VARIOUS CAUSES OF RECIDIVISM AND STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS RECIDIVISM

Introduction
Recidivism is the relapse into criminal activity and is generally measured by a former prisoners
return to prison for a new offense. Rates of recidivism reflect the degree to which released inmates
have been rehabilitated and the role correctional programs play in reintegrating prisoners into
society. The rate of recidivism in the U.S. is estimated to be about twothirds, which means that
twothirds of released inmates will be reincarcerated within three years. Recidivism is one major
problem facing various societies across the world. It involves acts committed by people which
involve repeating undesirable behaviors after being trained or treated to extinguish the behavior or
experiencing negative consequences due to the behavior. Recidivism is common with criminal
behavior or substance abuse but for purposes of this paper, we will focus on criminal behavior.
Recidivism is a behavior which is linked to psychopathy which is gratification enjoyed after
committing an aggressive, sexual or criminal act by a person. Psychopaths hardly learn from past
mistakes and they are likely to repeat them in future. In the United States, recidivism among
prisoners is a serious problem facing prison institutions. Statistics show that on average, 58% of
female prisoners and 68% of male prisoners are rearrested after being released from prison. Of
these, 39% of females and 53% of males are sent back to prison again (Bleich, 2000). This is a
serious threat to rehabilitation purpose of prisons since it appears that prisons are failing in their
objective of rehabilitating prisoners. The environment inside prisons is not conducive for
rehabilitation most of the times since crimes are committed even inside prisons. There are also
environmental factors outside prisons which make it a challenge for prisoners to be accepted by the
society after serving their terms. These too contribute to the high rates of recidivism. It is important
1

to assess the factors which contribute to the high recidivism rates and the solutions to the same.
This will enable prison institutions to succeed in their rehabilitative role which they play in society.
This paper will address criminal recidivism and suggest solutions for the same.
Purpose of prisons
The prison institution plays a crucial role in any society. In the US justice system, the prison system
plays various roles. The first major role is rehabilitation. Prisons offer people convicted of crimes a
second chance to learn from their mistakes and change. It provides prisoners with an environment
where they can learn new skills which will enable them earn a decent livelihood once they are
released from prison. More importantly, the prison environment is meant to assist prisoners reflect
on their lives and seek ways which they may co-exist peacefully with the society. Mental and
physical health professionals are present to assist prisoners with this objective. Another important
role played by prisons is punishment and deterrence. Punishment is meant to discourage the
prisoners and other members of society from committing a similar offence. Different forms of
punishments vary according to crimes committed and usually the worse the crime, the heavier the
punishment received by the prisoner. Punishment varies from strokes to hard labor depending on
the sentence given. This role of prisons is very important since it deters other members of society
from committing offences. Punishment is likely to discourage other people from engaging in
criminal activities and this ensures the society lives in peace and harmony. Another important role
played by the prison system is ensuring justice for victims of crime. This is an important role in any
judicial system since law is founded on equity and justice. Victims who are hurt in one way or
another ought to receive justice in order to view society as fair. Although in many cases, especially
capital offenses such as murder, do not compensate the victim for loss suffered, prisons ensure
victims have closure since the people who commit the offence are normally punished. Finally,
2

prisons are meant to protect the general public from people who are a threat to their property or
lives. Some criminals such as serial killers or rapists are psychopaths who would not stop
committing the crimes unless they are rehabilitated. Prison removes such people from the streets
and rehabilitates them, making society a safer place to live. This fosters unity and peace within
society.
Current conditions in US prisons
The current conditions in the US prisons are different from the ideal environment which would
facilitate rehabilitation. Prisoners live in poor conditions which are overcrowded and where crime
thrives in spite of it being a prison institution. According to Farrington and Nuttall (2001), the
largest prisons in the US which are Texas and California have experienced an eight fold increase in
number of prisoners in the past three decades. However, funding for these facilities has hardly
increased; a situation which has made it difficult to cater for the needs of the prisoners. Congestion
in these prisons largely defeats their major role which is rehabilitation. Congestion makes it
difficult for prisoners to access individualized attention from counselors or health care
professionals who would assist them with their mental and physical needs. Congestion also makes
prisoners interact with people from different backgrounds at close proximity and this may make
them develop undesirable habits such as physical confrontations, substance abuse or sexual
molestation. When such occur, it is difficult for authorities to detect them on time and to take the
necessary action to discourage the vices. High rates of recidivism result in tremendous costs both in
terms of public safety and in tax dollars spent to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate reoffenders.
High rates of recidivism also lead to devastating social costs to the communities and families of
offenders, as well as the personal costs to the offenders themselves. Due to these severe costs,
programs for inmates and released inmates that reduce recidivism can be cost effectiveeven those
3

that have modest rates of success. In December 2003, the Developing Justice Coalition requested
that the Center for Impact Research (CIR) conduct a study to identify the five states that have been
the most successful in reducing rates of recidivism and the programs that have contributed to the
states success. CIRs research finds that states vary widely on their formula for determining rates
of recidivism. Furthermore, data from program evaluations and measures of the impact of programs
on recidivism are uneven in scope and quality. These limitations in data on recidivism and program
evaluation make it impossible to directly compare states and specific programs for their effects on
recidivism. Substance abuse is a widespread problem among the prison population, with re
addiction after release a frequent cause of recidivism and a barrier to obtaining stable employment.
The report specifically examines the role of drug courts and mandatory treatment, which are
associated with a 31 percent reduction in recidivism. It also discusses the new Sheridan
Correctional Facility in Illinois, which is a promising and robust model of not only substance abuse
treatment in prison but also continued treatment and intensive case management and parole
supervision for released inmates. Although the measurement of recidivism may lack clarity, it is
clear that high rates of recidivism jeopardize public safety and escalate expenditures on law
enforcement and criminal justice. Growing prison populations and high recidivism rates result in
enormous individual, social, and economic costs. Prisons are increasingly being expected not only
to house offenders, but also to contribute to transforming them into lawabiding citizens. These
expectations lead to many different approaches that have the potential to transform prisons. The
report outlines three major elements of programs that successfully reduce recidivism: treatment for
substance abuse or mental illness can help remove barriers that prevent employment and
integration; education provides the skills necessary for inmates to obtain the types of jobs that lead
to more successful outcomes; and employment provides released inmates an income as well as
4

supporting integration by increasing stability and selfconfidence. Below are some general and
specific recommendations.
Programs which seek to reduce recidivism in US prisons
Although many prisons do not have adequate facilities and personnel to undertake programs which
reduce prison recidivism, there are a few prisons which have developed programs to deal with the
problem. Most of these programs aim at rehabilitating prisoners in order to make them fit back into
society. They include educational programs which address the adverse effects of substance abuse or
violence in society. For instance, in Alaska there is a program known as Probation Accountability
with Certain Enforcement which aims ate reducing recidivism among people who have been put in
probation (Wilson, 2003). This program aims at making people on probation on the importance of
probation and the consequences of breaking probation conditions. It is specifically targeted at
people with problems satisfying probation conditions. In California and Texas, there are various
programs aimed at educating prisoners on the adverse effects of gang culture and substance abuse
in society. The programs aim at ending gang culture and substance abuse through making offenders
aware of the harm they cause to society when they engage in the vice. In most states, there are also
program geared towards providing life skills to inmates in prison in order to allow them to practice
decent professions when they leave prison. Although such programs are under-funded, they teach
prisoners skills such as carpentry, IT skills, mechanics, hair dressing, appliance repair, building and
other skills. This is one of the most efficient ways to reduce crime recidivism since they empower
inmates to become independent once they leave prison facilities. Careful evaluation of programs is
necessary to identify those that merit replication.

Increase accountability of prison and parole personnel for rehabilitation and recidivism.
Accountability is a current approach to increasing the effectiveness of government expenditure
on programs, most notably in the No Child Left Behind national education policy. When people
in charge of prison and parole programs are held accountable for specific outcomes, it increases
the effort directed toward achieving them. For example, increasing parole accountability has
been shown to decrease recidivism by 10 to 20 percent.
Rehabilitative Services for Inmates
Conduct universal screening and assessment of inmates for mental illness and substance
abuse
Rates of substance abuse and mental illness are much higher among inmates than in the general
population; prison intake procedures need to identify and refer individuals in need of substance
abuse or mental health treatment.
Increase the availability of effective substance abuse treatment and mental heath treatment
for inmates
Treatment in prison has been shown to be cost effective, yet participation of inmates in treatment
programs has decreased in recent years from 25 percent in 1991 to about 10 percent in 1997. This
is compared to an estimated 70 to 85 percent of inmates who are believed to need substance abuse
treatment. An estimated 40 percent of mentally ill inmates do not receive treatment.
Make educational and vocational programs more accessible to inmates by increasing
capacity and removing barriers and restrictions to enrollment.
Given the low levels of educational attainment among prisoners, the need for educational and
vocational programs is high. However, access and availability are limited. Increasing enrollment
6

in these programs would improve the employability of participants upon release.

Addressing the Needs of Released Inmates

Identify prisoners at higher risk for recidivating and develop an appropriate service plan for
them.
Any effort to reduce recidivism must recognize that the diversity of the prison population
requires solutions that can address a myriad of inmate needs. No single program can reduce
recidivism significantly because many different factors affect it. Released inmates encounter a
range of common problems that contribute to returning to criminal behaviors.
Provide effective and intensive parole supervision, case management, and monitoring after
release.
Offenders often face multiple problems and challenges upon releasefinding a place to live and
a job, staying drug free, reuniting with family members, and rebuilding ones life. Efforts to
reduce recidivism require attention to the specific and changing circumstances of former
offenders and need to provide access to services that can address them. The recent Illinois
initiative, Operation Spotlight, promises to bring muchneeded attention and resources to the area
of parole supervision.
Provide linkages to treatment programs outside of prison for released inmates.
The need for treatment for substance abuse and mental illness continues after an inmate leaves
prison. Released inmates with substance abuse problems are at risk for readdiction, which in
turn increases the likelihood of involvement in criminal activity and parole violations. Effective
linkages to treatment programs outside of prison are vital to the successful reentry of prisoners.
7

The Sheridan program incorporates this approach through its involvement of TASC clinical
case management
Coordinate parole with substance abuse and mental health treatment.
Better coordination of parole with substance abuse and mental health treatment would improve
access and increase treatment options for technical parole violations, which are important since
many violations are related to substance abuse and can result in return to prison.
Educational programs address the needs of released prisoners to attain the skills to find and
retain employment and typically include secondary, GED, higher education, and vocational
training. Education is reported to reduce recidivism by 29 percent with the completion of high
school education found to be the most pervasive need. Employment services programs address
the need of released inmates to find work and typically include job preparedness, career
development skills, and job placement. The report also examines programs that involve multiple
components and are used to varying degrees in many jurisdictions. Faithbased programs
provide prison chaplain services to entire prisons run by faith organizations. Some faith
programs report reducing recidivism by as much as 50 to 60 percent. The potential of parole
based programs is significant because of the large number of people on parole and their unique
opportunity to assist released inmates as they are transitioning back into society. Increased
accountability within parole programs has been estimated to reduce recidivism by 10 to 20
percent.
Successful programs need to address the fact that inmates and former offenders are a diverse
population, and a large proportion face multiple barriers to selfsufficiencylow levels of
education, lack of employment experience, physical and mental health problems, and lack of
stable housing. Therefore, solutions to the problem of recidivism must be multifaceted. For
8

example, addressing employment issues will not be effective if substance abuse problems remain
untreated. Thus, a range of programs inside and outside prison are necessary to prepare inmates
for release, to make referrals and provide services when they return to the community, and to
support them in their efforts to find and retain employment and attain selfsufficiency. This
coordinated approach geared toward building and supporting selfsufficiency is necessary for
reducing the likelihood of former offenders becoming involved in criminal activity.

Conclusion
Prison recidivism has been seen to b a major problem which faces the US prison system. Many
prisoners who are released from prison end up committing crime again due to several reasons. The
major causes of prison recidivism is lack of skills which prisoners may use to empower themselves
once they leave prison, inadequate physical and mental support from health care practitioners and
counselors, high crime rates in prison and overcrowding in prison. Prison facilities are overcrowded
and expose prisoners to crime within prison walls, a fact which makes it difficult for them to be
integrated back into society once they are released. Although there are various programs which are
currently being implemented by different prisons to reduce crime recidivism, these programs are
few and under-funded. As a result, many prisoners do not benefit from them.In order to solve the
problem of prison recidivism in US prisons, overcrowding and crime in prison should be first
tacked through prison expansion, alternative rehabilitation forms and passage of harsh laws which
guard against crime in prison. Once this is addressed, prisoners should have access to personnel,
facilities and training which will satisfy their needs and impart them with skills in line with the
rehabilitation objective. Finally, the society should accept them back through dialog with families
and community leaders who should provide moral and financial support to inmates. The state and
correction facility should ensure that such prisoners have access to employment opportunities in
line with their skills in order to empower them to be independent. Once these steps are taken,
prisoners will have no reason to revert back to crime and the problem of crime recidivism will be
solve once and for all. There is a disproportionate number of youth with mental health disorders in
the juvenile justice system. Although a plethora of standardized tools exist, many youth are never
screened and therefore do not get identified as having a psychological impairment. Alternative
10

sentencing methods should be used to divert youth with impairments to treatment programs. By
doing so, the problems that precipitated their contact with the system can be addressed. Planning
for transition back into the community should begin the moment a youth has contact with the
juvenile system. At the very least, transitional assistance services should involve family, educators,
and behavioral health professionals. The current get tough policies that began in the 1990s
ignore the developmental realities of adolescence and have had questionable effectiveness. Youth
with mental health issues continue to pose numerous challenges to an outdated model.
The system needs to reinvent itself in order to adequately meet the needs of todays population. To
combat recidivism, correctional facilities are changing their focus from punishment toward
rehabilitation.

It is apparent through research that the punish method alone does notwork for

people who are convicted and incarcerated. The number of people in the prison system
is astonishing, and even more astonishing is the amount of the population that return to prison
after release. Through research, the evidence of innovative techniques geared to rehabilitate
inmates in the penal system has proven to be of the utmost importance, ultimately leading to a
heightened rate of success upon release. Rehabilitation has proven to work; therefore, it should
be a condition of release.

Rehabilitation benefits more people than just the inmate alone.

Rehabilitation would also be the more humane and responsible thing to do for the betterment of
society.

11

References
Greenfeld, L. A., & United States. (2008). Examining recidivism. Washington, D.C: U.S. Dept. of
Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Iowa. (2010). Recidivism. Des Moines: State of Iowa, Statistical Analysis Center.
Maltz, M. D. (2007). Recidivism. Orlando: Academic Press.
Quinsey, V. L. (2007). The criminal recidivism process. Cambridge [England: Cambridge
University Press.
Seredycz, M. A. (2010). Offender drug abuse and recidivism: An access to recovery program. El
Paso [Tex.: LFB Scholarly Pub.
Williams-Taylor, L. (2012). Increased surveillance of sex offenders: Impacts on recidivism. El
Paso: LFB Scholarly Pub.
Witt, J. R. (2006). Recidivism. Oklahoma City: Contemporary Arts Foundation.

12

13

14

15