recidives

Recidives are the plural form of recidive, a term used to describe the relapse into criminal behavior by individuals who have previously been convicted of a crime. In criminology, the closely related term is recidivism. While recidive is used in some languages (for example, French and Spanish) to denote repeated offenses, in English the term recidivism is more common. Recidives refer to the recurrence of offending after an initial conviction or release, and may include new offenses or technical violations such as breaches of parole.

Recidives are typically measured through rates of rearrest, reconviction, or returns to custody within a defined time after release. Each method captures different aspects: rearrest indicates alleged unlawful behavior, reconviction depends on judicial processing, and returns to prison reflect incarceration for any reason. Because definitions and data collection vary by jurisdiction, reported recidives can differ widely even for similar populations.

Risk factors include substance abuse, mental health issues, unemployment, lack of housing, education level, and weak social support; sentencing length and program quality also influence recidives. Criminological theories examine pathways from punishment to behavior; some suggest that ineffective rehabilitation, stigmatization, or disrupted social ties may increase the likelihood of relapse.

Efforts to reduce recidives focus on rehabilitation and reintegration, including education and job training, substance use and mental health treatment, and structured parole supervision. Early release decisions, sentence tailoring, and restorative justice practices aim to reduce reoffending while balancing public safety and resource allocation. Critics argue that recidivism metrics alone can misrepresent societal outcomes and should be complemented with outcome measures such as employment, housing stability, and prosocial activity.