BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS | Office of Justice Programs | U.S. Department of Justice

Summary | NCJ 249743 | June 2016 May 2015

Recidivism of Offenders Placed on 

Federal Community Supervision in 2005: 

Patterns from 2005 to 2010

I

n fiscal year 2005, nearly 43,000 offenders were placed on 

federal community supervision. About a quarter (23%) 

had been sentenced to probation, and the remainder 

(77%) were on supervision following release from prison. 

New arrests

Within 1 year of their placement on community supervision 

in 2005, about 1 in 5 of the federal offenders (18%) had been 

arrested at least once. Within 3 years, nearly twice as many 

offenders (35%) had been arrested at least once. And, within 

5 years, approximately 2 in 5 of the offenders (43%) were 

arrested at least once, although the type of arrests while on 

supervision varied by federal and nonfederal (i.e., state and 

local) charges. 

Public order offenses, such as probation violations, 

accounted for 90% of first arrests for federal offenses, 

followed by drug (6%), property (2%), and violent (1%) 

offenses. For nonfederal offenses, public order offenses 

accounted for 33% of first arrests, followed by property 

(23%), violent (21%), and drug (21%) offenses. 

About the offenders

More than a third (38%) of the federal offenders were 

sentenced to community supervision in 2005 for a drug 

offense. About a quarter (24%) of the federal offenders had a 

property crime as their most serious conviction offense, and 

an additional quarter (24%) had committed a public order 

offense that resulted in community supervision. The majority 

(80%) of the offenders were male. More than a third (41%) of 

the offenders were white and nearly a third (31%) were black. 

Approximately 30% of the offenders were age 29 or younger 

and about 40% were age 40 or older. 

Before being placed on federal community supervision, 

the offenders were arrested about 210,000 times by federal, 

state, and local law enforcement agencies. Nonfederal law 

enforcement agencies accounted for about three-quarters 

(76%) of all the prior arrests, with federal law enforcement 

agencies responsible for the remaining prior arrests. Seventy 

percent of federal offenders had at least one prior nonfederal 

arrest, and 35% had four or more prior nonfederal arrests 

before being placed on community supervision.

Comparing federal and state offender 

recidivism patterns

Regardless of demographic characteristics or the number 

of prior criminal offenses, federal prisoners placed on 

community supervision consistently had lower rates of 

recidivism than state prisoners. Among federal prisoners 

conditionally released from federal prison in 2005, almost 

half (47%) were arrested within 5 years, compared to more 

than three-quarters (77%) of state prisoners released on 

community supervision in 2005. Federal prisoners (32%) 

also returned to prison less often than state prisoners (59%) 

during that time period. 

Within 5 years of placement on community supervision, 

less than a third (30%) of federal prisoners had two or 

more arrests, compared to more than half (57%) of state 

prisoners. More than a third of federal prisoners (37%) had 

a nonfederal arrest and nearly a third (29%) had a federal 

arrest within 5 years following their release. Seventy-five 

percent of state prisoners had a nonfederal arrest and 4% 

had a federal arrest during that time period. Overall, 67% 

of all new arrests among released federal prisoners were for 

nonfederal charges, compared to 98% among state prisoners.

The full report (Recidivism of Offenders Placed on Federal Community 

Supervision in 2005: Patterns from 2005 to 2010 NCJ 249743), related 

documents, and additional information about the Bureau of Justice 

Statistics can be found at www.bjs.gov.

Cumulative percent of offenders placed on federal 

community supervision in 2005 who were arrested for 

a new crime, by type of arrest, 2005–10

Note: Nonfederal arrests consist of those made by state and local law 

enforcement agencies. Offenders could have a federal arrest, a nonfederal arrest, 

or both. 

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Recidivism of Offenders Placed on Federal 

Community Supervision in 2005 data collection.

Percent of oenders

Time from release to rst arrest

0

10

20

30

40

50

Any arrest

Nonfederal arrest

Federal arrest

6 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years months