The Criminal Justice System has evolved over time due to crime volume, funding and priorities. Corrections is the process that takes place following the conviction of criminal offenders and how that is handled can determine the ultimate outcome of future recidivism.
The timeline shown in Figure 1.1 (Latessa & Smith, 2015, p. 4), indicates an accurate flow of events that an offender would experience in the Criminal Justice System with the ultimate outcome of crime prevention. Effective correctional programs must not only incorporate lessons on what should not be done but must also include skill training to prepare for potential situations which involve reoffending.
Latessa and Smith (2015) highlight 8 principles of effective intervention which must be included at some level if reduced recidivism is the expected outcome.
The difficulty in evaluating which correctional programs reduce recidivism has to do with the variation of the population of offenders who receive the programs and the inconsistencies in the ways the programs are delivered.
King and Elderbroom (2014) state that strict performance measurements must be incorporated into any strategy policy, including corrections for reduced recidivism, in order to produce the intended effect.
These include Definition, Collection, Analysis and Dissemination. "Recidivism is most frequently reported as a single, statewide rate, which is too imprecise to draw meaningful conclusions and insufficient for assessing the impact of changes to policy and practice" (King & Elderbroom, 2014, p. 2) Recidivism cannot be measured as a success or failure and many different types of metrics must be used in the evaluation process.
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