How is recidivism data biased? I'm sure that the information gleaned from parole officers and cops might be biased, but as long as the ML system is trained on whether or not someone actually reverted to committing crimes, it should be able to detect bias on the part of P.O.s and other functionaries and give a more accurate determination as to someone's chances of recidivism.
Read anything written by Solon Barocas: http://solon.barocas.org/