Blumstein, Alfred, and Kimonori Nakamura. “Redemption in the Presence of Widespread Criminal Background Checks.” NIJ Journal, Issue No. 263 (2009): 10-17. 

The BJS does include recidivism based on technical parole violations, so this would make it appear that new crimes were committed when they were not. Further, the BJS has at times in the past mixed the results from first-timers to seasoned criminals. Everyone already knows that there is a small component of recidivists who commit the lion's share of crime. Simply saying that a particular number of prisoners returned to prison is misleading. This is especially true when sending someone to prison is completely optional. The bottom line is that there is enough data out there to support any conclusion you want folks to believe.