Recidivism In State Prisons

A two-year study conducted in Seattle, 819 female victims of sexual assault, were interviewed about their history of psychiatric disorders. The study found that over 10% of these women diagnosed schizophrenia disorders, and an additional 6 percent diagnosed with bipolar disorder or severe depression, were more likely to have been sexually assaulted by a stranger, attacked by multiple assailants, and severely injured during the attacks. These same women were also more likely to have been homeless or to have spent time in jail than those without mental illness. The author concluded that “sexual assaults in women with a major psychiatric diagnosis are common” and “more violent” compared to women without such diagnoses (Eckert, 2002). In Baltimore, data on physical and sexual abuse collected for one year

Limited research has been done to directly quantify the cost of recidivism among prisoners with mental illness. However, several studies of state prison systems have examined recidivism rates within this population. One study of the largest state prison system in the country, Texas, examined the probability of returning to prison among recently released inmates with major psychiatric disorders over a six-year period. The researchers found that formerly incarcerated persons that suffer from major psychiatric disorders; major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and nonschizophrenic psychotic disorders were substantially more likely to be reincarcerated, especially inmates with bipolar disorder. Specifically, detained individuals with psychiatric disorders were found to be 2.4 times more likely to have four or more repeat incarcerations than convicted offenders with no history of mental illness. The numbers rise to 3.3 for inmates with bipolar illnesses (Baillargeon et al.