Breach of law seems to be a trend in the present times; that is why the fear and perturbation of getting penalised seems to have been wiped out too. Recidivism, especially in the South-Asian countries, like Pakistan, is increasing, a tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend which is measured by criminal acts that resulted in a re-arrest.

So far, according to the survey done by the World Population Review, unfortunately, Pakistan ranked 5th overall in the world with the higher rates of recidivism in 2020. Howbeit, the rehabilitation refers to the thought that offenders have underlying reasons for committing the crime and thus, recidivism can be addressed by cognitive and rationale therapy.

On the flip side, the general deterrence theory advocates that the individuals will commit crimes when there is no fear of punishment. Research shows that young adults who have a college degree and a school level certificate are more likely to be get rearrested.

Prisons in Pakistan are not performing their duties of correlational activities and have very little focus on structural programmes for prisoners waiting for their trial. So, there is yet another key factor to reduce crime by way of providing quality education in prisons.

In short, to educate the offenders is effective. Countries spend on the prisoners rather than on prisons. In the same way, the first step is to be taken to frame laws and policies, identifying the perception that triggers the offenders and their psychological state. The concerned authorities must need to understand the worst situation of an offender too.

In a third world country like Pakistan, poverty is the root of evil in the society, that is why one must be able to keep the wolf from the door. Once they are labelled as the “offender” they are considered the most notorious person of society. Well, this recidivism shouldn’t be for the hardened criminals according to my take. In Pakistan, the parole system is highlighted. For instance, the Probation of Offenders Ordinance 1960, Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Release Act 1926 and Good Conduct Prisoners Probational Rules 1927. But here the issue of implementation comes to the light.

Who is responsible for an effective implementation of the laws? In short, these acts/ordinances state how courts release the offenders temporarily based on showing good behaviour and also suggest that such services must be allowed to all offenders without any discrimination. Besides, the judge should be capable of observing the behaviour of the offenders; is he a habitual offender or not, what is his mental condition and was he incited by someone?

Prisons in Pakistan are not performing their duties of correlational activities and have very little focus on structural programmes for prisoners waiting for their trial. So, there is yet another key factor to reduce crime by way of providing quality education in prisons.

In Pakistan, recidivism is increasing and now it is high time the Pakistani authorities realised the loopholes and take steps to curb this problem by taking stern action. Certainly, it is a challenging task but in the long run it’ll bear fruit. If one gets charged with an offence he may be put behind bars the very next day. Every prisoner has the right to spend time in prison with dignity and hope.

No one is born a criminal, thus they should be given an opportunity to reintegrate with the society. About 99 prisons are operating in Pakistan with the official capacity of 55,000 prisoners. It is extremely distressing that according to the survey of Justice Project of Pakistan, more than 84,000 are in prisons. Many people are still waiting for their trial. The slow process of hearing of a case, absence of mentoring sessions, and poor infrastructure of the prisons are the chief factors that give birth to recidivism.

The situation can get even worse. I often ponder how would they suffer through such a severe mental trauma inside the prison? Apart from this, insufficient funds results in this situation. There is a dire need of structural reforms as well which have a direct effect on recidivism.

Research shows that close and positive family relationships during imprisonment reduce the chances of recidivism. About five months ago, a very path-breaking step was taken by the Punjab government. The prisoners’ wives would be allowed to stay with them for three days every three months. Finally, our provincial government has taken the bull by the horns but this should be applied to the rest of provinces as well. This project was first started back in 2010 but due to some financial crisis, only few prisons could have built family homes. Despite all challenges faced by the government, family homes have been established in the major cities like Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad.

In the US, California and Utah have the highest rates of recidivism with levels of 75 percent to 80 percent. As reported in the BBC Radio on September 2, 2005, recidivism rate in the US was higher than in the United Kingdom because the United Kingdom offers an educational and rehabilitation environment as compared to the United States who only focuses on punishment, deterrence and marginalizing suspects.

In a nutshell, it’s obvious that counselling works very well and plays a considerable role in maintaining a low-crime rate.

The Writer is a Legal Counsel. He can be reached at muhammadzamanbutt666@gmail.com