Overview
One of the most frequently used measures to gauge the effectiveness and impact of criminal sentencing and correctional programs is the recidivism of those processed through the justice system and released from community corrections programs or prisons. Broadly defined, recidivism is the return to criminal behavior following some type of intervention by the criminal justice system; however, in practice and research, how recidivism is measured varies dramatically, and as a result, so too do rates of recidivism. Based on one definition that has been used for those released from prison – whether or not the former inmate was rearrested for a new crime within 3 years following release – the recidivism rate of a nationally representative sample of released inmates in the United States was 68 %; however, when defined as returned to prison as a result of a new conviction, the recidivism rate was 25 % (Langan and Levin 2002...
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Olson, D.E. (2014). Risk Factors for Prison Recidivism. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_521
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