What does recidivism mean?
Recidivism is the recurrence of criminal offending after a person has previously been convicted, punished, treated, or released. The term is especially common in discussions of prisons, courts, probation, and rehabilitation, where researchers and practitioners examine how often former offenders return to crime. Recidivism is often discussed alongside programs designed to reduce it, including education, employment support, mental-health care, substance-abuse treatment, and stable housing. It can also refer more broadly to the repeated return to a harmful or unlawful pattern of behavior. Because the word identifies a measurable social and legal problem rather than an individual’s identity, it is generally used in formal and public-policy contexts.
nounThe fact of a person returning to criminal behavior or offending after having been convicted, treated, or released. It can also refer more generally to the recurrence of such behavior.
- The recurrence of criminal behavior or reoffending by a person who has previously been convicted, treated, or released.
"The program aims to reduce recidivism by providing former offenders with employment and housing support."
"The prison reported a decline in recidivism among participants in its rehabilitation program."
"Housing instability is associated with a higher risk of recidivism after release from prison."
Usually used in the plural when referring to separate instances or cases of reoffending.
"The report compares recidivisms among participants in two different rehabilitation programs."
Recidivism measures not just whether someone has offended before, but whether the system has helped them stay away from offending afterward.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does recidivism come from?
The word comes from Latin recidivism, a noun formed from recurrere, meaning “to run back” or “fall back,” with the sense of returning to an earlier condition or course of action. Its development in English initially referred to relapse into crime and later became especially prominent in legal and criminological usage. The related English forms recidivist and recidivistic also come from the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How recidivism is actually used
The term is primarily used in criminal justice, criminology, and social policy. It is formal and usually refers to a person becoming involved in criminal activity again after an earlier conviction or period of nonoffending; it is not usually used for ordinary repeated mistakes.