Recidivism is the notion of one returning to his criminal roots upon his release from prison. Politicians and those who look after the rights of criminals always talk about reducing the recidivism rates. They look at things like education and various socio-economic factors and how society might address those issues in order to keep people from ending back up in prison.
There would seem to be many reasons why politicos would want to see fewer people return to jail and it would seem that there is so much more that could be done to prevent those returnees. It has become obvious, however, that not all political types really want to see less folks end up in jail.
There are good reasons for politicians to not want the recidivism rates reduced but few if any would ever publically discuss those reasons. We are all familiar with the idea of the military industrial complex but most of us don’t know about the prison industrial complex. Essentially the prison industrial complex is involved in everything that relates, on whatever level, to the building and running of the prison systems.
So the idea of having good jobs within the prison industrial complex is welcomed by almost all politicians. The closing of prisons or the closing of those companies that manufacture items for prisons would toss folks out of work and unemployed people is never a good thing for any politician. So, politicians need to keep all those systems pumping and higher recidivism rates are one way to ensure those jobs.
Another reason politicians might want re-offenders jailed is so that they can appear tough on crime. It’s a phrase we hear all the time from politicians and they act like no one before them has ever been or at least claimed to be tough on crime. What does tough on crime mean? Well, it could be seen as building more prisons and hiring more guards and generally feeding the prison industrial complex.
A politician might suggest that being tough on crime involves removing that particular element from society. There are nice words about making communities safe for hard working, law abiding people. Whatever words politicians use to make you feel better what that entire phrase means is keeping the prison industrial complex in motion.
No one would ever wish to insinuate that any politician would ever want to see folks physically injured or even emotionally scarred by criminals who commit any crimes. Let’s just end by saying that recidivism could be as simple as running afoul of a court order of some nature.