Repeat Offenders

Researchers agree that a significant percentage of crime is committed by a relatively small number of offenders who violate the law again and again, not necessarily getting caught each time but rather eventually and repeatedly. This well-substantiated finding informs criminal justice policy and practice in a variety of ways, particularly affecting law enforcement officers, who are on the front lines when it comes to preventing, investigating, and solving crime. The study of recidivism—the tendency to return to criminal behavior—is growing more nuanced and moving beyond the question of whether someone reoffends into how soon after initial or prior offense, and has begun to document specific behavior trends. Inquiry of this sort has been further expanded to include the issue of repeat victimization, a phenomenon in which the same target is repeatedly violated, as well as crime pattern analysis. As this knowledge base grows, so, too, does the sophistication with which law enforcement responds to and incorporates such data, thus greatly influencing how funds are distributed, where resources are focused, training tactics, and what types of strategies police forces employ to get the job done.

Recidivism data actually measure an offender's return to the criminal justice system via any one or a combination of the following: a rearrest, a reconviction, and possibly a new term of punishment. This does not necessarily mean a person has repeated the proscribed act for which he or she was originally judged guilty. He or she may have committed an entirely different offense and, in numerous cases, is not, in fact, responsible for a criminal act but rather has violated the mandates of his or her freedom. At the end of 2001, 4.7 million adult men and women were on either probation or parole. These are people under some form of federal, state, or local guardianship as either a punitive sentence (probation) or an early provisional release from incarceration (parole). Such status is conditional, and if probationers or parolees do not adhere to the terms of their liberty, they are subject to rearrest, revocation of freedom, and additional punitive measures. A significant number of repeat offenders fall into this category. The response to technical violations, as these transgressions are commonly known, is in the hands of law enforcement, which has a great deal of discretion in these cases. The decision as to whether to bring someone in on the basis of refractory behavior is usually left up to the parole, probation, or police officers at hand.

In a 1994 study, 272,111 offenders discharged that same year accounted for 4,877,000 arrest charges over their recorded careers. Although these are not “careers” in the popular sense, some criminals do “specialize” in a particular class of offense, such as drug dealing, fraud, and auto theft. Violent crimes such as assault, murder, and rape tend to be impulsive behaviors, but that does not prevent their repetition. However, less serious offenders—those arrested for prostitution, the purchasing of drugs, and public drunkenness, for example—are considered more likely to repeat offend at higher rates. By concentrating on the career criminal population, and decreasing their numbers on the streets, officers can greatly abate or prevent crime. Multiple tactics help achieve this goal.

...