Do the mentally ill have higher recidivism rates than the general inmate population?
According to the most recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 81 percent of mentally ill inmates currently in state prison, 76 percent of mentally ill inmates in federal prison, and 79 percent of mentally ill inmates in local jails have prior convictions. (Seventy-nine percent of other inmates in state prison, 61 percent of other inmates in federal prison and 71 percent of other inmates in local jails have prior convictions.
