It is with some puzzlement as to why most of the burglaries being committed here in the Cayman Islands are from repeat offenders.

Chief Superintendent Kurt Walton was speaking at a police briefing with the media on Wednesday (20) and said these repeat offenders were breaking into property to find easy things to sell and in most cases to feed their drug habit.

So the time spent behind bars at HMP Northward is not that great a deterrent. And obtaining drugs at the prison is just as easy as obtaining it outside and probably cheaper.

The prisoners are certainly not getting the right education in the prison to turn them into good citizens and the reverse is the norm. They get educated into how not to get caught.

So what happens when a prisoner is released? Is their any job placement policy where the released prisoner is offered employment?

The Chief Superintendent didn’t give any statistics relating to which prisoners were at the greatest risk of re-offending.

A 1994 Recidivism study executed by the US Bureau of Justice in 1994 came up with these figures:

Age. Those between the ages of 18 to 24 experienced higher recidivism rates compared to older released individuals. Over 80 percent of those in the study who were under the age of 18 were re-arrested, while only 45 percent of those over the age of 45 were re-arrested.

Prior Criminal Record. Individuals with lengthy criminal histories were more likely to be re-arrested than those with shorter criminal records. In fact, 70 percent of all re-arrests had five or more prior arrests (excluding the arrest involved in their current incarceration).

Time Under Supervision. Thirty percent of re-arrests occur within the first six months following release. Another 36 percent were re-arrested within the first three years of their release from custody.

I cannot believe there would be much difference here if one was to collect the stats.

Perhaps someone can conduct an inquiry as to why burglars repeat the offence. If we find the answer, we might possibly find the solution.