Understanding recidivism in Alaska through simulation

In Alaska, recidivism levels are at around 66.41 percent, with two-thirds of the individuals in question returning to custody within the first six months of their release.

The state's Department of Corrections webpage defines recidivism as any return to custody within the first three years of their release.

Considering those numbers alongside the 3,900 individuals released back into Anchorage and the 882 released in the Mat-Su in 2018- It is possible that 2,900 of those people will wind up back in prison, at least once, by 2021.

The US Attorney's office and Mat-Su Reentry Coalition hosted an exercise on Wednesday which allows participants to take part- playing the role of recently released ex-prisoners.

The program is meant to provide a clearer picture of what it's actually like for the people that are struggling to reenter society. According to Mat-Su Reentry Coalition Coordinator Barbara Mongar,

"Some people get out of prison with absolutely no funds available to them," she told KTUU. "Some people also lost their ID, their social security cards ... These are real problems that they face."

In all, it's likely that issues like these will end up sending more than half of recidivism cases back to jail, rather than the act of committing additional crimes.