Rural Iowa Sex Offender Enhancement Program

Rural Iowa Sex Offender Enhancement Program

Offender Recidivism Analysis

This report is a supplement to the final progress report submitted by the Iowa Department of Corrections, February 2005, under U.S. Department of Justice, Grant #2002-Y0447-IA-WP. The purpose of this report is to analyze recidivism data for the time from when the sex offenders first entered the enhancement program through November 30, 2005.

Analyses

The analyses that follow include a total of 79 sex offenders, 40 in the first district and 39 in the second district.

The sex offender population was primarily male and Caucasian. Three females were included in the study, all of whom were Caucasian. The average age at referral was 32.1 years; with only one offender under the age of 18 and three over the age of 60.

While the majority of offenders were referred to the sex offender enhancement program because of a sex-related crime, ten percent were under supervision for failure to register as a sex offender and another 35.4 percent were under supervision for other crimes but were referred to the enhancement program because of past sex-related offenses or crimes which were deemed to have a sex-related component. Misdemeanors comprised the majority of the convicted offenses (58.2%). Four of the six parolees had been convicted of a felony. The following table shows the convicted offense by supervision.

Table 1 – Offense by Supervision Status

Offense	Parolees		Probationers		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Felony	4	66.7%	29	39.7%	33	41.8%
Misdemeanor	2	33.3%	44	60.3%	46	58.2%
Total	6	100.0%	73	100.0%	79	100.0%

A majority of offenders (62%) had at least one prior conviction. Of the prior convictions, most were misdemeanors; nearly one-third were sex-related crimes. Two of the prior sex-related crime convictions were committed by offenders under supervision for a sex crime; thirteen were committed by offenders under supervision for another offense. Nine of the offenders (two in the first district and seven in the second district) had served prior prison sentences.

Table 2 - Criminal History

	1st District		2nd District		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
No convictions	16	40.0%	14	35.9%	30	38.0%
Prior convictions	24	60.0%	25	64.1%	49	62.0%
Total	40	100.0%	39	100.0%	79	100.0%

Prior Convictions
Felony	7	29.2%	8	32.0%	15	30.6%
Misdemeanors	17	70.8%	17	68.0%	34	69.4%
Total Convictions	24	100.0%	25	100.0%	49	100.0%

Prior Sex Crimes	6	25.0%	9	36.0%	15	30.6%

Recidivism Data

For the purpose of this study, recidivism was defined as any new arrest, new conviction or revocation of supervision.

The potential amount of time at risk for recidivism for sex offenders in this study ranged from 322 days to 1057 days. Average actual time at risk was 824 days or 2.26 years. In calculating this time at risk, any time spent incarcerated was subtracted from total possible time at risk. Recidivism data were collected for offenders from the time they entered the sex offender enhancement program until November 30, 2005.

Table 3 – Recidivism Data by District

	1st District (N=40)		2nd District (N=39)		Total (N=79)
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Any New Arrest	12	30.0%	14	35.9%	26	32.9%
Any New Conviction	10	25.0%	12	30.8%	22	27.8%
New Sex Arrest	1	2.5%	3	7.7%	4	5.1%
New Sex Conviction	1	2.5%	2	5.1%	3	3.8%
Return to Prison	3	7.5%	8	20.5%	11	13.9%

Results show that slightly less than 14 percent were returned to prison either on new charges or on parole/probation violations, approximately one-third of the participants were charged with a new offense and three were convicted of a new sex offense. A slightly higher rate of recidivism was found for the second district compared to the first district.

These findings appear to differ from previous Iowa data for sex offenders on parole and/or probation, which indicated less than two percent of sex offenders were convicted of new sex crimes and around 25 percent encountered new other criminal charges within 2.2 years of release. It can be noted that recidivism varied depending on the offense for which the offender was under supervision and that the highest recidivism rates were found for those offenders who were under supervision for failure to register. The following table shows recidivism data by the class of crime under supervision.

Table 4 – Recidivism by Offense under Supervision

	Sex Related Offense (n=43)		Fail to Register (n=8)		Other Offenses (n=28)
	n	%	N	%	n	%
Any New Arrest	8	18.6%	4	50.0%	14	50.0%
Any New Conviction	7	16.3%	4	50.0%	11	39.3%
New Sex Arrest	2	4.7%	1	12.5%	1	3.6%
New Sex Conviction	2	4.7%	0	0.0%	1	3.6%
Return to Prison	4	9.3%	1	12.5%	3	10.7%

New arrests were primarily for misdemeanor offenses. The table below shows the most serious new arrest by supervision status.

Table 5 – Most Serious New Arrest by Class and Supervision

	Felony		Misdemeanor		Total
	n	%	n	%	N
Parolees	1	25.0%	3	75.0%	4
Probationers	8	36.4%	14	63.6%	22
Total	9	34.6%	17	65.4%	26

Results show that the majority of new arrests were for a misdemeanor which is consistent with the offenses for which probationers were placed on supervision (see Table 1). Although the majority of parolees were placed on supervision for a felony conviction, they too were more likely to be arrested for a misdemeanor than a felony.

Most offenders were placed in Sex Offender Programming with the goal of helping offenders learn to control their deviant behaviors and learn pro-social skills. In this intervention, treatment, intensive supervision, and accountability are combined to enhance community safety. While treatment is individualized, most offenders attend cognitive-behavioral group treatment. Participation in the sex offender program reached approximately 65 percent, with a completion rate of 45 percent. The recidivism table below shows recidivism rates by completion of the sex offender program.

Table 6 – Recidivism by Sex Offender Program Completion

1st District		New Arrests		New Convictions		New Sex Arrest		New Sex Conviction		Return to Prison
	total	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
completed requirements	9	2	22.2%	1	11.1%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
still in program	12	3	25.0%	3	25.0%	1	8.3%	1	8.3%	0	0.0%
partial completion	7	2	28.6%	2	28.6%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	14.3%
did not participate	12	5	41.7%	4	33.3%	1	8.3%	0	0.0%	2	16.7%
Totals	40	12	30.0%	10	25.0%	2	5.0%	1	2.5%	3	7.5%
2nd District		New Arrests		New Convictions		New Sex Arrest		New Sex Conviction		Return to Prison
	total	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
completed requirements	14	2	14.3%	2	14.3%	1	7.1%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
still in program	4	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%
partial completion	5	2	40.0%	1	20.0%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	2	40.0%
did not participate	16	10	62.5%	9	56.3%	2	12.5%	2	12.5%	6	37.5%
Totals	39	14	35.9%	12	30.8%	3	7.7%	2	5.1%	8	20.5%

There appears to be a direct relationship between sex offender program completion and recidivism with lower rates for those who completed the program and the highest rates for those that did not participate. All returns to prison were offenders who either partially completed or did not participate in the program.

Another way to consider the recidivism findings is to look at the time these offenders were in the sex offender enhancement program. The enhancement program for the second district ended July 15, 2004; however, the enhancement program for the first district is still in place with 12 offenders still under enhanced supervision as of November 30, 2005. Time under enhanced supervision ranged from 20 days to 1049 days. The Table below shows recidivism rates by time under enhanced supervision for three time periods, 6 months, 12 months and over 12 months.

Table 7 – Recidivism by Time under Enhanced Supervision

1st District		New Arrests		New Convictions		New Sex Arrest		New Sex Conviction		Return to Prison
	total	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
6 months	9	5	55.6%	3	33.3%	1	11.1%	0	0.0%	1	11.1%
12 months	13	5	38.5%	5	38.5%	1	7.7%	1	7.7%	1	7.7%
over 12 months	18	2	11.1%	2	11.1%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	5.6%
Totals	40	12	30.0%	10	25.0%	2	5.0%	1	2.5%	3	7.5%
2nd District		New Arrests		New Convictions		New Sex Arrest		New Sex Conviction		Return to Prison
	total	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
6 months	11	5	45.5%	3	27.3%	1	9.1%	1	9.1%	2	18.2%
12 months	9	5	55.6%	5	55.6%	2	22.2%	1	11.1%	2	22.2%
over 12 months	19	4	21.1%	4	21.1%	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	4	21.1%
Totals	39	14	35.9%	12	30.8%	3	7.7%	2	5.1%	8	20.5%

Recidivism rates for the two districts show a different pattern. In the first district the longer an offender was under enhanced supervision the less likely he/she was to re-offend. On the other hand, in the second district, the highest rate of recidivism appears to be for those offenders who were under enhanced supervision between six and 12 months, the lowest rate of recidivism occurring for the group under enhanced supervision over 12 months.

Current Supervision Status

Most of the sex offenders who participated in the rural sex offender enhancement program have been discharged or moved to other supervision statuses; 12 remain under the first district’s enhanced supervision. The table below shows supervision status as of November 30, 2005.

Table 8 – Supervision Status as of November 30, 2005

	1st District		2nd District		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Discharged	17	42.5%	24	61.5%	41	51.9%
Enhanced Supervision	12	30.0%	0	0.0%	12	15.2%
In Prison	2	5.0%	5	12.8%	7	8.9%
Other Supervision	1	2.5%	6	15.4%	7	8.9%
Residential Facility	3	7.5%	0	0.0%	3	3.8%
Unsupervised Probation	0	0.0%	3	7.7%	3	3.8%
Absconded	3	7.5%	0	0.0%	3	3.8%
Interstate Compact	2	5.0%	0	0.0%	2	2.5%
Pretrial Release	0	0.0%	1	2.6%	1	1.3%
Total	40	100.0%	39	100.0%	79	100.0%

Conclusions

It is difficult to draw any definitive conclusions from the data in light of the small study sample. However, the following may be noted.

Recidivism rates were slightly higher than those found for a prior sex offender sample. Offenders under supervision for failure to register had the highest recidivism rates.

The lowest recidivism rates in this study were found for those having successfully completed the sex offender intervention program. The highest rates were found for those who did not participate.

The length of time under enhanced supervision suggests a connection between supervision and recidivism. The lowest recidivism rates were found for those offenders who were under enhanced supervision longer than 12 months, with no new sex offenses reported in this group.