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    • Mar 14, 2022
    • 2 min read

Recidivism



In recent decades, the United States has experienced substantial growth in the prison population. While crime rates have dramatically declined over time, the rising number of jobless individuals has gone in the opposite direction and have gone up. One of the most significant factors behind this growth is the causes of recidivism by state. A recidivism rate is defined as the percentage of individuals serving time for a crime who are repeat offenders. This sort of rate is very important to understand because it depicts the number of recidivism cases which are on the upswing.


There are two primary components to correctional institutions, those being mandatory sentences and using drug programs. These two components are designed to target criminal behavior. However, they also increase the probability of returning to deviant behavior examples and other causes of recidivism through the lack of the development of job skills. A person who returns to a delinquent lifestyle can further escalate their crimes because of lack of skills. Thus, a primary part of reducing recidivism includes improving job skills. Causes of recidivism also include the number and severity of crimes committed by criminals. Women and men who commit criminal acts are more likely to become recidivated than those who do not, no matter how severe their offense may be. The rate of recidivism will also differ between generations, gender, and race. Women and men who commit crimes are more likely to be released early due to the higher chance of them getting recidivation. As a result of this, offenders who are female or younger tend to remain in jail until they’re an adult, whereas men and/or white males are more likely to commit offenses during their adult life and are therefore more likely to recidivate.


An offender’s social surroundings and/or demographics can affect whether or not he or she will commit crimes again. People that are exposed to high levels of gang activity are more likely to become recidivates. Those who reside in poverty or have a criminal background are also more likely to commit crimes because of the very low self-esteem and lack of motivation that often goes along with living in poverty. People who have access to alcohol or drugs are also more likely to commit crimes. Recognizing what causes of recidivism will help officials to design a better correctional program for recidivating offenders.






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