Corrections_Today_September_October_2020_Vol.82_No.5

Recidivism

Cost analysis results As all programs eventually boil down to total cost, a comparison of the costs of the three post-prison options proved beneficial. Table 3 tabulates the mean cost incurred per inmate over the duration of the study. Five distinct time segments with associated mean total costs are displayed. The segment labeled First Release represents the mean number of days in prison from first intake until first prison release. Finished ACC represents the mean number of days spent in the ACC (where applicable) after release. Finished Parole represents the mean number of days spent on street parole after first release from prison (where

average, 148 fewer days in prison than those who discharged with no supervision. A graphical display of the prison days data clearly shows that the main reason for the overall differences in the mean total prison days is that, on average, ACC par- ticipants are released from prison far sooner than the typical street parolee or sentence jammer (see Figure 1). This vast difference in earlier release is not offset by the higher prison days utilized subsequent to return to prison among the ACC group. So, even given higher traditional re- cidivism numbers, Wyoming’s ACC participants consume fewer prison days than the two other release op- tions by a wide margin.

applicable). Average street parole duration for offenders who went through the ACC program was not available. Mean parole time for all parolees was used as a proxy. This potentially over/underestimated the days spent on parole for both the ACC and street parole groups. Re- turn to Prison represents the mean number of days unsupervised after their first release until returning to prison (there is no cost associated with this segment). End of Study represents the mean number of days in prison after returning to prison up to the end of the study period. The prison days count ends at the three- year mark (1,095 days) after first release. Note that some individuals

Figure 1: Mean Prison Days by Supervision Type

Figure 1: Mean Prison Days by Supervision Type

1050

End of Study

1000

First Release

Return to Prison

950

End of Study

900

End of Study

First Release

850

Return to Prison

No Supervision Street Parole ACC

800

Mean Prison Days

First Release

750

Return to Prison

700

650

600

500

700

900

1100

1300

1500

1700

1900

2100

2300

Mean Days Tracked

Corrections Today September/October 2020 — 59