Factors Affecting Repetition of Crime and Return to Prison Among Prisoners of Sistan and Baluchestan Prisons (Case Study of Zahedan and Zabol County Prisoners)

The problem of recidivism after release of convicts and return to prison is one of the most important issues in the criminal justice system in the world. The purpose of this study is to identify the factors affecting the repetition of crime and return to prison and to present ways to reduce it.

This research was a survey study using a researcher-made questionnaire with interview. The population consisted of all prisoners of record in Zahedan and Zabol prisons in the second half of the year 1395, 815 persons. For data gathering through Cochran statistical formula, 262 people were selected randomly for Zahedan and Zabol city prisons according to population, which were estimated 156 and 106, respectively. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and One Way Anova, T test, Pearson correlation coefficient, regression and path analysis using SPSS software.

The findings indicated that the variables of improper environment of prison, inappropriate neighborhood, social exclusion, justification of criminal act and learning of deviant behavior had a positive and direct relationship with the repetition of the sample. However, the independent variables of social support, social control, and social trust had a negative and inverse relationship with the repetition of prison inmates. Also, the three variables of inappropriate neighborhood, social exclusion and social control had the highest effect on the dependent variable of crime repetition, respectively.