Table Of Content‘Five percent of offenders commit fi fty percent of crimes. Beyond that, what else
do we know? This book is the authoritative source for the newest information on
reoffending, rearrest, reconviction, reincarceration, specialisation, versatility, life-
course-persistent offending, escalation or de-escalation, risk assessment, psycho-
pathic personality, desistence, and most important of all, what works to reduce
recidivism.’
Terrie E Moffitt, Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor,
Duke University, USA
‘A small group of offenders are accountable for the majority of crime, and our
capacity to explain, predict, and prevent recidivism is of the utmost importance for
society. David Farrington and Georgia Zara, leading scholars in the fi eld, provide
a penetrating analysis of the most important issues in recidivism research. Deeply
informative and clearly written, this groundbreaking book provides a fresh and
invigorating perspective on criminal recidivism. Engaging and level-headed, this
absorbing and very accessible account of recidivism covers all key knowledge bases
on criminal reoffending, including prediction, risk assessment instruments, psycho-
paths, sex offenders, treatment, and much more. It’s an outstanding and invaluable
resource for all those who deal with offenders, both in research and practice.’
Adrian Raine, Richard Perry University Professor, Departments of Criminology,
Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, USA
‘This book is an impressive overview of scientifi c knowledge on criminal recidi-
vism and its correlates, including relevant European data on this topic. I particu-
larly like Zara and Farrington’s integration of general quantitative results and their
qualitative description of persistent offender’s life stories. Crime researchers and
Criminal Justice practitioners will fi nd in this book the most solid scientifi c basis
for their analyses and practical interventions.’
Santiago Redondo, Professor of Criminology, Faculty of Psychology,
University of Barcelona, Spain
‘This volume addresses critical questions for criminal justice policymakers, academ-
ics and students of criminology: Why do people continue to commit crime and
what can be done to stop them? The depth and range provided by the authors in
answering these critical questions make this book a truly impressive contribution.’
Darrick Jolliffe, Professor of Criminology,
University of Greenwich, UK
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CRIMINAL RECIDIVISM
Criminal Recidivism intends to fi ll a gap in the criminological psychology literature
by examining the processes underlying persistent criminal careers. This book aims
to investigate criminal recidivism, and why, how and for how long an individual
continues to commit crimes, whilst also reviewing knowledge about risk assess-
ment and the role of psychopathy (including neurocriminological factors) in
encouraging recidivism. It also focuses on the recidivism of sex offenders and on
what works in reducing reoffending.
At an empirical level, this book attempts to explain criminal persistence and
recidivism using longitudinal data from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development (CSDD). At a psycho-criminological level it joins together quantita-
tive and qualitative analyses, making its content a practical guide to explain, predict
and intervene to reduce the risk of criminal recidivism. The authors present quan-
titative analyses of criminal careers, as well as qualitative life histories of chronic
offenders, in order to bring home the reality and consequences of a life of crime.
The book is aimed not only at advanced students and academics in psychology,
criminology, probation studies, social sciences, psychiatry, sociology, political sci-
ence and penology, but also at decision-makers, policy officials and practitioners
within the realm of crime intervention and prevention, and also at forensic experts,
judges and lawyers.
Georgia Zara, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Criminological Psychology at the
Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Italy, and is Head and Programme
Leader of the Higher Degree in Criminological and Forensic Psychology in the
same department.
David P. Farrington, OBE, is Emeritus Professor of Psychological Criminology
and Leverhulme Trust Emeritus Fellow in the Institute of Criminology, Cambridge
University. He received the Stockholm Prize in Criminology in 2013.
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CRIMINAL RECIDIVISM
Explanation, prediction and
prevention
Georgia Zara and David P. Farrington
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Georgia Zara and David P. Farrington
The right of Georgia Zara and David P. Farrington to be identifi ed as
authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zara, Georgia.
Criminal recidivism : explanation, prediction and prevention / Georgia
Zara and David P. Farrington.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Recidivism. 2. Criminals–Rehabilitation. 3. Criminal psychology.
I. Farrington, David P. II. Title.
HV6049.Z37 2015
364.3–dc23 2015002391
ISBN: 978-1-84392-707-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84392-706-8 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-08345-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo by Sunrise Setting Ltd, Torquay, UK
DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to Professor Donald J. West, for his pio-
neering work in founding the Cambridge Study in Delinquent
Development and in directing the study for its fi rst two decades.
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CONTENTS
List of fi gures x
List of tables xi
Foreword by Rolf Loeber xiii
Acknowledgements xv
About the authors xvii
Introduction 1
1 Criminal recidivism 4
2 Criminal careers, recidivists and chronic offenders 30
3 Chronic offenders and their life stories 67
4 Risk assessment 148
5 Psychopathy 231
6 Sex offending 282
7 Evidence-based intervention and treatment 310
8 Conclusions 333
References 338
Index 389
