A Study of Criminal Recidivism in Sri Lanka Compared to Norway

Abstract

The recidivism can be defined as the leaning of a convicted criminal to reoffend. Similarly, Black"s Law Dictionary1 is also definedrecidivism as the tendency of a convicted criminal to relapse into a habit of criminal activity or behavior. In this context, there are many errors with regard to criminal recidivism in Sri Lanka with compared to Norway. The mean of the recidivism rate in Sri Lanka is 20.8 percent within the period of 2011 – 2015. In Norway the recidivism rate is 20 percent and Norway is the country which has the lowest recidivism rate in the world. It is evident that large number of people are reoffended in Sri Lanka when compared to Norway.There is a tendency to go back to the prison again and again in Sri Lanka because most of the prisoners are reoffended for crimes.But in Norway few citizen go to prison and those who go usually go only at once. Moreover, Norway dependson a concept called "restorative justice" that aims to repair the harm caused by crime rather than penalize people.2 Thus, this research study is focused to identify the causes of criminal recidivism in Sri Lanka with compared to Norway and to analyze the criminal recidivism rate in Sri Lanka with compared to Norway. The qualitative research method will be used for this study. Under the qualitative research method data will be collected through secondary sources. Secondary data will be collected from published books, journals, theses and online data from websites, e- databases. e-journals, e-theses and e-books. In this research study, it is expected to find out a concrete solution to prevent a person from reoffending for a crime and educate the public on such convictions.