Racial Disparities

Tracking recidivism can provide necessary information to support successful integration into the community following a prison sentence – which promotes community and public safety. Furthermore, understanding the individuals who are more likely to recidivate, and assessing demographic differences amongst the years can provide even more knowledge for supporting successful reentry.

Rates of recidivism have been commonly used as a key measure for public safety and in assessing the effectiveness of the criminal justice system – sentencing, jails, prisons, community supervision, treatment and reentry programming. There is continued interest in tracking recidivism rates beyond a three-year follow up. Tracking long-term recidivism can provide information for supporting incarcerated individuals and promoting their success to reintegrate into the community following a prison sentence.

Jail populations continue to be under-evaluated and under-researched. While there is a plethora of research on correctional incarcerated populations, there is a need to better assess jail populations as more people interact with this incarcerated institution than any other carceral facility. To evaluate long-term booking rates in Washington, the Washington Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) applied for and received the 2021 State Justice Statistics (SJS) grant from Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Under this grant from BJS, the SAC will draw on data from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC)’s Jail Booking and Reporting System (JBRS) to evaluate the evaluate the racial and sex similarities and differences among individuals booked in jail.

This project will draw on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC)'s Jail Booking and Reporting System (JBRS) to evaluate the potential demographic disparities by rates of days in jail and by rates of recidivism.