recidivism

Definition

Committing new offenses after a crime committed in the past.

Etymology

From French récidivisme, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”). Compare recidivous, -ism. By surface analysis, recidive + -ism.

Example Sentences

• "The increase in criminal activity was attributed to recidivism."
• "Unintended mathwashing occurs when the algorithm is left unchecked, and, learning from historical data, amplifies social bias. The U.S. justice system uses an algorithm called COMPAS to determine a criminal's likelihood to re-offend. COMPAS has been proven by Pro Publica to predict that black defendants will have higher rates of recidivism than they actually do, while white defendants are predicted to have lower rates than they actually do."
• "alcohol(ic) recidivism"

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