recidivism

recidivism, tendency toward chronic criminal behaviour leading to numerous arrests and re-imprisonment. Studies of the yearly intake of prisons, reformatories, and jails in the United States and Europe show that from one-half to two-thirds of those imprisoned have served previous sentences in the same or in other institutions. The conclusion is that the criminal population is made up largely of those for whom criminal behaviour has become habitual; moreover, penal institutions appear to do little...