The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) “Recidivism Forecasting Challenge” (the Challenge) aims to increase public safety and improve the fair administration of justice across the United States. In accordance with priorities set by the DOJ, NIJ supports the research, development, and evaluation of strategies to reduce violent crime, and to protect police and other public safety personnel by reducing recidivism. Results from the Challenge will provide critical information to community corrections departments that may help facilitate more successful re-integration into society for previously incarcerated persons and persons on parole. 

As the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, NIJ invests in scientific research across diverse disciplines to serve the needs of the criminal justice community. NIJ seeks to use and distribute rigorous evidence to inform practice and policy; often relying on data analytic methods to do so. The Challenge aims to improve the ability to forecast recidivism using person- and place-based variables with the goal of improving outcomes for those serving a community supervision sentence. In addition to the Challenge data provided, NIJ encourages contestants to consider a wide range of potential supplemental data sources that are available to community corrections agencies to enhance risk determinations, including the incorporation of dynamic place-based factors along with the common static and dynamic risk factors. 

The Challenge will have three categories of contestants: students; individuals/small teams/businesses; and large businesses. NIJ will evaluate all entries on how accurately they forecast the outcome of recidivism. Recidivism is defined in this Challenge as an arrest for a new crime. To receive prize money, (114 total prizes available, up to 15 per contestant/team) winning applicants must provide a comprehensive document detailing the lessons learned about what variables did and did not matter to their final forecasting model and, when applicable, what type of models outperformed other models. Contestants are encouraged to provide additional intellectual property regarding specific techniques, weighting, or other sensitive decisions.

 The Challenge uses data from the State of Georgia about persons released from prison to parole supervision for the period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2015. Contestants will submit forecasts (percent likelihoods) of whether individuals in the dataset recidivated within one year, two years, or three years after release.

 NIJ expects that new and more nuanced information will be gained from the Challenge and help address high recidivism among persons under community supervision. Findings could directly impact the types of factors considered when evaluating risk of recidivism and highlight the need to support people in specific areas related to reincarceration. Additionally, the Challenge could provide guidance on gender specific considerations and strategies to account for racial bias during risk assessment.  

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The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) adheres to codes of conduct that are generally accepted in higher education and scientific research for the exchange and proper use of knowledge and information.

These data are distributed under the following terms of use. By continuing past this point to the data retrieval process, you signify your agreement to comply with the requirements stated below:

Any intentional identification of a individuals or unauthorized disclosure of his or her confidential information violates the promise of confidentiality given to the providers of the information. Therefore, users of data agree:

• To use these datasets solely for research or statistical purposes and not for investigation of specific individuals

• To make no use of the identity of any individual discovered inadvertently, and to advise NIJ of any such discovery (NIJRecidivismChallenge@usdoj.gov)

Federal law and regulations require that research data collected by the U.S. Department of Justice or by its grantees and contractors may only be used for research or statistical purposes. The applicable laws and regulations may be found in the United States Code, 34 USC Section 10231(a), the Code of Federal Regulations, 28 CFR 22, and 62 F.R. 35044 (June 27, 1997) (The Federal Confidentiality Order). Accordingly, any intentional identification or disclosure of a person or establishment may violate federal law as well as the assurances of confidentiality given to the providers of the information. Therefore, users of this data must agree to abide by these regulations and understand that NIJ may report any potential violation to the appropriate entities within the U.S. Department of Justice.