Between July and December 1969, 188 inmates were placed in a work release program while 93 controls in the correctional program in which they were already involved. There were little or no differences between the two groups in terms of arrest rates, bookings, convictions, or reincarcerations. There were almost identical levels of crime seriousness for the two groups, measured in terms of average severity of crime charged and severity of most serious crime charged. Simple participation in work release versus nonparticipation had almost no bearing upon either the occurrence or severity of postrelease recidivism. 5 tables, 2 notes, 35 references, and 1 appendix