Recidivism Two out of Three Inmates Return to System within Three Years   The Bureau of Justice Statistics has released a study titled "Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994." It reports on the re-arrest, reconviction, and re-incarceration of former inmates who were tracked for three years after their release from prisons in fifteen states in 1994. The report found that 67 percent of inmates released from state prisons in 1994 committed at least one serious new crime within three years. That is 5 percent higher than among inmates released in 1983. The rate at which inmates released from state prisons commit new crimes rose from 1983 to 1994, a time when the number of people behind bars doubled, according to a Justice Department study released recently.   A good analysis by Fox Butterfield of this study appeared in the New York Times. Here are some of the major points of the article:     - Only about 15 percent of state prison inmates are enrolled in academic or rehabilitation classes.     - The report indicates that the first year after an inmate is released is critical to his or her success in returning to civilian life.   For example, the study found that two-thirds of the inmates who were re-arrested were re-arrested within twelve months of their release.       - The recidivism rate of 67.5 percent in three years confirms earlier studies, dating back to the 1960s, which have all                 found that re-arrest rates of American prisoners tend to hover at about two-thirds within the first three years after release.     - These findings have occurred even as the philosophy of the day has shifted from rehabilitation to getting tough on crime       to deterrence, with seemingly little difference in the outcome.     - The report found that people who commit crimes involving money are more likely to be re-arrested than those committing        homicide or rape.   The recidivism rate of 70 percent for robbers and 74 percent for burglars, compared with 41 percent for those whose previous crime was homicide and 46 percent for those whose previous crime was rape.   The New York Times,June2002 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/03/national/03CRIM.html?tntemail1   The complete study can be found at the Department of Justice website: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm   Study of Recidivism in Faith-Based Prison Available Online   In the last issue of the e-Report, I mentioned a study by Dr. Byron Johnson that studied recidivism at two prisons in Brazil, one faith-based and the other vocation-based. The study found that while recidivism was reduced at both prisons, it was significantly lower at the faith-based prison (36 percent to 16 percent).   The report is now available online at the Texas Correction's Association's website. Go to http://www.txcorrections.org/article.pdf.   Veggies As a Tool for Rehabilitation?