The U.S. Sentencing Commission reports a significant reduction in the likelihood of recidivism for offenders who completed the Residential Drug Abuse Treatment (RDAP) Program or the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program.. RDAP completers had lower rates of recidivism, compared to eligible offenders who did not complete or participate in the program. Less than half of RDAP Completers (48.2%) recidivated in the eight-year follow-up period of this study, compared with 68 percent of RDAP non-participants.
RDAP completers were 27 percent less likely to recidivate compared with eligible non-participants. Non-residential completers had lower recidivism rates compared to offenders who did not complete or participate in the program. Nearly half (49.9%) of offenders who completed NRDAP recidivated during the study period, compared to over half (54.0%) of NRDAP non-participants. The report is the fifth in a series continuing the commission's detailed examination of recidivism by federal offenders released in 2010.