Entry
Entries A-Z
Recidivism
Recurrent criminal behavior on the part of those previously convicted of criminal activity. A recidivist, also known as a repeat offender, is someone who breaks the law after having been punished, treated, or educated as the result of a prior determination of criminal activity. A common and popular measure of penal and correctional effectiveness is the rate of recidivism. This is a complicated measure as it can require calculating the return to or continuation of offending or calculating only the rate at which people return to the criminal justice system postsanction.