About the Report The Report, Part II: Review of the Re-Entry Process:

chapters and policy statements:
About the Report of the Re-Entry Council

Policy Statement 23, Research Highlight 1

Inmates return in large numbers to a small concentration of neighborhoods that typically face many challenges with limited resources.

Most released individuals return to major metropolitan areas across the country, often to a few neighborhoods within central cities. [1]   For instance, the majority of prisoners released in Illinois returns to Chicago (51 percent); moreover, six of Chicago's 77 communities--Austin, Humboldt Park, North Lawndale, Englewood, West Englewood, and East Garfield Park--account for 34 percent of the Chicago returnees. [2]   Similarly, most Maryland releasees return to Baltimore (59 percent) and are concentrated in a few Baltimore communities (such as Southwest Baltimore, Greater Rosemont, Sandtown-Winchester, and Harlem Park). [3]   These high concentrations of returning prisoners generate substantial costs for the respective communities, including the costs associated with crime and public safety, greater public health risks, significant levels of family distress, and high rates of unemployment and homelessness. The communities to which the majority of individuals returns are often home to both the families and perhaps the victims of the released individuals. [4]  

  1. James P. Lynch and William J. Sabol, Prisoner Reentry in Perspective (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2001). back
  2. Nancy G. LaVigne et al., A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2003). back
  3. Nancy G. LaVigne et al., A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Maryland (Washington, DC: The Urban Institute, 2003). back
  4. Christy Visher et al., Baltimore Prisoners' Experiences Returning Home (Washington, DC: Urban Institute, 2004). back
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