Relationship between Offender Characteristics and Recidivism in Kakamega County, Kenya

Abstract

According to (Walmsley, 2016: 2), Kenya is ranking high in the rates of prison overcrowding owing to continued relapse into crime by the ex-offenders. The total prison population in Kenya, comprising pre-trial inmates and remand prisoners, was 57 000 as of August 2016 (Walmsley, 2016: 2).  Kenya has one hundred and eight prison institutions with a design capacity of 26 757 prisoners. This translates to an occupancy level of 213 percent, which is one of the highest in the world and confirms the fact that there is overcrowding in Kenyan prisons. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics Report (Republic of Kenya, 2017: 272), repeat offenders accounted for 25,8 percent of the Kenyan prison population. In direct correlation with this high level of confinement, the country annually also discharges some 255 000 convicted and non-convicted inmates back into various communities across the country. This pattern indicates that offenders do not leave criminality and yet government resources are continuously being spent in trying to reform convicted offenders. This study sought to investigate the relationship between offender characteristics and recidivism in Kakamega County, Kenya. Specifically, the influence of gender, age at the time of imprisonment, educational level, employment status, accommodation, romantic relationships, children, peer relationships, prior criminal records, criminal record and alcohol consumption on recidivism were interrogated. The study adopted a survey research design in which 384 recidivists were sampled to take part in the study as respondents. Besides the recidivist, 25 Prison Officers,13 Probation Officers, 27 family members of recidivists, and 18 community members from the neighbourhoods of recidivists bringing the target sample to 467 respondents. Both probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling techniques were used in sample selection. Data from respondents was collected using a questionnaire that was tested for validity and reliability prior to the actual data collection. Factor analysis was used to ascertain validity while Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of reliability was used to ascertain reliability of the questionnaire. Findings revealed a significant relationship between individual characteristics and recidivism among released prisoners in Kakamega County (r=0.669; P< 0.01). Regression analysis revealed that offender characteristics were significant predictors of recidivism with an R squared value of 0.237 implying that offender characteristics account for 23.7% of the variance in recidivism among sampled offenders.  From the study, it is recommended that treatment plans drawn by correctional officers should take into account the individual characteristics of released offenders since there is a strong association between individual characteristics of offenders and recidivism.

Key Words: Offender Characteristics, Recidivism

DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/12-1-06

Publication date: February 28^th 2022