Exploring the impacts of individual residential mobility, housing, and social disorganization on recidivism among parolees

Abstract

The impact of housing and individual residential mobility on recidivism is nuanced. Individuals may move from prosocial environments to criminogenic environments, or from neighborhoods that are more, or less, socioeconomically disadvantaged. We explore these phenomena using data on individuals on parole in the District of Columbia with community-level Census data. We hypothesize that residential mobility will affect recidivism through changes in both housing types and neighborhood characteristics. Findings suggest that people immediately placed into treatment-oriented or transitional housing had lower rates of rearrest than those in other housing situations. Results of the community-level measures of social disorganization were mixed.

Keywords:

• parole
• recidivism
• residential mobility
• homelessness
• social disorganization

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Institute of Justice [grant number 2012-R2-CX-0001].