The importance of recidivism research in understanding criminal behavior

Robert Martinson believes that a new epoch in criminology research has arrived, “the essence of which is a change in the dependent variable from recidivism to crime rate (combined with cost).” However, no study or evaluation should be discounted simply because it measures recidivism as a parameter of criminality. If adhered to, the Martinson thesis could retard scientific inquiry and clog the normal processes of data generation and theory construction. The new epoch of criminology research will involve the construction and testing of higher-order theories derived from more basic facts and empirical generalizations.