The AI-powered English dictionary
plural recidivists
One who falls back into prior habits, especially criminal habits. quotations examples
This specimen was of English parentage, was a professional burglar, a confirmed recidivist, and—since he habitually carried firearms—a potential homicide.
1914, R. Austin Freeman, chapter 2, in The Uttermost Farthing
Persistent recidivists are "accidentally" left on the next habitable world. This practice of abandoning criminals on other people's planets is a point of friction between the quarians and the systems they pass through. Captains rarely have another choice; with space and resources at a premium, supporting a non-productive prison population is not an option.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Quarians: Law and Defense Codex entry