Commentary: Toward an Improved Understanding of Recidivism

Abstract

Setting out to identify predictors of recidivism in seriously mentally ill (SMI) persons who return to their community from prison, Hall and colleagues offer to the forensic community a substantive contribution to the organization of interventions aimed to promote both the social and the psychiatric recovery of these individuals and to reduce their rate of re-entry into the penal system. While their work in the field is praiseworthy, I would like to share my thoughts and considerations to stimulate a dialogue about a subject that should be of interest to both clinicians and policy makers.