FISCAL NOTE TO

SENATE, No. 1639

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 16, 1997

      Senate Bill No. 1639 of 1996 would implement a recommendation by the Joint Task Force to Study the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, in its June, 1995 report by requiring the Commissioner of Corrections to establish a program to record and analyze the recidivism of all inmates who are released from the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC). The program would record the arrests and any subsequent convictions of inmates for five years following their release. It would then analyze the recidivism information to determine its relationship to inmate characteristics, the crimes for which they were incarcerated, types of treatment provided and conditions of parole. The commissioner is also directed to compare the recidivism of ADTC inmates with that of inmates released from the State's general prison population and inmates released from specialized sex offender programs in other states. The commissioner would be required to report the results of the recidivism study to the Governor and the Legislature.

      The Department of Corrections states that in order to comply with the requirements of the bill, it will be necessary to obtain information which includes a record of arrests for all offenses committed by releases for a period of five years and any convictions resulting from these arrests. The data will then be analyzed for differences and correlations based on criminal histories, personal characteristics, treatment, conditions of parole, and other relevant factors. The department notes that assuming information is readily available from the Division of Criminal Justice, Department of Law and Public Safety, it would be able to use current resources to accomplish this task. No additional funding would be required.

      With regards to the task of performing a comparative analysis of New Jersey's recidivism rates and patterns of releases to that of other jurisdictions with specialized programs for sex offenders, these comparisons may be difficult because definitions of recidivism, return rate, sex offender and other key variables differ among jurisdictions. As a result, comparisons may not be valid.

      The Office of Legislative Services concurs.

This fiscal note has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.