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DES MOINES — The rate of individuals in Iowa who were released from incarceration and then sent back to prison within three years decreased by 3 percent in the most recent data and reached a 10-year low, according to state figures.

Experts on criminal justice and incarceration said that while those numbers signal some good news, they also paint an incomplete picture of a state’s corrections or criminal justice system and can be influenced by multiple factors that have nothing to do with public safety.

Recidivism is defined by the percentage of formerly incarcerated individuals who after being released are reincarcerated within three years. A lower rate of recidivism means fewer incarcerated i

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