Comparing Arrests to Court Filings

This report examines the feasibility of using arrests recorded in the Washington State Patrol (WSP) database as a measure of sex offender recidivism.

Comparing Charges Filed to Convictions

This report examines the extent to which the original charges filed in a Washington State Superior Court felony sex offense case differ from the final convictions.

How Sex Offenders Differ From Other Felony Offenders

This report describes how offenders sentenced in Washington State superior court for felony sex offenses differ from those sentenced for other felony offenses.

Initial Sentencing Decision

This report describes how sex offenders sentenced to prison, jail/community supervision, and SSOSA differ.

Introducing the Study Series

This introduction describes the sentencing process, study questions, and data sources.

Measuring Recidivism

This report explains the rationale for the selected follow-up and adjudication periods used to measure recidivism.

Recidivism Rates

This report describes the recidivism rates of Washington State sex offenders.

Washington's Offender Accountability Act: A First Look at Outcomes

The 1999 Washington State Legislature passed the Offender Accountability Act (OAA) to affect how the state provides community supervision to adult felony offenders. To determine whether the OAA results in lower recidivism rates, the Legislature directed the Institute to evaluate the impact of the Act. This report provides an initial opportunity to examine the effect of the OAA's first year of operation on short-run recidivism rates.

Involuntary Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators: Comparing State Laws

In 1990, the Washington State Legislature passed a new form of involuntary commitment for sex offenders identified as “sexually violent predators” (SVPs). This law permits the state to retain custody of individuals found by a judge or jury to pose risks for reoffending. Since Washington’s enactment, 16 other states have adopted similar laws. Texas requires outpatient treatment rather than confinement; Pennsylvania law pertains only to 20-year-olds “aging out” of the juvenile system.

This paper summarizes key features of the SVP laws, focusing on three questions:

• How many individuals have been held under these laws?
• How many have been released under some form of less restrictive alternative?
• What are the program costs?

Washington’s Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender Law: Was Community Safety Increased?

The 1999 Washington State Legislature passed Substitute Senate Bill 5011 to improve the process of identifying and providing additional mental health treatment for mentally ill offenders who are being released from the Department of Corrections (DOC), who pose a threat to public safety, and agree to participate in the program. A “Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender” (DMIO) is identified in the legislation as a person with a mental disorder who has been determined to be dangerous to self or others. The legislation also directs the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (Institute) and the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training (WIMIRT) to evaluate the Act to determine:

• Whether criminal recidivism or inpatient hospitalization was reduced;
• Whether mental health, drug/alcohol, case management, housing assistance, and other services were improved;
• Whether the risk assessment tool assessing dangerousness was valid; and
• Whether the state saved money because of early Medicaid enrollment or reduced use of DOC beds.

These outcomes were analyzed by comparing DMIO participants released from prison (DMIO participants) with a similar group of offenders from the Community Transition Study (CTS), who were released in 1996 and 1997. This study covers all offenders admitted to the program during its first two years, and who were followed in the community for 18 months after their release from prison. The DMIO program was designed to serve participants for five years after prison release; this evaluation covers the first 18 months of a 60-month program.