Jericho Circle 20th Anniversary

Founder Steve Spitzer, Susan Bates, and Gary Einsidler at our 20th anniversary celebration.

In June we held a 20th-anniversary event to commemorate the substantial legacy of Jericho Circle and to honor our Founder, Steve Spitzer, as well as long-serving members Vern Ludwig, Larry Cotton, and Geoff Beane. At this event, we heard powerful testimonials from formerly incarcerated individuals as well as current and former volunteers about the impact Jericho Circle has had on them. It was a heartfelt evening and well-attended by the community. You can watch the highlight video below. Also, please scroll down to view recidivism data after the video.

Highlight video of the 20th-anniversary event to commemorate the substantial legacy of Jericho Circle.

Recidivism Data

In May, the Massachusetts DOC agreed to calculate recidivism statistics for Jericho Circle at MCI-Norfolk. The study looked at 3-year recidivism rates for Jericho participants released during 2010-2018, in comparison with the state averages over those years. (We have worked with over 700 individuals since 2008 at MCI-Norfolk, of which 121 qualified for this three-year recidivism study.)
 

• For the 121 study participants, all of whom completed one or more cycles with Jericho, non-technical recidivism decreased 44% vs the state average (down from 27% to 15%). (“Non-technical recidivism” means a new crime was committed, vs. simply violating the terms of one’s parole, which is known as “technical recidivism”.)
   

• For the 37 participants that completed 2 or more cycles, recidivism of any kind (both technical and non-technical) decreased 65% from 31% to 11%.
   

We are very proud of these numbers, which are consistent with the many positive verbal testimonies we receive from inside participants. In addition, it is important to note that Jericho Circle did not offer any reentry programming during this time, due to the DOC’s restrictions on volunteers associating with formerly incarcerated individuals. Following a shift in DOC policy, we have begun offering reentry programming (as noted above), and expect that this will enable us to further increase our impact on recidivism.