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When a person commits a crime, typically, they are punished with the goal in mind being that they do not commit the crime again. Demonstrating to society that certain behaviours are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the eyes of the law provides both a sense of deterrence and a sense of safety for other members of society. Yet, issues with recidivism still remain, so how do we combat recidivism? What exactly is the meaning of recidivism?
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Sign up for freeAs of December 2019, how many adults in the UK had a proven re-offending rate?
According to a report in 2013, __ of ex-prisoners went on to re-offend when they had unstable living conditions.
True or False: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be used to as an alternative to traditional forms of punishment to reduce recidivism.
According to the Restorative Justice Council (RJC), restorative justice provides an __% satisfaction rate to victims of a crime and reduces reoffending rates by 14%.
True or False: Sending someone to prison guarantees they will not commit a crime again.
True or False: Recidivism is the rate of offending for the first time.
True or False: Education level does not influence rates of recidivism.
As of December 2019, how many adults in the UK had a proven re-offending rate?
According to a report in 2013, __ of ex-prisoners went on to re-offend when they had unstable living conditions.
True or False: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can be used to as an alternative to traditional forms of punishment to reduce recidivism.
According to the Restorative Justice Council (RJC), restorative justice provides an __% satisfaction rate to victims of a crime and reduces reoffending rates by 14%.
True or False: Sending someone to prison guarantees they will not commit a crime again.
True or False: Recidivism is the rate of offending for the first time.
True or False: Education level does not influence rates of recidivism.
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Team Recidivism Teachers
Fig. 1 - Recidivism refers to repeat offending.
Custodial sentencing is when a convicted criminal is put in prison or another institution, such as a mental facility or young offender’s institute, and is used to punish, rehabilitate, and generally deter undesirable societal behaviours. According to the law, if someone commits a crime, the justice system takes action against the person in the wrong.
Similarly, those who have committed a crime, in general, are also punished for their behaviour. However, punishment to reduce or prevent undesirable behaviours is not always successful.
Recidivism is when a person repeats an undesirable/delinquent behaviour for which they previously had been punished, usually with a prison sentence. It essentially means ‘re-offending’.
According to GOV.UK, as of December 2019, around 25.2% of adults in the UK had a proven re-offending rate. A 2013 report revealed that approximately 66% of ex-prisoners re-offend when they have unstable living situations, compared to 51% of those with stable accommodation.
Different factors affect the rate of recidivism.
Recidivism costs the economy a lot, as the criminal has gone through punishment, with the goal being that they would be deterred from repeating the behaviour. Society is usually the one footing the bill. Therefore, many governments keep an eye on the rate of recidivism.
It benefits everyone when a person is truly rehabilitated after undergoing a custodial sentence.
Considering the goal of a custodial sentence is to both punish and prevent this behaviour from occurring in the future, the rate of recidivism is unacceptable for multiple reasons:
Multiple factors influence the rates of recidivism:
Each factor has the potential to affect the rate at which a person is likely to re-offend. Someone who recently was released from prison will likely need to find a job for living expenses. However, upon applying to jobs, the offender finds that their criminal record negatively affects their ability to get a job. This is frustrating and creates a sense of hopelessness in the person, so they may re-offend to either get money for living expenses or to act out their frustration.
Gillis et al. (1998) demonstrated that offenders who found some form of employment within six months of their initial release had fewer convictions than those who didn’t.
Another example is if a person is using drugs or has been known to have problems with addiction. If they cannot fund this addiction post-release and have no assistance from services, they may re-offend to gain more access to the drugs.
A problem with the studies demonstrating recidivism rates is that they fail to establish an actual cause and effect; they merely suggest a link between factors and recidivism rates.
There are a variety of benefits to reducing recidivism rates. As we established above, recidivism places a significant cost on society, so reducing recidivism would benefit the economy.
Not only does reducing recidivism benefit society financially, but it will also naturally reduce the rate of crimes committed as a result.
Consequently, society would also feel safer.
Fig. 2 - There are significant benefits to reducing recidivism.
As we have established, custodial sentencing does not seem to solve the issue of recidivism. Some ex-convicts will continue to re-offend, suggesting the current punishment system has flaws. It fails to address the needs of the criminal. It is necessary to consider the alternatives to custodial sentencing or anti-recidivism programs that help ex-convicts. Some of these are:
Helping prisoners treat these symptoms will ultimately aid the rehabilitation process if they exhibit signs of mental health issues. Similarly, providing them with opportunities to learn, gain useful skills to attain a job, and even going as far as to provide job opportunities post-release (by offering roles that do not discriminate based on criminal record) would improve rates of recidivism.
The main issues preventing this from happening are public opinion and the government’s overall reluctance to invest money in the prison system. If the government benefits those who are supposed to be punished, it will not reflect well on them. Similarly, economic implications and restraints limit funding opportunities.
Despite the above rates of recidivism, overall, they are dropping in the UK as time goes on. However, criminals are still re-offending, so it is worth considering behavioural modification programmes within custody to avoid this issue upon their release.
Restorative justice programmes focus more on rehabilitating and reintegrating offenders into society rather than punishing them like the more traditional methods of penalising and deterring crime.
Restorative justice affects recidivism rates as a result.
According to the Restorative Justice Council (RJC), restorative justice provides an 85% satisfaction rate to victims of a crime and reduces reoffending rates by 14%.
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What is an example of recidivism?
A person who has committed a robbery is convicted and sentenced to prison for the crime. After they are released, they then go on to burgle again. This is an example of recidivism, as they have re-offended.
What is recidivism?
Recidivism is where a person repeats an undesirable/delinquent behaviour that previously they had been punished for, usually with a prison sentence. It essentially means 're-offending'.
How is recidivism measured?
Typically, recidivism is measured using data provided by the police, courts, corrective services, government reports, and self-reports. This is then collected, measured, and analysed in studies.
Does probation reduce recidivism?
Potentially, depending on how supervised the probation period is. Some studies found those who were on probation had different rates of recidivism, however, more recent research has found that supervised probation had demonstrably lower rates of recidivism.
Why is recidivism a problem?
Recidivism is a sign that the current punishment system is not working. It implies that a custodial sentence, for instance, is not effective in deterring delinquent behaviours. It also costs more money for society as a whole and reduces feelings of safety. Those who have been wronged may also feel that they have not been appropriately compensated (through justified punishment of the offender).
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