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Washington State Institute for Public Policy

All of WSIPP's research is published on our website. The Publications page includes every report we've released—from our founding in 1983 to the present. Each report entry includes the title, publication date, abstract, any available supplemental materials, and a downloadable PDF.

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Publications

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Recidivism: The Effect of Incarceration and Length of Time Served (Archived)

Open Publication PDF

Lin Song, Roxanne Lieb - September 1993

The effect of prison or jail sentences on recidivism is an important issue to those concerned with public safety and the cost-effectiveness of putting convicted offenders in prison. This paper summarizes theories and empirical studies on the effect of sentencing on recidivism. Study findings indicate that for some offenders, incarceration and longer confinement seem to increase the risk of recidivism. For other offenders, the likelihood of re-offense will either be unaffected or reduced by longer terms of incarceration. Furthermore, early-release programs do not appear to affect overall recidivism rates.

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