CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The etymology of recidivism is derived from the Latin word “recidere‘, which means to fall back‘. Within the context of sociology of punishment and corrections (penology) and criminal justice system (police, court, prisons, etc) across the globe, the concept of recidivism has, over time, been known by different terminologies. Recidivism encompasses re-arrest, resistance to rehabilitation, repeat offending, re-conviction, re-offending, re-admission, reincarceration, repetitious criminal tendency, among others.

In broad terms, recidivism means a relapse into crime and criminal lifestyle or activities by an offender who had once or more times been processed through the penal system. Otherwise known as ‗repeaters‘, incorrigible offenders and offenders beyond rehabilitation, recidivists are persons who repeatedly violate the law, get arrested and processed by the criminal justice administrators. According to Abrifor, Atere and Muoghalu (2012), recidivism is a technical term which, if construed narrowly, by-passes the important problem it represents, the problem of persistency in criminal behaviour. Tenibiaje (2013), citing Rahim (1984), observed that recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behaviour after he or she has either experienced negative consequences of that behaviour or has been treated or trained to extinguish that behavior.

The term prison‘, on the other hand, occupies a third position in the criminal justice system of any country, and indeed, plays a central role in the prevention and control of criminal recidivism. Prison is a closed and regimented institution where people who are convicted below life imprisonment and death penalty after trial are physically confined for rehabilitation so as to be law-abiding and acceptable human beings in the society upon release. It is also a place where crime suspects awaiting trial are detained until the determination of their cases. Above all, the prison serves as a veritable agent of socialisation‘, an institution where detainees or inmates are undergoing reformation and rehabilitation so as to be law-abiding upon release, make their reintegration easy and possible and, more importantly, to deter them from relapsing into crime and criminality. Qadri (2005) stated that the objective of prison sentence is not to have retribution against the offender but to make him a better human being so as to be more useful to the society.

On the other hand home background is another determining factor influencing recidivism in Nigeria. Home background influence is another powerful predictor of recidivism. Although the effect seems to be more pronounced on youngsters in a group setting than relatively older ones or those perceived to be smart and clever, there exists a trajectory of criminal learning and symbiotic relationship among these social actors. McGuire (2009) as recorded in Tenibiaje (2013) posited that direct behavioural learning through modeling and imitation is the potent factor in group influence. Some offences are particularly among young people and they are committed in a group setting. Effect of the home background and the pressure this may exert towards experimentation and other manifestations of growing independence of youths are cases in points on criminality and recidivism. The home background effects have to do with the link that resides in pattern of social interaction with such groupings. Besides, crime researchers like Agnew and Brezina (1997), Beaver, Shutt, Boutwell, Ratchford, Roberts and Barness (2008) and Murray and Farrington (2010) suggested that spending much time with family or friends who engage in criminal behaviour is a stronger risk factor for offending and reoffending.

1. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The home background plays a major role in the rate of recidivism in Nigeria. Children born in a home where there is no need for the respect of morality tends to have a negative attitude/behavior towards to the society. For example a child that grew under a father or mother that is a drug addict or drug dealer tend to follow in the footsteps of the father or mother. Even when arrested and released by the Nigeria prison tend to go back to the act once he or she gets home.

        Secondly the issue of recidivism is on the increase because of low level of security in the Nigeria prisons. The major mandates of the Nigerian Prisons Service is the safe custody of the legally interned; apart from that, it is to ensure that the legally interned are reformed, rehabilitated and effectively reintegrated back to the society. The major failure of the Nigerian prison system is the poor reintegration of released inmates into the society. The Nigerian Prisons Service, being the department of the federal government responsible for the management of prisons in Nigeria, has failed in this regards. This is as a result of the neglect of the punitive system, poor funding, lack of professionals in various segments of the prison, and numerous other problems bugging down the prison system in Nigeria. These problems have translated to poor rehabilitation, reformation and resettlement of the legally interned. As a result, ex-prisoners keep finding their ways to prison again and again. According to Ahmed and Ahmad (2015), the re-integration of the released inmates into the society from the prison is a challenge to almost all societies globally and breeds the phenomenon of recidivism. This is because the rate of recidivism of a particular jurisdiction can be used to measure the effectiveness of the prison’s rehabilitation model. Therefore, a high recidivist rate translates to poor efficiency of the rehabilitation model; conversely, a low recidivist rate translates to high efficiency of the rehabilitation model. It is to this regard that the study is based on the effect of home background on crime recidivism at Goron Dutse remand home in Gwale local government area of Kano State

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main aim of the research work is to determine the effect of home background on crime recidivism at Goron Dutse remand home in Gwale local government area of Kano State. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. to determine the relationship between home background and the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend in Gwale local government area of Kano State
2. to determine the causes of crime recidivism in Gwale local government area of Kano State
3.  to ascertain the extent to which home background influence crime recidivism at Goron Dutse remand
4. to examine the preventive measure adopted by the Goron Dutse remand in the control of crime recidivism in Gwale local government area of Kano State
5. to proffer solution to the above stated problems

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The study came up with research questions so as to ascertain the above stated objectives of the study. The research questions for the study are:

1. What is the relationship between home background and the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend in Gwale local government area of Kano State?
2. What are the causes of crime recidivism in Gwale local government area of Kano State?
3.  To what extent has home background influence crime recidivism at Goron Dutse remand?
4. What are the preventive measures adopted by the Goron Dutse remand in the control of crime recidivism in Gwale local government area of Kano State?
5. What is the solution to the above stated problems?

1.5 STATEMENT OF THE HYPOTHESIS

H0: there is no significant relationship between home background and the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend in Gwale local government area of Kano State

H1: there is significant relationship between home background and the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend in Gwale local government area of Kano State

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study on the effect of home background on crime recidivism at Goron Dutse remand home will be of immense benefit to the entire Gwale local government area of Kano State. The study will explore crime recidivism; determine the causes, the effect and the control measures adopted in curbing crime recidivism in Goron Dutse remand. The study will educate the general population of Gwale local government area of Kano State on the dangers of crime recidivism. The findings of the study will serve as a guide to the Goron Dutse remand home on ways of tackling the prevalence of crime recidivism. The study will serve as a repository of information to other researchers that desire to carry out similar research on the above topics. Finally the study will contribute to the body of existing literature on the effect of home background on crime recidivism.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study will cover on the effect of home background on crime recidivism with focus on Goron Dutse remand home in Gwale local government area of Kano State because of the increase in crime rate in Gwale local government area of Kano State

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Recidivism: Recidivism is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have either experienced negative consequences of that behavior, or have been trained to extinguish that behavior. It is also used to refer to the percentage of former prisoners who are rearrested for a similar offense