Recidivism of Prisoners in Bangladesh: Trends and Causes

, A common belief is expressed that imposing sanction on the criminal offenders is the only procedure to restrain crimes in a society. Many a times the offenders are convicted after committing an offence and after a certain period of time they are released. A large number among them again commit crimes; are rearrested, and resentenced. The preeminent objective of study is to explore the patterns and trends of recidivism and also to identify the causes of recidivism among prisoners. The study finds that deficits in education, employment, and housing as well as the lack of treatment programs pose significant barriers to the successful reentry of inmates released from prison. Moreover, outdated laws and procedures and long term justice system process are the main factors of recidivism in Bangladesh. There have been used differential association theory, classical school thought of criminology to explain the patterns, trend and causes and inoculation theory as prevention or reduction of recidivism of prisoners. This study concludes with a discussion that offers suggestions for future research.