The term that describes repeat offending by those who have been in prison is recidivism.

Recidivism refers to the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend after being released from prison. It is a key concept in criminology and criminal justice systems worldwide, used to measure the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs and the overall impact of incarceration.

Related Topics

Criminal Justice System: Understanding how societies deal with crime, including policing, courts, and corrections.

Rehabilitation: Programs designed to reform offenders and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

Penology: The study of prison management and criminal punishment.

Key Formulae & Concepts

While recidivism itself is not a mathematical formula, it is often measured using rates. The recidivism rate can be calculated as:

$\mathrm{Recidivism\; Rate}=\frac{\mathrm{Number\; of\; released\; prisoners\; who\; reoffend}}{\mathrm{Total\; number\; of\; released\; prisoners}}\times 100\%$

This rate helps policymakers evaluate the success of correctional systems and rehabilitation efforts.