First the bad news: Nearly a quarter of state prisoners in Virginia — or 23.4 percent — land back in the prison system within three years of getting out.
And that’s edged slightly upward in recent years: It’s up from 22.8 percent three years ago.
But now the good news: The state’s recidivism rate is now the lowest in the nation, according to a new report from the Virginia Department of Corrections.
In recent years, Oklahoma has had the best recidivism rate of the 45 states that use the three-year metric, said Tama Celi, the Department of Corrections’ chief of research policy and planning.
But this time around, she said, Virginia’s rate grew a bit slower than the Sooner State’s did — leaving the Old Dominion with the lowest re-incarceration rate in the country.
At a news conference Tuesday, Gov. Terry McAuliffe touted the state’s new ranking — crediting his administration’s strategies in helping inmates reintegrate back into society upon leaving prison.
“Since the beginning of my administration, we have aggressively pursued policies and initiatives that rehabilitate incarcerated individuals, so they can develop the tools and skills to be successful,” McAuliffe said.
The Department of Corrections’ numbers are based on those released from the state prison system in the 2012 fiscal year. Of 11,496 state prisoners released that year “with the opportunity to recidivate,” 2,687 landed back in the state prison system within three years.
The new report focuses only on “state-responsible inmates” — those convicted of felonies and sentenced to a year or more. But it counted those inmates whether they physically served that time in a state prison or a local jail.
Those who died upon their release or who were immediately sent to the custody of another state’s judicial system were not factored into the rate.
There are some other crucial caveats, too.
First, the state report doesn’t count as “recidivists” people who have been re-arrested on a new felony but whose cases have not yet gotten to trial within the three-year window.
That means that variations in arrest rates and prosecutions across the country — as well as the speed of each state’s court system — could play a role in the rates and rankings.
“The states’ different legal systems could definitely have an impact,” Celi said. She added that some states — including Virginia — count probation violators who go to prison as recidivists while some other states don’t.
Also, people aren’t deemed recidivists unless their new crime is a felony and they got more than a year to serve. Those convicted on a variety of misdemeanor crimes — including DUIs, simple assault and batteries and drug crimes — aren’t included in the rate.
The study found significant disparity in the recidivism rates between those serving their “state-responsible time” at state prisons versus local jails.
Those released from a Department of Corrections facility had re-incarceration rates of 20.9 percent within three years, the report stated. That was significantly better than the 27.7 percent rate for those serving that state time at a local jail.
Some cities’ jails are better than others at educating inmates and treating the mentally ill, Celi said. “Some localities are better able to help,” she said. “Some localities have a lot of resources, and others don’t.”
The state prisons “take a longer term approach” and “can give more specialized treatment and programming,” she said.
McAuliffe’s office said that Department of Corrections’ inmates get training, education and work programs, resource fairs, veterans’ programs and state identification cards through a partnership with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
“The staff in our facilities … work diligently to help offenders make better choices,” DoC Director Harold Clarke said in a statement. “These are our neighbors. These are our fellow citizens. These are people and families who need a second chance.”
Dujardin can be reached by phone at 757-247-4749.
