The Importance Of Recidivism In The Modern Criminal Justice System

A major issue in the modern criminal justice system is the mass amount of recidivism. Recidivism being the re-offense of a convicted criminal. We see recidivism as such an epidemic of sorts because in the United States we have nearly 7 million people under correctional super vision, 95% of which re-enter society after their time has been served (Hall, 2015). The issue arises when we see that over 75% of those released will be rearrested within five years. (Mandiberg and Harris, 2014) This statistic, while grave, is not surprising. Ex-convicts face many issues when they re-enter society, issues such as lack of employment opportunity, homelessness, and inadequate medical treatment (Gideon, Hung-En, 2011). These issues piled on top of the stigma

Without the basic survival need such as shelter, these individuals are far more likely to recidivate. In the study Alcohol- and Drug-Free Housing: A Key Strategy in Breaking the Cycle of Addiction and Recidivism, Susan F. Mandiberg and Richard L. Harris recognized this hindrance to a smooth re-entry, stating in the study, “The causes of recidivism are complex. High-risk offenders, however, generally suffer from a lack of secure housing, re-association with peers engaged in crime, use of drugs and alcohol, a lack of money, a lack of living-wage employment opportunities, and insufficient means of navigating post-release administrative obstacles.” (Mandiberg and Harris, 2014). Through the study, the researchers provided a population of recently released prisoners with resources such as housing to see if it made them less likely to recidivate. It was found that given adequate resources the recidivism rate was reduced. As it was said in the research paper, “Helping alcoholics and drug addicts learn to maintain recovery will lead to a reduction in criminality, including recidivism. CCC’s Alcohol- and Drug-Free Community model is a very effective way to achieve this success for a large number of people struggling with addiction.” (Mandiberg and Harris,