Epidemiology of Recidivism

Repeat offenders directly and indirectly impact national public health and criminal justice policy. National public health policy, for example, tends to focus on the myriad of health related issues that impact our society, from infectious diseases to occupational injuries. However, when examining the impact of national health policy in relation to criminal justice policy, we rarely, if every, see open dialogue or policy papers discussing their relationship. The sciences of epidemiology and criminology share common theories that take into account the “epidemiology of recidivism”. These can include, but not be limited to, type of crime, race, gender, and age of offenders, the geographic location of the offender's residence in relation to where their lawbreaking began, environmental factors that may have precipitated their lawlessness, and the impact on the families of perpetrators when a crime is committed and processed through the criminal justice system. While many of these factors are controlled for across multiple analytical models, rarely does such analysis discuss the “epidemiology of recidivism” with respect to prisoner re-entry back into society, back into families, and its impact from an epidemiological criminology perspective. In summary, this presentation will focus on how recidivism impacts public health and criminal justice policy, especially as it leads to the “domino effect” and the impact of incarceration and re-entry as a “familial disease.”