RECHABITES, rek•A-bits Mel).
Raub. Reehah) . A Kenite elan (sec KENITES ) who retained their nomadic habits and mode of life in the midst of agricultural Palestine. The notices of them in the Old Testament, are too few to make it possible to According to the census of 1890 the percentage of recidivists in the United States was 26.42. This is muloubtedl? far too low, as criminals in .America conceal their identity by passing from State to State'. None of the foregoing figures can be accepted as absolute, and comparisons between countries are unsatisfactory because of varying laws and differing degre,es of success in enforcing them. The statistics serve roughly to show that recidivism is a serious aspect of crime and to throw light on the practical question of crime pre vention.
Driihms has figured from various sources the percentage of recidivists in the different countries as follows: It is clear that short sentences and fines do not protect society against instinctive and profes sional criminals. Nothing short of permanent incarceration should be thought of in many in stances. In others where the possibility of re
form may still be admitted the indeterminate sen tence may wisely be employed. In England the Habitual Offenders Act deprives the recidivist of the presumption of innocence until guilt is proved and keeps him under surveillance when not in prison. A few timid experiments have been made here and there by American commonwealths in the direction ofgreater severity toward 'sec ond offenders,' tint in general American law on this subject is lax and unscientific. Sen timentalism, indifference, and a prevailing belief (which has no basis in fact) that criminals in general are victims of circumstances and may usually he 'reformed' by humane treatment, have made the United States a veritable paradise of professional offenders. Consult: Yvernes, La reridire en Europe (Paris, 1874) : Wines, Punish ment and Reformation (Boston. 1895) Drithms. The Criminal (New York, 1900). See CRIMINOL OGY; PENOLOGY.