Understanding recidivism, namely its continuity, change and cessation, can translate into important knowledge for the development of approaches focused on desistance, meaning the interruption, the decrease or the end of a delinquent career. Recidivism and desistance are therefore two associated concepts, and from this relationship could result important contributions to interventions with young offenders.
The “Reincidências - Young offenders recidivism and prevention of delinquency” project is coordinated by the Portuguese Youth Justice’s Probation Services (Direcção-Geral de Reinserção Social - DGRS). The project aims to create and implement a technical and methodological support device to enhance the work of this institution, systematically collecting data and carrying out studies to estimate young offender’s recidivism, as well as the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in preventing crime.
Based on research methods used in the social sciences, the project is fundamentally based on two assumptions:
- That the reduction of recidivism and social adjustment levels are the most important indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of intervention within the juvenile justice system.
- That the evaluation of risk and the protection of factors associated with recidivism, with the aim of preventing re-offence, are of the utmost importance.
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The overall objective of the Reincidências project is to create and implement a technical and methodological support device within the Portuguese Youth Justice’s Probation Services (Direcção-Geral de Reinserção Social - DGRS) that systematically collects data, carries out studies to estimate young offender’s recidivism as well as the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in preventing crime.
Specific objectives:
1) Measure the recidivism of young offenders subjected to the intervention of the justice system - based on evidence (police data) and based on previous court decisions;
2) Promote the appropriate conditions for decreasing prevalence rates of recidivism, associating static factors and type of court order;
3) Identify dynamic risk factors associated with recidivism, defining recidivist versus non-recidivist youth profiles, clarifying the recidivism definition - persistence, diversity, severity and incidence;
4) Promote the appropriate conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of youth probation service interventions in preventing young offender recidivism, as well as the impact of court measures on delinquent behaviour.
Results
The Reincidências project delivered the following results:
1) The creation of a technical and methodological support device that systematically collects data about young offenders’ recidivism within the DGRS;
2) The promotion of appropriate conditions in order to decrease prevalence rates of recidivism (persistence, diversity, severity and incidence), associating static factors and dynamic risk factors associated with recidivism (recidivist versus non-recidivist youth profiles);
3) The promotion of appropriate conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of youth probation service intervention (impact of court measures on delinquent behaviour).
Deliverables/Outputs
The Reincidências project has produced the following outputs:
-Application of recidivism software (recidivism indicators and personal and social factors)
-Validation of measurement instruments
-Methodological Guidelines
-Research Report -Young Offenders Recidivism (PT; EN)
-Research Report - 1st Data Evaluating Effectiveness of Intervention - Follow-up Perspective (PT; EN)
-International Seminar Minutes (PT; EN)
-Special Issue of DGRS's Scientific Journal on Youth Recidivism (PT; EN)
The Reincidências project is led by the Direcção-Geral de Reinserção Social - DGRS (Portugal).
The other European partners of the project are the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (Belgium), the Centre d’Estudis Jurídics i Formació Especialitzada Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain), and The Probation Service (Ireland)