Tokin' dat stuff.

I went to Dictionary.com and typed in 'recidivism' and the reply was 'a tendency to recidivate.'

Thanks. (To be fair, they define the verb more clearly.)

To recidivate is simply a fancy way of saying to fall back into previous patterns of behavior and it has a negative connotation, i.e. crime, sin, etc. I'll save the discussion for spiritual/religious recidivism when I'm no longer among mired in it.

Criminal recidivism, on the other hand, is probably the #1 failure of modern prison systems, if not in the past, as well. There have been a few major studies in the U.S. regarding this that I found online:

The first study was conducted in 1989 and tracked criminals released in 1983. Key findings related to the topic on recidivism included the following major points:

1. About 47% of former prisoners were convicted of a new crime, and
2. 41% were sent back to prison or jail.

The second study was conducted in 2002, examining criminals released in 1994. Specific stats can be seen here and the abstract highlighted the following:

1. Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), larcenists (74.6%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%).
2. Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide.
3. The 272,111 offenders discharged in 1994 had accumulated 4.1 million arrest charges before their most recent imprisonment and another 744,000 charges within 3 years of release."

For the graphically inclined, here are a couple of functional, but ugly, charts produced by the DOJ's people in this department. This page discusses statistics on re-entry of criminals into their neighborhoods and shows pretty much what the above stats already state.

There has been much analysis by substance abuse specialists, psychologists, and even former inmates suggesting ways that rehabilitation can be improved. Not being an expert in the field, I can't state any problems with their suggestions for improvement or objections to the status quo. The reality, however, is that most of these would require much firmer backing from the Federal government in the form of better programs, counseling, and follow-up, etc., if they are to succeed.

They also argue that the penalty is not as important as the treatment - that, in fact, the two are not synonymous. And that's obviously true as many of the cited statistics and studies above show that even as penalties for criminal activity have increased, recidivism is as high as ever. (I'm not even touching how this affects "white collar" criminals.)

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, based out of Hayward, CA once mentioned this issue of recidivism in a lecture on spiritual wellness and repentance. In it he lambasted current practices in criminal rehabilitation through the current parole - a system that sends the offender back to the very place from where he came. To be specific, he may have been talking about parole in California and practices elsewhere may differ.

Nonetheless, he commented that it's ludicrous to expect reform from parolees, for instance, when they are sent to reform amongst those whose company aided them in transgression in the first place. Unless the person is particularly special and resolute, it's expected that he will fall again.

The fantastic hadith of the murderer of 99 people (+1) seeking repentance is of particular relevance here and has a nice analysis on this website. One of the many points of this story was that the murderer was not able to reform in an environment that would not encourage him to do so. Seeking advice on how he can change his ways, he ends up killing the first advisor after having been told reform is not possible; only the second advisor tells him that he must go to such-and-such land where people are better in conduct and would thus increase his chance of rehabilitation (which, in this case, meant getting into paradise).

Also, if we look to Islamic theory of repentance, we find several conditions of critical importance that are intimately related to proper reform and rehabilitation:

1. The sinning must stop;
2. the sinner must feel regret/remorse;
3. he must resolve not to recidivate; and,
4. if the sin related to the rights of another, those rights, property, etc. should be reinstated.

This is found in Riyadh us Salihin, compiled by Imam Nawawi. Scholars and other ahadeeth have explained, with respect to the 3rd note, that this resolution needs to be accompanied by concrete steps to prevent situations from arising that lead to the sin:

e.g. You are a serial drug abuser and wish to stop, so you completely leave the company of those who partake in/condone/promote that behavior. Essentially, you take whatever steps are necessary to avoid perpetrating any environmental stimulus to your previously conditioned behavior...

The genius of the Islamic remedy is divine, literally, and simply confirmed in latter-day Pavlovian psychology. It is only dependent upon implementation. No matter the size of prisons, harshness of sentencing, or quality of rehabilitation programs, the individual's environmental reality cannot be ignored. If we don't provide a way for criminals to return to communities where they can really get a fresh start with brand new resources, encouragement, and successful models of reform, their incentive to strive will dwindle.