Thesis (M.A.)--University of Canterbury, 2006. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examines the effects of more lenient marijuana policy on recidivism rates. Using data of prisoners by state it examined the effect that more lenient drug laws by state on that state's recidivism rates.

This study examines the efficacy of treatment and likelihood of success while on probation among a sample of 193 people who recently were under community supervision in Illinois. Less than one-third of the probationers participated in any form of treatment or services. However, treatment was more likely to be given to drug offenders and probationers who were either married or educated at high school or higher levels. In contrast to the low level of treatment overall, the subjects in this study achieved a high level of success while serving sentences of community corrections. Whether absconding from the jurisdiction, getting a technical violation of their supervision, or a new arrest for a crime, only one-fifth of the subjects failed. Failure was more apt to occur for those with a prior arrest history, less serious offenses, and among unmarried probationers. This study also examined the effectiveness of an assessment instrument to classify risk of reoffending and needs for treatment. The instrument was of low utility, the greatest use being able to distinguish failure between low and medium-risk groups of offenders.

La lutte contre la récidive est un phénomène récent dans l’histoire du droit criminel. Depuis l’abolition de la peine de mort, des châtiments corporels et de la relégation ainsi que de la tutelle pénale, aucune réponse pénale définitive ne protège la société contre le risque zéro de récidive. Des procédures rapides, des peines aggravées et complémentaires violent les droits fondamentaux de la présomption d’innocence, du procès équitable et des droits de la défense. Les critères objectifs et subjectifs des instruments mettent en œuvre une répression brutale menée par le parquet. Dans une Société qui se prétend moderne et humaine, les chances de réhabilitation sont limitées. Elle ne sait ni punir ni pardonner. La fonction rétributive de la peine supplante systématiquement les enjeux préventifs et utilitaires de la réinsertion. La Société est complice d’instruments contre-productifs qui alimentent la récidive. L’adoption récente de la contrainte pénale amorce doucement un changement de paradigme nécessaire. D’inspiration anglo-saxonne, cette probation à la française devra reformer une organisation judiciaire incohérente. Le partenariat, l’individualisation renforcée et la justice restaurative guident activement le délinquant sur le chemin de la désistance. Canaliser la portée vengeresse des instruments implique de placer sur un pied d’égalité l’impératif de punition et de réinsertion. Les fondements incertains et aléatoires des instruments limitent la portée des principes directeurs du droit pénal. L’incorrigibilité et la dangerosité sont-elles des présomptions irréfragables ? Le condamné peut-il opposer à l’administration pénitentiaire un droit créance à la réinsertion? / Fighting repeat offense is a new trend within History of the Criminal Law. Since the end of the death penalty: physical punishment, relegation and criminal guardianship, there are no absolute penal response, protecting the nation against recidivism. Rapid procedures and further made worse punishments breach fundamental rights, according the presumption of innocence, fair trial and defense rights. Tool's objectives and subjective criteria allow the implementation of a brutal crackdown by the Prosecutor. In a country that claims to be modern and human, chances of rehabilitation are actually limited. We know neither punish nor forgive. The aim of retribution always outpaces preventive measures challenges for preparing rehabilitation. Society is an accomplice of tools that feed counterproductive repeat offense. The recent adoption of criminal coercion gently begins a necessary paradigm shift. Inspired by Anglo-Saxon, the French probation will have an inconsistent reformer judiciary. Partnership, the enhanced individualization and restorative justice actively guide the offender on the path of desistance. To channel revenge of tools involves putting on equal punishment and rehabilitation imperative. The unsure and hazard bases of tools limit the scope of guiding principles on criminal law and effective rights of defense. Are incorrigibleness and hazardousness irrebuttable presumptions? Can recidivist claim a right to get rehabilitation against penitentiary administration?

Violent and aggressive behavior is a subset of antisocial behavior that is of particular concern to the criminal justice system and to the general public. A challenge facing mental health professionals and the criminal justice system is to assess—with a reasonable degree of accuracy—the likelihood that a young offender will recidivate and to arrange appropriate interventions. Because of its psychometric properties and high predictive validity, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is being incorporated into risk assessment batteries for use with adults. The purpose of the study was to extend the risk paradigm to adolescent offenders, investigating the predictive validity of the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) from adolescence to adulthood. Subjects were 157 admissions, ages 12-18, referred to Youth Court Services for psychological or psychiatric assessment. Archival data were used to complete retrospectively the PCL:YV and to code criminal history and demographic data on each of the subjects. Follow-up criminal record data were collected, with an average follow-up time of ten years. Over the follow-up period psychopaths demonstrated a greater risk for committing violent offences than nonpsychopaths. They committed violent offences at a higher rate, earlier following their release from custody, and were more likely to escape from custody than nonpsychopaths. Further, results indicate that PCL:YV score, a difference in performance - verbal intellectual functioning (P > V Index), and history of self-harm contributed significantly to the prediction of violent outcome, over and above the contribution of a combination of criminal-history and demographic variables. Finally, background and demographic characteristics were compared between violent and nonviolent psychopaths. Findings are discussed in the context of current conceptualizations of psychopathy and adolescent antisocial behavior. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the Iowa Sex Offender Risk Assessment (ISORA) instrument used in the Iowa Department of Corrections to assess for future occurrences of female offender recidivism. Using a sample of 105 females convicted of a sexual offense in the State of Iowa, the current study examined rates of recidivism using the ISORA. The goal of this study was to determine the validity of the ISORA in predicting recidivism rates as measured by (a) new convictions for sex offenses and other violent crimes, (b) new convictions for sex crimes using a strict definition, and (c) any new conviction for any new crime. Data were collected on all female participants in this study using case file information from various database resources. Mean-cost rating scores and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between risk assessment categories on the ISORA and each type of recidivism as well as between raw ISORA scores and each type of recidivism. Results showed the overall recidivism rate of female offenders was 22% for this study, while the sexual recidivism rate in this study was 2%. Results also provided evidence that the ISORA can be used to predict sexual and violent recidivism (AUC = .85) as well as general recidivism (AUC = .64) for female sex offenders. In conclusion, the ISORA is a valid risk assessment tool when predicting general and sexual or violent recidivism for female sexual offenders. However, further research examining improvements in the instrument could be conducted to enhance the validity of the instrument.

This diploma thesis deals with the concept of recidivism, which is a term that could be described as an occurrence in which the offender commits another criminal offence after being convicted. In recent years the number of recidivism rates in Czech Republic reaches from 40 to 50% which is further evidence to the urgency of this current issue. The goal of this thesis is to examine what could be the conditions of increasing or lowering the probability of reoffending and to bring forward the possible means of prevention based on that. Firstly this thesis addresses the term of recidivism and several possibilities of looking at it, further follows the issue of how recidivism is translated into legislation and then it offers data about the frequency of recidivism in Czech Republic from publicly accessible statistics. The core part of the thesis then researches if it is possible with sentences alone to prevent reoffending and if there are other factors that could potentially contribute to this goal. It could be concluded from the researched literature and studies that sentences alone have very little possibility to reduce the chances of reoffending. The lowest probability of reoffending was repeatedly recorded with people who started offending at a very young age, without stable occupations, place to...

There are numerous types of reentry programs available to inmates to help avoid the cycle of recidivism. There is little research on the impacts of reentry programs in jail populations. This current study sought to provide more research in this area by evaluating a local jail reentry program’s effect on recidivism. A quasi-experimental design was used to estimate the program’s effectiveness by comparing the recidivism statistics of inmates that have participated in the reentry program to a control group of inmates that did not. Inmates in the control group were matched according to their gender, age, race, and current offense type in efforts to mirror the type of inmates in the treatment group. Analyses indicated that inmates that completed the Correctional Career Pathways program had lower rates of recidivism when compared to the control group, but this difference was not great enough to be statistically significant.

Although criminality among mentally ill individuals is a well-documented phenomenon, limited research has focused on specific factors that need to be addressed to combat this issue. Utilizing the theoretical framework of Shaw and McKay’s (1942) Social Disorganization Theory, in conjunction with collective efficacy (Sampson et al., 1997) and social capital (Coleman, 1988), different factors were explored in an attempt to discover their relationship with recidivism. Using secondary data from Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies, variables such as homelessness, unemployment, and religious importance were analyzed in relation to rearrest rates from 889 parolees nine months post-release. Marriage, sex, and age were controlled for. A relationship was found between unemployment and rearrest; however, no relationship was found between rearrest and homelessness or religious importance among this sample. Results from this study could contribute to the future implementation of programs aimed at assisting mentally ill offenders who are being released from confinement.