BJS offers a tool for understanding recidivism research
A federal research tool separates arrests, convictions and returns to prison—and explains the limits of older study data.
Published . Information can change; check the official sources before acting.
What happened?
The Bureau of Justice Statistics announced its Recidivism Patterns Explorer on January 7, 2026. It presents national studies of people released from participating state prisons in 2005, 2008 and 2012, using separate measures for a new arrest, a new conviction and a return to prison.
Why it matters
Those measures answer different questions. A return to prison can include a supervision violation, and an arrest is not a conviction. Reading the definitions helps visitors evaluate claims about reentry without treating every statistic as interchangeable.
Important limitations
The results describe older release cohorts, not people released in 2026. State coverage and follow-up periods vary by study and measure. Estimates have sampling uncertainty. These group findings do not predict an individual’s behavior or establish whether a particular program caused an outcome.
What should you verify next?
- Read “About the data” and identify the cohort, measure, states and follow-up period.
- Review the linked original study and its methods before quoting an estimate.
- Keep arrest, conviction and return-to-prison figures separate.
Original sources
Educational information, not individualized legal advice or an eligibility determination. RecordAware does not grant permission, certify eligibility or guarantee an outcome. Requirements and program availability can change; verify the linked official resources before acting.