The Risks and Needs of the Returning Prisoner Population

There is a growing interest in the threat posed by the increase in the number of prisoners released from prison each year. Some have argued that unless new services and programs are funded, the increasing waves of released prisoners will pose a major threat to public safety in general. This paper reexamines these and other issues and finds that a significant portion of released prisoners pose little if any threat to public safety and that the current parole supervision system often serves to increase rather than reduce recidivism. While released prisoners have significant social, economic, residential, and family needs, they are not sufficient to restrict their release from prison.