In attempting to identify high-rate offenders with the predictors, the Rand study was accurate about 50 percent of the time. Factors used to predict a high rate of offending pertained to adult record (prior conviction for current offense and recent incarceration), juvenile record (conviction prior to age 16 and commitment to a State juvenile facility), the use of hard drugs (current and as a juvenile), and employment. Fifty percent of the sample of California robbers and burglars returned to prison within 3 years of their release, indicating that extending their prison terms would have prevented some crimes during those years. A 25-percent increase in the prison terms of high-rate robbers would yield a 5-percent crime reduction and a 3-percent increase in the prison population. A long-term plan to reduce crime would involve early rehabilitative intervention for juveniles at risk of chronic offending. Early predictors of chronic offending pertain to poor school record, poor parenting, physiological characteristics, and parental characteristics. 6 notes.