Wisconsin Department of Corrections Data
Demographics, recidivism and reincarceration information, release data, and sentence data on youth and adults incarcerated, and offenders under community supervision in the state of Wisconsin.
Youth and adults under Department of Corrections (DOC) supervision
Access
Researchers must first review Executive Directive #36 and then complete the researcher’s request for confidential records or human subjects research (DOC-1198) and the research project agreement (DOC-138). They must then submit their research request, the above-mentioned forms, and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from their university to the Research Review Committee (RRC) ([email protected]) for approval. Current DOC employee researchers must also submit supervisor consent (DOC-138A). If a student is submitting the request, their advisor must sign the DOC-138, indicating that the proposal has been reviewed and meets the student’s university standards for research design quality. A background check form (DOC-1098D) is also required for research carried out within institutions in the WI DOC universe. The Department may impose alterations on the methodology to address concerns, notifying the researcher in the approval notification. Note that any modifications to the research request or protocol must be approved in writing by the RRC before implementation.
All research materials must be preserved for a minimum of 5 years, after which they must be destroyed.
Timeline for Access
The RRC typically reviews research requests bi-weekly. Requests must be submitted at minimum one week before the review week. Decisions may take a number of weeks as there are multiple parties involved in the review process. The research must begin within three months of the approval date and the researcher must submit progress updates every six months until completion of the project.
Lag Time
Lag time varies widely dependent on the data set and the scope of the request.
Cost
Cost is dependent on the specific data set, amount of data, and the specifics of the data request. When the Research and Policy unit completes the request, there is usually no fee with obtaining the data. The WI Department of Justice’s Public Records Request Fee Schedule has more information about fees for when there is one.
Linking
WI DOC has one internal identifier available for linking internally. WI DOC rarely allows linking to external data, please see below for further details.
Identifiers Available for Linking
- Wisconsin DOC identification number
Linking to Outside Data Sources
WI DOC indicated they may link to external data with other identifiers (such as name or date of birth), but this is rare, and dependent on the request, due to privacy restrictions.
Data Contents
Data available by the WI DOC includes individual demographic and offense-related individual information and program information by division. The Division of Adult Institutions manages minimum, medium, and maximum security institutions housing persons incarcerated aged 18 and over, the Division of Community Corrections supervises and hosts programs for persons released on extended supervision, parole, or probation, and the Division of Juvenile Corrections oversees juveniles incarcerated or in community supervision under the age of 18. Administrative information is available in the aggregate for each division. Additionally, there are publicly available weekly population reports available, as well as a file every month containing data on every individual in the care of the WI DOC on the last day of the previous month.
Partial List of Variables
People currently or previously incarcerated: sex, race, ethnicity, age, religion, educational attainment, mental health condition, marriage status, type of offense, time left of sentence, sentence type, criminal charges, reimprisonment, juvenile record, military experience, institution type (minimum, medium, or maximum security), reincarceration information, recidivism information
J-PAL Randomized Evaluations Using this Data Set
Cook, Phillip J., Songman Kang, Anthony A. Braga, Jens Ludwig, and Mallory E. O’Brien. 2014. "An Experimental Evaluation of a Comprehensive Employment-Oriented Prisoner Re-entry Program." Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31(3): 355-382.