Personal Factors that Influence Criminal Recidivism among Recidivists in Munzenze Prison, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Many countries around the world are confronted with the challenge of recidivism. Recidivism has become a global phenomenon that challenges the efficiency of both criminal justice systems and security systems. One of the most important measures of the efficiency of prison programs is the reduction of recidivism rate. Meant to rehabilitate convicts, prisons play an important role within the criminal justice. By exploring personal factors that influence criminal recidivism in Munzenze prison. This study adopted Exploratory Sequential design using mixed method approach. The target population consisted of 1089 recidivists in Munzenze Prison, Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The target population also included prison officers, religious leaders and civil actors. A sample of 100 recidivists was drawn for questionnaires and focus group discussions, while prison officers, religious leaders and civil actors participated as key informants. Questionnaires, focus group discussions guides, and key informant interviews schedules were used as data collection instruments. Qualitative data was thematically analyzed using content analysis and presented as quoted verbatim. While quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented using percentages, tables, average and mean, and pie charts. The study found that personal factors such as marital status influence criminal recidivism among recidivists in Munzenze Prison. For example, 86% were single, 8% were separated, 1% were widowed, and none were divorced. But among those who were single, around half of them had children. The study concluded that, the overwhelming responsibilities of a family when an individual is not in an employment, predisposes one to engage in crime to get proceeds to utilize on the family. The study recommended that, there should be a creation and implementation of a comprehensive rehabilitation programs within the Munzenze prison system that address the personal factors contributing to recidivism. These programs should focus vocational training, and education to equip inmates with skills and coping mechanisms to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.