Recidivism in Australia : findings and future research - Australian ...

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Recidivism in Australia: findings and future research
The difference between male and female recidivism rates is complex. There are almost
as many studies that find no difference by gender as those that do. Moreover, gender
is one variable unlikely to be defined and measured differently in different contexts.
Nonetheless, there are a few important issues worth noting. First, every study that
confirmed the gender differential found that females are less likely than males to engage
in recidivism. Although the gender differential itself was not well established, the direction
appeared consistent. Second, most of the studies that found a difference between males
and females examined the juvenile offender population. This suggests that there is strong
evidence in Australia that juvenile female offenders are less likely to be recidivists.
Finally, the gender differential in recidivism rates appears to be related to the offender
population studied. Most of the studies that found no gender differential focused on the
more serious offender populations – that is, offenders released from prison. Studies that
focused on the general offender population – that is, those offenders who came into contact
with the police – found that females were less likely to be identified as recidivist offenders.
This suggests that at the more serious end of the offending scale, there is no difference
between males and females, but for the average offender having contact with the police,
gender is an important factor in recidivism.
Indigenous status
The relationship between an offender’s Indigenous status and propensity to reoffend has
received considerable attention in the Australian recidivism literature. An overwhelming
majority of studies find significant differences been Indigenous and non-Indigenous
offenders, where Indigenous offenders are more likely to be recidivists.
Broadhurst and Loh (1995) estimated the probability that an offender apprehended
in Western Australia would be rearrested within ten years. The probabilities are presented
in Figure 8 and illustrate the significant difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
offenders. Eighty-eight percent of Indigenous male offenders will be rearrested within ten years,
compared with 52 percent of non-Indigenous males. Note also that the gender differential
noted in non-Indigenous offenders is much less apparent in Indigenous offenders.