TY - JOUR
T1 - Gang Affiliation and Prisoner Reentry
T2 - Discrete-Time Variation in Recidivism by Current, Former, and Non-Gang Status
AU - Pyrooz, David C.
AU - Clark, Kendra J.
AU - Tostlebe, Jennifer J.
AU - Decker, Scott H.
AU - Orrick, Erin
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by Grant No. 2014-MU-CX-0111 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The research contained in this document was coordinated in part by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (723-AR15). The contents of this article, including its opinions, findings, and conclusions, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was supported by Grant No. 2014-MU-CX-0111 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The research contained in this document was coordinated in part by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (723-AR15). The contents of this article, including its opinions, findings, and conclusions, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2021/3
Y1 - 2021/3
N2 - Objectives: Reentry experiences for the 600,000 people released annually from federal and state prisons differ vastly. We contend that gangs, which rose to prominence alongside mass incarceration, are an overlooked source of variation in reentry experiences. Drawing on precepts from the street gang literature, we test whether patterns of recidivism differ by official and survey measures of current, former, and non-gang status. Methods: Data from a representative sample of 802 prisoners interviewed prior to their release in 2016 were linked to 36 months of post-release arrest, conviction, and imprisonment records. Survival curves and multivariable discrete-time survival analysis were used to test for differential patterns of recidivism. Results: The conditional risk of recidivism varied by gang status. Current gang members maintained the greatest risk for all recidivism types. While former gang members were more likely to get arrested than non-gang members, there were no differences in conviction and imprisonment. Official and survey gang measures mostly told the same story, although official measures appeared to be more reliable determinants of recidivism than survey measures. Conclusions: Distinguishing former from current and non-gang members is important for policy, practice, and research. These findings renew calls to understand and respond to social groups and networks like gangs for prisoner reentry.
AB - Objectives: Reentry experiences for the 600,000 people released annually from federal and state prisons differ vastly. We contend that gangs, which rose to prominence alongside mass incarceration, are an overlooked source of variation in reentry experiences. Drawing on precepts from the street gang literature, we test whether patterns of recidivism differ by official and survey measures of current, former, and non-gang status. Methods: Data from a representative sample of 802 prisoners interviewed prior to their release in 2016 were linked to 36 months of post-release arrest, conviction, and imprisonment records. Survival curves and multivariable discrete-time survival analysis were used to test for differential patterns of recidivism. Results: The conditional risk of recidivism varied by gang status. Current gang members maintained the greatest risk for all recidivism types. While former gang members were more likely to get arrested than non-gang members, there were no differences in conviction and imprisonment. Official and survey gang measures mostly told the same story, although official measures appeared to be more reliable determinants of recidivism than survey measures. Conclusions: Distinguishing former from current and non-gang members is important for policy, practice, and research. These findings renew calls to understand and respond to social groups and networks like gangs for prisoner reentry.
KW - and incarceration
KW - arrest
KW - conviction
KW - discrete-time survival models
KW - gangs
KW - prisons
KW - recidivism
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U2 - 10.1177/0022427820949895
DO - 10.1177/0022427820949895
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089780973
VL - 58
SP - 192
EP - 234
JO - Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
JF - Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency
SN - 0022-4278
IS - 2
ER -