Of 26,104 inmates released in 1994, 11,437 (44 percent) returned to custody within 3 years. Of those released, 18 percent returned as new commitments and 26 percent returned for parole violations. Inmates released by a decision of the Board of Parole had return rates similar to inmates released at their conditional release date (44 percent and 46 percent, respectively). The lowest rate of return was for inmates released at the maximum expiration of their sentence (34 percent). Of the 11,437 inmates who returned, 66 percent were returned within the first 18 months after their release. Women had a much lower rate of return than men, 30 percent versus 45 percent. The proportion of women who returned for the commission of a new crime was also lower than the proportion of men returned for a new crime, 12 percent versus 19 percent. Inmates originally convicted of a property offense had the highest rate of return among crime groupings (51 percent), while drug offenders had the lowest rate of return (39 percent). Among 1994 releases who returned for the commitment of a new crime, more offenders were returned for a drug offense than for any other offense category. In addition, drug offenders were more likely to return for another drug offense than offenders committed for other crimes. Inmates who were younger at the time of their release had higher return rates than older inmates. Black inmates had the highest rate of return (47 percent), followed by Hispanic inmates (41 percent) and white inmates (40 percent). Offenders who had been sentenced as predicate felons had a higher return rate than offenders sentenced as first felony offenders, 48 percent versus 38 percent. Offenders with longer aggregate minimum sentences were less likely to return for the commission of a new crime. Offenders with aggregate maximum sentences of life demonstrated the lowest rate of return. Appendixes contain additional statistics on releases during the 1985-1994 time period. 19 tables and 11 figures