Findings and analysis from a research study concerning the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend (recidivism) in Nebraska has been presented to the Nebraska Supreme Court, distributed to state senators, and posted on the Judicial Branch Website.

The study, commissioned by the Supreme Court Administrative Office of Probation, is a comprehensive evaluation of recidivism rates among ex-offenders who have successfully completed probation in Nebraska.  The study found that recidivism following probation is low for both high-risk and low-risk offenders and has remained stable over the past seven years.

“The hard work Probation has done over the last several years is paying off. This study reinforces that we are on the right track,” said Deb Minardi, Deputy Probation Administrator, who oversees Adult Community Corrections.

A University of Nebraska/Lincoln research team under the direction of Law and Psychology professor Dr. Richard Wiener studied Nebraska court records to determine that between the years 2006 and 2012, recidivism for those successfully discharged from probation was low with only 14.2% committing additional serious crimes.

The findings from the evaluation will help inform the Nebraska court system when evaluating probation programming success, as well as guide public policy in the Nebraska Legislature and communities.

According to Dr. Wiener, “When we analyzed combined databases from Nebraska Probation and the Nebraska courts, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that the overall rate of recidivism as defined by the Nebraska Supreme Court was low and stable across time.”

Data was gathered from court records for individuals who completed probation between January 1, 2006, and January 1, 2012.  Highlights of the study include:

1. Recidivism for those successfully discharged from probation was low with only 14.2% committing additional serious crimes.  
2. Of the 65,058 probationers reviewed, only 9,260 (14.2%) had records of additional serious criminal misdemeanor or felony convictions in Nebraska 3 years after their probation completion date, and the rate of recidivism remained stable over the 7-year window varying from a low of 13.9% to a high of 14.8% showing less than 1 percentage point of fluctuation.
3. When breaking down the observed recidivism rate according to assessed risk level for those who had committed felony and serious misdemeanor offenses, observed recidivism ranged from a low of 7.1% for the very low risk ex-offenders to a high of 32.2% for the very high-risk ex-offenders. For the majority of this sample in the low to high risk group, only 14.5% recidivated. Overall, the recidivism rate for those who committed serious crimes was 20%.
4. For those who had originally committed felony and serious misdemeanor offenses, recidivism stayed at 20% despite increasing assessed risk levels over the years.

The full 8-page report can be found on the Judicial Branch Website: Recidivism Rates for Nebraska Adult Probationers: 2006 to 2012, Richard L. Wiener, PhD. 

Download the report here.