Recidivism

In criminal law, recidivism means that a person commits further offences after prior conviction, punishment or intervention. Swiss criminal justice treats previous convictions as relevant to sentencing, prognosis, conditional release and certain preventive measures, while still requiring individual assessment. The concept is also criminological: recidivism rates are used to evaluate prisons, probation, therapy and social reintegration. Comparative law differs on whether repeat offending triggers mandatory increases, enhanced supervision or specialist courts.