The Effects of Social Disorganization Mechanisms: Examining the Influence of Community-Level Factors on Recidivism Across Various Correctional Programs

Abstract

Prior research on various correctional sanctions has sought to explain variation in recidivism. The goal of the current study was to examine whether social disorganization mechanisms, such as residential mobility and family disruption, significantly influenced the recidivism rates of justice-involved individuals supervised under prison diversion programs, traditional community supervision programs, as well as individuals released from prison. Multilevel modeling of justice-involved individuals nested within 25 counties was used to examine the recidivism rates of 2,855 prison diversion cases, 2,278 traditional community supervision cases, and 497 incarceration cases. The results indicated that social disorganization mechanisms, specifically family disruption and residential mobility, significantly influenced the recidivism rates of justice-involved individuals supervised on all three types of correctional sanctions. Therefore, the results indicate that social disorganization mechanisms may partly explain the variation in recidivism rates of justice-involved individuals supervised under various correctional sanctions.