony charges resulted in conviction of a Sexual offense were among the least likely to be re-arrested, have new cases filed, be re-convicted, or return to custody.