Recidivism

• Recidivism is the tendency to re offend.

  The Ministry of Justice stated that from January to December 2014 adult recidivism increased from 45.5 % to 60 % for sentences under 12 months.
• Reasons for recidivism are institutionalisation and mental health and addiction.
• Institutionalisation leads to recidivism because in prison the basic physiological needs of an offender are met and they feel a sense of belonging.

  If prison becomes more appealing to them they may re-offend to stay where they feel comfortable.
• Mental Health and addiction cause recidivism as when their mental health is not managed, they are more likely to commit crimes and are therefore this highlights the importance of effective rehabilitation and raises questions on the appropriateness of custodial sentencing.
• AO3

  :)

  Research to support this comes from Cold et al who found that mental health had a direct impact on recidivism rates as UK offenders receiving treatment for their mental health were 60 % less likely to reoffend and were also 80 % less likely to commit a violent crime.

  Therefore this shows evidence to suggest how psychological effects impact recidivism and increases the validity.
• AO3

  :(

  However, recidivism rates may be down to societal problems such as poverty and lack of support for mental health which will mean recidivism remains high if this is not addressed.

  Also there’s lack of research into societal factors that affect recidivism as most are centred around prison and not post release environments and people may be more inclined to reoffend should they go into a pro-crime environment.

  Therefore more emphasis need to be put on post release factors before you can determine any cause and effect for psychological effects on recidivism.
• AO3

  :(

  The main issues with recidivism is that the stats are based on proven crime, those put through court.

  The figure is likely to be higher as some reoffences often go undetected and never reach court.

  Therefore rates are thought to be high but numbers are inaccurate and unrepresentative of true recidivism rates and therefore lack validity.