U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics
Fact Sheet

Profile of Nonviolent Offenders Exiting State Prisons

October, 2004 NCJ 207081

Tables prepared by

Matthew R. Durose   
BJS Statistician

Christopher J. Mumola
BJS Policy Analyst  
               
This report provides a description of the general characteristics of prison
populations serving time for nonviolent crimes as they exit State prisons.
Nonviolent crimes are defined as property, drug, and public order
offenses which do not involve a threat of harm or an actual attack upon a
victim. Typically, the most frequently identified nonviolent crimes
involve drug trafficking, drug possession, burglary, and larceny.

To conduct this analysis, BJS utilized data collected under two statistical
programs   the National Recidivism Reporting Program which last
collected data on those discharged from prisons in 15 States in 1994 and
the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities last conducted in
1997. The survey was based on a nationally representative sample of
inmates. This report examines the responses of inmates who indicated to
interviewers that they  expected to be released within 6 months.  

Offense Characteristics of Nonviolent  Prison Releasees

*  About 3 out of 4 inmates leaving State prisons had been convicted of a
nonviolent crime (table 1).  Property offenders and drug offenders each
accounted for about a third of those exiting prisons.

*  The single largest offense category of nonviolent offenders discharged
from prisons was drug trafficking, accounting for nearly 1 in 5
nonviolent releasees (table 2).

Demographic Characteristics of Nonviolent Prison Releasees

*  An estimated 9 of 10 nonviolent offenders discharged from prison were
male and about two-thirds were under age 34 (tables 3, 4).

*  Overall, about two-thirds of nonviolent releasees were racial or ethnic
minorities.

*  Just over 4 in 10 released nonviolent prisoners had less than a high
school education and an additional 1 in 4 had received a GED.

*  Nearly two-thirds of nonviolent offenders discharged from prisons
indicated they had been using illegal drugs in the month preceding the
commitment offense and about 4 in 10 reported using drugs at the time
of the offense (table 5).
  
*  About 1 in 4 nonviolent releasees were alcohol dependent prior to
imprisonment, and a third were using alcohol at the time of the offense.

Criminal History Characteristics of Nonviolent Prison Releasees

*  An estimated 95% of nonviolent releasees had an arrest history
preceding the arrest which resulted in their imprisonment (table 6).

*  More than 80% of those nonviolent offenders released from prison have
a prior conviction history.

*  On average, the RAP sheets of nonviolent offenders discharged from
prison indicated 9.3 prior arrests and 4.1 prior convictions.

*  Among nonviolent offenders, about a third had a history of arrests for
violent crimes. One in five had a self-reported history of convictions for
violence (table 7).

*  On average, nonviolent offenders discharged had received a sentence of
about 52 months and had served an average of 16 months, about a third
of their sentence, prior to discharge (table 8).

*  About 8% of nonviolent offenders used a weapon during the current
offense (table 9).

*  In the aggregate, nonviolent offenders awaiting release from prison
were largely serious offenders as indicated by several criteria. An
estimated 88% of these offenders reported one of the following: 
--use of a weapon in the current offense (8%)
--a prior violent conviction (22%)
--committing the current offense while on probation, parole, or escape (64%)
--two or more prior sentences (65%).

Recidivism of Nonviolent Prison Releasees

*  Within 3 years of their release from prison, about 7 in 10 nonviolent
releasees were rearrested for a new crime; nearly half were reconvicted;
and more than a quarter were returned to prison (table 10).

*  Among nonviolent releasees, about 1 in 5 were rearrested for a violent
crime within 3 years of discharge (table 11). 

End of file
pm  10/5/04