Around one-third of the prisoners that were released by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic wound up back in prison.
That rate of recidivism was reported by CalMatters based on data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
The backstory: From April 2020 to December 2021, California officials let around 14,800 people out of prison, saying at the time that it was to protect against the spread of COVID-19.
The big picture: The data shows that around 4,600 of the inmates that were released had returned to prison as of Jan. 31, according to the report.
- Thirty of the released inmates ended up back in prison for first or second-degree murder offenses.
- Illegal gun possession was the top reason for recidivism at 14%, followed by assault at 10% and burglary at 9%.
- Other offenses included vehicle theft, second-degree robbery and domestic abuse, which all came in around 5% of cases.
Go deeper: CalMatters reported that 23% of the people who were released early during the COVID-19 pandemic returned to prison within three years.
- That’s higher than the 17% recidivism rate within three years of release for inmates who were let go in 2019 to 2020, which was the most recent recidivism report from the CDCR.
What they’re saying: CDCR spokesperson Albert Lundeen told CalMatters that the higher recidivism rate was not uncommon.
- “People eligible for expedited release were non-serious/non-violent, a demographic with a higher tendency to recidivate,” Lundeen said. “It is expected that return rates for this subgroup would be higher than overall recidivism rates.”
