Discussion Papers no. 772

Mapping recidivism measures and their consequences

Pick a number

Recidivism studies differ with respect to samples, definitions and follow-up periods. While it is recognized that such differences hamper comparability, there is little systematic knowledge about how recidivism figures are affected.

Recidivism studies differ with respect to samples, definitions and follow-up periods. While it is recognized that such differences hamper comparability, there is little systematic knowledge about how recidivism figures are affected. We explore how deliberate changes in the following three parameters affect the reported recidivism levels: 1) sample definition, 2) measure of recidivism, and 3) length of follow up. We use administrative records from Norway which allow using total offender populations and combining information from several sources. Our results show that the proportion of reoffenders varies from 9 to 53 percent, depending on how, among whom and for how long recidivism is measured.

About the publication

Title

Pick a number. Mapping recidivism measures and their consequences

Authors

Synøve Nygaard Andersen, Torbjørn Skardhamar

Series and number

Discussion Papers no. 772

Publisher

Statistics Norway

Topic

Discussion Papers

ISSN

1892-753X

Number of pages

29

Language

English

About Discussion Papers

Discussion papers comprise research papers intended for international journals and books. A preprint of a Discussion Paper may be longer and more elaborate than a standard journal article as it may include intermediate calculations, background material etc.

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