Relationship Between Personality And Recidivism - 1371 Words

An unavoidable facet of any population is that of a criminal element. Where there is law there will be criminals who break the law. These people are incarcerated for the safety of the public, the administration of justice and as punishment. After an inmate has served the requisite sentence for the crime which they committed their debt to society is considered paid. In some cases an offender is paroled early into a largely unaware community to serve the remainder of their sentence quietly monitored among the populace. One of the largest concerns regarding the release of a criminal is whether they will offend again, an occurrence called recidivism. Court systems and parole boards routinely use risk assessment tools to screen a criminal’s†¦show more content†¦Based on the available information they must then make a recommendation for release or retention. That decision is monumental and can have massive consequences in both the life of an offender and society. If a murd er is released and goes on to commit another murder the loss of life is in effect a failure of the system. If a different murder is released and makes a beneficial contribution to society then the system is considered justified. A Bureau of Justice Statistics 2005 study monitored 404,638 prisoners in 30 states after their release from prison. It was found that of the released inmates, 56.7 percent were rearrested by the end of the year. Roughly two-thirds of the total of those released, 67.8, were rearrested within three years. An overwhelming majority, 76.6 percent, had re-offended and again been taken into custody within five years of their 2005 release. The study also details the percentages of recidivism among offender types. Non-violent criminals comprised 82 percent of the group and violent offenders 71 percent. (National Institute of Justice, 2014) These are big numbers and highlight why caution should be heavily applied to any early release decision. Considering the high statistical averages of recidivism it is appropriate to examine whether there are factors that increase or decrease an inmate’s potentiality for