Here's how Utah is trying to lower its criminal recidivism rate, according to a new report
by Bridger Beal-Cvetko ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- Utah has a lower rate of people under "correctional control" than much of the nation, according to a new report.
- The state spends more per inmate each year compared with neighboring states, the Utah Foundation's report found.
- Nearly 5% of the state's budget is allocated for criminal justice and public safety agencies.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah has a lower rate of people under "correctional control" than much of the nation but spends more per inmate each year compared with neighboring states, according to a new report.
The Beehive State has also seen its recidivism rate fall slightly in recent years, according to the report, published last week by the Utah Foundation. The report found that more than 30,000 Utahns "are under some form of correctional control," meaning they are incarcerated in a jail or prison, or are out on probation or parole.
Just over 900 Utahns are under some form of correctional control out of every 10,000 residents, the report found, which is lower than every other state in the Mountain West and lower than the national average of 1,688 per 10,000 residents.
"We're looking pretty good if that's all you're looking at," said Ashley Marshall-Cantor, research analyst and report author. "But when we look at how much we spend per inmate per year, Utah spends more than most other mountain states. ... The average across the U.S. is $57,000, and you can see Utah at the striking price tag of $79,000 per year, and that's each individual inmate. ... That's more than some people's income."
Utah lawmakers appropriated $1.42 billion for criminal justice and public safety agencies for this fiscal year, accounting for 4.6% of the entire state budget, the report notes. One study estimates that $10 of social costs are incurred for every dollar spent on corrections.
How Utah tracks reoffenders
The foundation's report is titled "Breaking the Cycle: Recidivism and Reentry in Utah," and focuses on addressing policies around helping formerly incarcerated people reenter communities.
"Recidivism, the tendency for someone to re-offend and end up back in prison after release, is one of the clearest ways to measure whether the criminal legal system is meeting its goals," the report states. "But recidivism is tracked differently from state to state, and even Utah has used multiple definitions over time."
This difference has made it difficult to track recidivism rates across — and even within — states over time. For example, Utah's Department of Corrections reported a 16.9% recidivism rate in 2019 while defining recidivism as a person "returning to prison for a new conviction within three years of their previous release," according to the report. But the same department also reported a different recidivism rate of 59% for that same year under a different definition that counted any return to prison within three years.
Lawmakers codified the first definition in 2023, meaning people who return to prison for a technical violation of parole or those who commit another minor offense but avoid prison time do not count.
Utah has a larger share of its incarcerated population who are in prison because of such technical violations, according to foundation President Shawn Teigen.
"We have one of the largest proportions that are in jail or in prison because of technical violations," he said. "So, we exclude them in our recidivism rate, but we put the hammer down on this technical violation things — we're more likely to throw people back (in prison)."
The report notes that some would like to see a broader definition, but limitations in linking data on new convictions with corrections and data from the Board of Pardons and Parole make that difficult. Even if that were fixed, the broader definition would make it harder to compare data from Utah with other states, many of which use a similar definition, according to the report.
How to reduce recidivism
Utah already has several programs in place meant to reduce the rate of reoffenders, and the report shows that the rate has decreased only slightly in the past decade — while noting that differences in data collection and definitions can make for imperfect comparisons.
Eighteen percent of those released from prison in a 2022 cohort reoffended within three years, down from 19% in 2012, according to Marshall-Cantor.
She noted that Utah "starts reentry planning on Day 1 of incarceration" by offering classes on basic life skills and training in various trades.
"Another great thing that they are doing right now is important documents such as birth certificates and social security cards are printed for inmates upon release and just given to them for free, so that is not an additional barrier to getting employment and housing," she said.
The report also highlighted several other states that have seen more dramatic decreases in recidivism: California, Oklahoma, Oregon and South Carolina. It credits California with lowering its rate by shifting some low-level offenders from state prisons to county jails, allowing "for more localized rehabilitation programs." Oklahoma adopted "individualized case planning" for those in the criminal justice system.
"In 2017, risk and needs assessments and individualized case plans became required for every inmate to ensure they received the treatment they needed," the report said of the Sooner State. "Physical and psychological examinations were also expanded at this time. Programming and treatment could then be personalized to the inmate. This high-touch level of care ensures that no inmate gets left behind."
South Carolina also provides an individualized plan for inmates, and its Legislature passed a reform bill in 2010 reducing penalties for some less-serious drug offenses, expanding release options and bolstering "community supervision."
"Since the reforms, the state has saved nearly $500 million, closed six prisons, and seen a decline in the crime rate," according to the report.
The report concluded that reclassifying certain crimes to lower offenses can help, but only if it's paired with more supports to help with mental health, substance use and employment support.
"Lowering the classification of an offense without those supports in place does not reduce reoffending," it states. "It simply changes how an offense is labeled, while leaving the underlying behavior unaddressed. Meaningful reform requires both accountability and the tools that help people actually change course."
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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Bridger Beal-Cvetko
Bridger Beal-Cvetko is a reporter for KSL. He covers politics, Salt Lake County communities and breaking news. Bridger has worked for the Deseret News and graduated from Utah Valley University.