In this thesis, a criminological analysis of the occurrence of recidivism was performed. At the very beginning of the paper, the concept of recidivism and recidivism in the broad and narrow sense was defined. The methodology is explained, which is based on a normative and descriptive analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The thesis also contains a review of a semi-structured interview with the expert of the Diagnostic Center, Mr. Ivica Luketić. The goal of this thesis is to raise awareness of the existence of the dark crime figure, which represents a scientific obstacle to the analysis of recidivism. A phenomenological analysis of the movement, dynamics and structure of recidivism was carried out based on the data from the Report on the State and Work of Penitentiaries, Prisons and Correctional Institutions for 2020 and data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Legislative changes that are important when interpreting the trend of recidivism were also included. The etiological analysis includes an overview of risk factors, both endogenous and exogenous, and the controversy about the impact of prison sentences on recidivism rates is presented. The thesis also deals with the issue of prevention, the importance of rehabilitation, prevention programs in the Republic of Croatia and the shortcomings that appear in them. The issue of improving prevention programs, the involvement of preventive factors in the existing system, and the possible expediency of alternative forms of prevention that exist in other European countries is examined as well.