Race, Education, Employment, and Recidivism among Offenders in the United States: An Exploration of Complex Issues in the Indianapolis Metropolitan Area

Susan Klinker Lockwood, John M. Nally

Indiana Department of Correction, Indianapolis, United States of America

Taiping Ho

Ball State University, Indiana, United States of America

Abstract:

It is a general assumption that ex-offenders would likely fall into a life of crime if they could not find a job after release from prison. Prior studies showed that African American ex-offenders would have a higher recidivism rate because they would likely return to urban neighborhoods characterized by poverty, unemployment, and crime. The present researchers conducted a 5-year follow-up study of 3,869 released offenders in an attempt to analyze the effect of post-release employment on recidivism. This study's results clearly indicated that post-release employment was the most influential factor on recidivism, regardless of the offender's ethnicity. Unemployment was the most influential factor to recidivism, regardless of an offender's race and education.

Keyword:

Race, Education, Employment, Recidivism, Offenders, the United States.