Examining Race and Sex Inequality in Recidivism

A low recidivism rate is a goal for any criminal justice system. Poor post‐release outcomes are not random events, however. Some groups are more likely than others to recidivate. This paper will review the literature on inequality in recidivism rates, concentrating on the effects of race and sex. The probability of recidivating is not a randomly distributed event; men are more likely than women to recidivate, and Blacks more likely than Whites, with Hispanics in between. This paper will also address some of the promises (and challenges) that researchers face when trying to identify the causes of race and sex gaps in recidivism rates. This paper will end with recommendations for how to study inequality in recidivism in the future, with the key being to identify the social mechanisms that underlie these consistently unequal outcomes of our corrections system.