A SYSTEMATIC RANDOM SAMPLE OF 641 MEN (297 WORK RELEASEES AND 344 NON-WORK RELEASEES) WHO WERE INCARCERATED IN THE SOUTH PIEDMONT AREA OF NORTH CAROLINA IN 1969 OR 1971 WAS SELECTED. THE SUBJECTS WERE FOLLOWED-UP FOR AN AVERAGE OF 37 MONTHS. THE PROJECT FOUND THAT PARTICIPATION IN WORK RELEASE HAD NO EFFECT ON THE LENGTH OF TIME UNTIL RETURN TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, THE PERCENT OF MEN WHO RETURN TO CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, OR THE FREQUENCY OF PARTICIPATION IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AFTER RELEASE FROM PRISON CUSTODY. IT WAS FOUND, HOWEVER, TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT EFFECT ON THE SERIOUSNESS OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. BOTH THE AVERAGE LENGTH OF SENTENCE RECEIVED AND THE LENGTH OF THE MOST SERIOUS SENTENCE ARE SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER FOR MEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE WORK RELEASE PROGRAM. MEN WHO WERE NOT ON WORK RELEASE WERE FOUND TO HAVE A MUCH GREATER PROBABILITY OF RETURNING TO PRISON FOR A FELONY (EVEN WHEN PRIOR TYPE OF CRIME WAS ADJUSTED FOR) THAN DID MEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE WORK RELEASE PROGRAM. THE AUTHOR ATTRIBUTES THIS DECLINE IN SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENSES TO THE GREATER WORK STABILITY AFFORDED OFFENDERS BY PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)