SENATE, No. 1639
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED OCTOBER 28, 1996
By Senator KOSCO
An Act concerning the recidivism of sex offenders and supplementing N.J.S.2C:47-1 et seq.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Corrections shall establish a program to record and analyze the recidivism of all inmates who are released from the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, whether on parole or upon the completion of their maximum sentences. The purpose of this program shall be to assist in measuring the effectiveness of the center in providing specialized treatment to repetitive and compulsive sex offenders pursuant to N.J.S.2C:47-3.
b. The program shall record the arrests for all offenses committed by releasees for a period of five years following their release and any convictions resulting from these arrests. These data shall be analyzed to determine whether the rates and nature of rearrests and convictions differ according to the criminal histories and personal characteristics of releasees, the treatment they received at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, length of sentence, conditions of parole, and such other factors as may be relevant to the purposes of this act.
c. The program shall also perform a comparative analysis of the recidivism rates and patterns of releasees from the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center with those of persons released from this State's general prison population and with sex offenders released in other jurisdictions with specialized programs for the treatment of sex offenders.
d. The department shall prepare and disseminate to the Governor and the Legislature reports documenting the program's findings, along with any recommendations it may have for legislation to improve the effectiveness of treatment offered by the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC) at Avenel is charged with providing specialized treatment to change the behavior of persons sentenced as repetitive and compulsive sex offenders. However, as noted in the report of the Joint Task Force to Study the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center, the center does not systematically track the recidivism of former inmates. The lack of reliable recidivism data thwarts efforts to gauge the success of this specialized correctional facility or the efficacy of various treatment modalities.
This bill would implement a recommendation by the task force 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 center. 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.
Requires DOC to track recidivism of ADTC inmates.