Recidivism of Chronic, Essay Example

Introduction

Recidivism is the propensity to go back to an earlier mode of behavior or condition. In this case, recidivism implies the conduct of a repeat or consistent criminal after the sentencing and correction of the individual for the prior offense (Lawrence 2011). It is the extent of the frequency at which, offenders go back to criminal activities determined by the prior offences committed.

Discussion

There is a correlation between the rate of recidivism and the magnitude of the offense, either violent or non-violent, where there is a higher level of recidivism in violent offenders as compared to non-violent offenders. It is worth noting that most violent offenders have drug related issues and as such, there is a higher rate to revert to drug use and crime. Randy (2010) found that the high rate of recidivism associated with the violent offenders is that of their alienation in the society and there are slim chances of gaining any employment due to their criminal records. Lawrence (2011) provides that the rate of recidivism is lower in the case of non-violent criminals since the alienation and seclusion is low as compared to their violent counterparts. The risk of recidivism in violent offenders is high due to the extent of severity of the crime, violent crimes always committed with intent on the offenders’ part where the offender is aware of the consequences but still commits the crime. According to Randy (2010), such cases of correctional programs have little or no effect in deterring future offences and once released, they go back to these habits.

Conclusion

The basic recidivism difference between these two groups is that while the nonviolent offenders have a lower propensity to revert to criminal activities the chronic, violent offenders have a higher tendency to revert to criminal activities.

References

Randy, K. (2010). Handbook of Violence Risk Assessment, Taylor & Francis.

Lawrence, F. (2011). Introduction to Criminal Justice, Elsevier.