DOI: 10.3886/icpsr09922.v1
title: Criminal Violence and Incapacitation in California, 1962-1988
title: Version 1

description: These data were gathered to investigate the usefulness of
 statistical methods, particularly multiple-regression analysis, in
 predicting repeat criminal activity subsequent to an individual's
 release from prison. The data collection consists of follow-up
 information, collected in 1988, on a sample of males released from
 California prisons. The follow-up study identified criminal activity
 subsequent to individuals' release from prison through 1988.
 Predictor variables include age, prior periods of arrest, history of
 drug use, seriousness of original offense, and number of arrests for
nuisance, person, property, and fraud offenses.
description: The Justice Policy Research Corporation conducted
 this study to examine the extent to which statistical models are
 useful in predicting the likelihood of repeat criminal activity after
 release from prison. The sample was chosen in the early 1960s and was
 intended to be representative of all men in California prisons at that
 time. A follow-up study was done to identify criminal activity
 subsequent to individuals' release from prison through 1988. The
follow-up study contains data on 4,897 men.
description: The original sample, selected in the early 1960s,
 contained more than 6,000 individuals. The follow-up study attempted
 to include all individuals contained in the original sample. However,
 the California Bureau of Criminal Statistics and the California Bureau
 of Criminal Investigation were not able to provide records for all
 individuals, and attrition occurred for a variety of reasons. No
 records were provided for some individuals who had died. In some
 instances the individual was not released from prison. Some records
 were unusable (e.g., missing pages). A number of records were
 "purged" from the California system if the individual had reached
 age 70 and there were no known arrests in the prior ten years. These
 sources of attrition resulted in a follow-up sample of 4,897
 individuals. Attrition may result in some sample bias. All deaths of
 individuals from the original sample may not be recorded, and
 unrecorded deaths may inflate the amount of time free without
 arrest. Complete records of out-of-state arrests were not available,
 and this may also inflate time without arrest. Purging of records
 should counteract the effects of unrecorded deaths and out-of-state
 arrests, since those remaining in the sample would tend to have had
 more arrests. The researchers compared characteristics of purged and
 retained cases and concluded that there appears to be little serious
bias associated with sample attrition.
description: Data gathered for predictor variables include age
 of the individual, prior periods of arrest, history of drug use, type
 of offense, and seriousness of offense. Data regarding criminal
 activity subsequent to release from prison include number of arrests
 for nuisance offenses, person offenses, property offenses, and fraud
offenses.
description: Response Rates: There are 4,897 members in the follow-up study 
representing 78 percent of the 6,310 members in the original sample.
description: Presence of Common Scales: None
description: The original sample was chosen to be representative of men
 in California prisons in the early 1960s. The follow-up sample is the
original sample less those cases lost due to attrition.
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Raw Data
DS2: SPSS Export File
DS3: SAS Data Definition Statements
description: Adult men released from California prisons between 1962
and 1988.