noun
recidivism
ri-SID-i-viz-uhm
Recidivism (noun) means the tendency of a convicted offender to commit further crimes, especially after being released from prison; the rate at which this happens. Example: “The programme cut recidivism among young offenders by a fifth.”
noun
1
The tendency of a convicted offender to commit further crimes, especially after being released from prison; the rate at which this happens.
"The programme cut recidivism among young offenders by a fifth."
"Recidivism is measured differently in every jurisdiction, which makes comparison difficult."
2
formal A return to any former pattern of behaviour that someone had stopped, especially an addiction or unwanted habit.
"Relapse counselling treats recidivism as part of recovery rather than as failure."
How to use recidivism
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishWhen someone who has been punished for a crime goes on to commit another one.
When to use it
Formal; standard in criminology, policy and journalism.
Easily confused with
Common pairings
recidivism rate
reduce recidivism
high recidivism
recidivism among juveniles
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Etymology
From Latin recidivus 'falling back', from recidere 'to fall back', formed from re- 'back' and cadere 'to fall'.
Synonyms
View more →Related words
Rhymes for recidivism
See all rhymes for recidivism →Frequently asked questions
How is the recidivism rate measured?
Most commonly as the share of released prisoners who are rearrested, reconvicted or reimprisoned within a fixed window, usually one, two or three years. Because those three triggers give very different numbers, always check which one a statistic uses before comparing countries or programmes.
What is the difference between recidivism and relapse?
Recidivism refers to returning to criminal offending and is a criminal-justice measure. Relapse refers to returning to a behaviour or substance use and is a clinical one. They overlap when the offending is driven by addiction.
What causes high recidivism?
The factors researchers consistently identify are lack of housing and employment on release, untreated addiction and mental illness, weak family ties, and the disruption that imprisonment itself causes to all of these. Short sentences are associated with higher reoffending than community sentences for comparable offences.
What is the meaning of recidivism?
"recidivism" (noun) means the tendency of a convicted offender to commit further crimes, especially after being released from prison; the rate at which this happens.
