Recidivism- FORENSICS

Question 1

Recidivism:

• what is it?
• what are some statistics?

Answer 1

• term that describes reoffending following punishment
• in 2011-2012, 573000 offenders released from custody, 149000 reoffended within 1 year (26%)

Question 2

How does institutionalisation cause high recidivism rates?

Answer 2

• prisoners get used to prison and their days being organised
• basic psychological needs are met
• if home environment is hard, they may reoffend to get away

Question 3

How does non-adherence to behaviour principles cause recidivism?

Answer 3

• behaviourists state that it’s best to receive punishment at the same time that the action has been done.
• sentencing occurs later than the actual crime being committed and so action and punishment don’t coincide.

Question 4

How do mental health and addiction issues cause recidivism?

Answer 4

• poor mental health is related to crime rates, so if the problem isn’t treated in prison, the offender will be vulnerable to reoffending

Question 5

Research into recidivism by Malot and Fromander…

Answer 5

• survey of 102 Australian male prisoners
• asked how they felt about release from prison and what they thought would reduce recidivism

found…

• offenders felt unsupported upon release
• a greater level of accessible resources, treatment and/or support service after release would reduce recidivism.

—-> supports idea that offenders can feel institutionalised and by re-offending they re-enter an environment that’s organised for them, rather than unsupported by the outside environment.

Question 6

Hanson and Busier research into recidivism…

Answer 6

• looked at reasons why sex offenders re-offend
• rates were low
• main indicator was lack of completion of treatment within prison and sexual deviancy
• other factors like age, prior offences and juvenile delinquency predicted recidivism
• similar to non-sex offender populations

—> shows that a clear group can be identified as at risk, suggesting the same underlying reasons for re-offending are occurring

Question 7

Cartier research into recidivism

Answer 7

• researched link between drug abuse and recidivism rates
• clear relationship found between substance abuse and re-offending rates, but not linked to violent offences

—> suggests that a mental health issue like an addiction , if not treated within the prison system, can lead to re-offending

Question 8

AO3 recidivism- positives

Answer 8

• although some say custodial sentences don’t work due to high recidivism rates, most consider other reasons why prisons are used, eg retribution and incapacitation, possible that recidivism rates remain high and will so because society requires the offender to be kept out of society and to pay for their crime.
• recidivism rates may be due to ‘outside world’ not prison, and until societal problems like poverty and lack of support for those with mental health problems, recidivism will remain high.
  —> most research is based on prison environment rather than post-prison environment

Question 9

AO3 recidivism- weaknesses

Answer 9

• self report measures from re-offenders are problematic as they may not be able to reliably report why they’ve reoffended. May develop an eternal locus of control
• figures for recidivism are based on proven crimes that’ve been put through the court system, figure is most likely to be higher as some reoffenders will go undetected or never reach court. Numbers are inaccurate, will likely be higher.