An Examination of the Factors Contributing to Recidivism among Reoffending Prisoners in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Recidivism remains one of the most serious challenges confronting criminal justice systems, prison administrations, and community reintegration policies. In Sri Lanka, the issue has become increasingly significant due to prison overcrowding, the growing proportion of drug-related offenders, socioeconomic instability, limited access to post-release employment, and insufficient rehabilitation and reintegration mechanisms. The present study critically examines the factors contributing to reoffending behaviour among recidivists in Sri Lanka, with particular attention to socioeconomic hardship, drug addiction, prison-based criminal association, stigma, unemployment, weak rehabilitation support, and community reintegration barriers. The study is based on a mixed-methods research design, drawing on secondary data from prison records, crime statistics, and rehabilitation programme evaluations, together with primary qualitative and quantitative data gathered from 40 reoffending inmates, comprising 20 male and 20 female recidivists. The original abstract reports that 42.5% of the sample were imprisoned for drug-related offences, 20% for theft, 22.5% for sex work and related offences, and 15% for violent crimes, particularly domestic violence-related offences. It further identifies drug addiction, economic hardship, limited employment opportunities, stigma, and differential association inside prison as major contributors to repeated offending. The findings suggest that recidivism in Sri Lanka should not be understood merely as an individual moral failure, but as a multidimensional social, economic, institutional, and psychological problem. The study recommends strengthening rehabilitation programmes, expanding community-based corrections, introducing structured post-release employment pathways, improving mental health and addiction treatment, reducing social stigma, and reforming sentencing policies to prioritise alternatives to imprisonment for minor and drug-dependent offenders.