Oct. 21 2010
Source Page: Tables showing (a) offences per 100 offenders, (b) offences per 100 reoffenders and (c) severe offences per 100 offenders, for male offenders with each number of previous offences subject to (i) court orders and (ii) custodial sentences of any length for each group of offence for 2008 and (a) offences per 100 offenders, (b) offences per 100 reoffenders and (c) severe offences per 100 offenders, for male offenders with each number of previous offences subject to (iii) custodial sentences of 12 months or less for each group of offence for 2008. 9 p.Found: Tables showing (a) offences per 100 offenders, (b) offences per 100 reoffenders and (c) severe offences
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce reoffending among people (a) released early on licence, (b) convicted and awaiting sentencing and (c) receiving community sentences.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
This Government is driving down reoffending by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to help prison leavers, including those released early on licence, to secure accommodation, employment, and substance misuse treatment on release. The overall proven reoffending rate for England and Wales was 24.4% in 2020/21, down from 31.6% in 2010/11.
We are also focused on expanding resettlement support for those on remand, including through the provision of embedded pre-release teams in prisons and through the extension of Commissioned Rehabilitative Service contracts to include those on remand.
We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit staff, bring down caseloads and deliver better supervision of offenders in the community. We continue to recruit at pace and have exceeded our recruitment targets for the last three years. This investment enables us to strengthen probation supervision which is shown to be an effective rehabilitation tool.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences had previously received at least one (a) community and (b) suspended sentence in each year since 2010.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary and, by law, courts are required to be satisfied that the offence committed is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified, and even when that threshold is met, courts are able to consider whether a community sentence would be more suitable in that particular case. In many cases, sentences served in the community can more effectively reduce reoffending when compared to short custodial sentences.
Data showing the number and proportion of prisoners sentenced to custodial sentences, who have previously had at least one community order or suspended sentence order respectively for each year since 2010, is drawn from the Police National Computer. This can be viewed in the table below.
Table showing the number and proportion of offender s(1), (2) sentenced to immediate custody(3) in each year since 2010(4), who previously(5) received at least one community order(6) or suspended sentence order respectively(7), prior to the immediate custodial sentence. England and Wales(8).
Year | Number of offenders who received at least one community order prior to an immediate custodial sentence | Proportion of offenders who received at least one community order prior to an immediate custodial sentence | Number of offenders who received at least one suspended sentence order prior to an immediate custodial sentence | Proportion of offenders who received at least one suspended sentence order prior to an immediate custodial sentence |
2010 | 34,550 | 40% | 23,602 | 28% |
2011 | 40,134 | 46% | 25,870 | 29% |
2012 | 42,183 | 49% | 26,216 | 31% |
2013 | 41,201 | 52% | 26,670 | 33% |
2014 | 41,962 | 54% | 27,746 | 36% |
2015 | 41,699 | 54% | 28,381 | 37% |
2016 | 42,985 | 55% | 30,138 | 38% |
2017 | 41,424 | 56% | 30,010 | 41% |
2018 | 38,318 | 57% | 28,112 | 42% |
2019 | 35,524 | 58% | 25,634 | 42% |
2020 | 28,623 | 59% | 20,895 | 43% |
2021 | 28,523 | 55% | 20,898 | 41% |
2022 | 27,230 | 56% | 20,339 | 42% |
Source: MoJ extract of the Police National Computer
1 - 'Proportion' refers to the number of offenders in each year who received an immediate custodial sentence in each year and had at least one previous community order or suspended sentence order respectively as a proportion of all offenders who received an immediate custodial sentence in the same year.
2 - Offenders are counted once in each year but may appear in multiple years if they received an immediate custodial sentence in more than one of the years.
3 - Immediate custodial sentences include types of detention other than adult prison (e.g. detention and training orders given to 10 to 17 year olds or detention in Young Offenders Institutions). An offender sentenced to immediate custody does not necessarily mean that the offender is a member of the prison population.
4 - The figures for 2020 and 2021 are likely to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
5 - Previous community orders or suspended sentence orders respectively may have been received at any time prior to the index offence (last immediate custodial sentence) in each year.
6 - Community orders strictly include community orders, with or without electronic monitoring or curfew restrictions, but excludes other types of community sentences (e.g. youth rehabilitation order, supervision orders) and other sentences that may be served in the community (e.g. suspended sentence orders). At least some of the orders included were only introduced in their current form in 2005.
7 – individuals can be present in both columns
8 - England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas plus the British Transport Police
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of murder in each year since 2005.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.
We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.
The full information requested can be found in the attached table.
Asked by: Rachel Hopkins (Labour - Luton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of rape in each year since 2005.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.
We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.
The full information requested can be found in the attached table.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate is for people serving a custodial sentence for shop lifting.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to tackling reoffending, and we are investing in the areas which the evidence suggests can help an individual turn their back on crime, including accommodation, employment and substance misuse treatment.
We are delivering a new Prison Education Service, we are supporting ex-offenders into housing, we have changed the law so prisoners can take up apprenticeships and we are introducing Incentivised Substance-Free living wings for drug recovery.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders who had an index offence of burglary and served a custodial sentence for this offence has been updated since the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9527. The rate for the latest period available, the January – March 2022 cohort, now stands at 45.6%. This is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of shop lifting (“theft from shops”) and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 80.7%.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of robbery and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 21.7%.
The overall proven reoffending rate for the January – March 2022 cohort was 25.5%.
The overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate is for people serving a custodial sentence for robbery.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to tackling reoffending, and we are investing in the areas which the evidence suggests can help an individual turn their back on crime, including accommodation, employment and substance misuse treatment.
We are delivering a new Prison Education Service, we are supporting ex-offenders into housing, we have changed the law so prisoners can take up apprenticeships and we are introducing Incentivised Substance-Free living wings for drug recovery.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders who had an index offence of burglary and served a custodial sentence for this offence has been updated since the Answer of 18 January 2024 to Question 9527. The rate for the latest period available, the January – March 2022 cohort, now stands at 45.6%. This is a decrease of 2.7 percentage points.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of shop lifting (“theft from shops”) and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 80.7%.
The proven reoffending rate for offenders in the January – March 2022 cohort who had an index offence of robbery and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 21.7%.
The overall proven reoffending rate for the January – March 2022 cohort was 25.5%.
The overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish data on reoffending by individuals under the age of 18 for the year ending March 2023; and if he will provide a breakdown of those figures by (a) age and (b) offence type.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Details of the reoffending rates for juveniles, by age and index offence committed, for the year ending March 2022 (the latest for which data is currently available) are attached.
Proven reoffending is measured over a one-year follow-up period, after release from custody or receiving a non-custodial disposal. A proven reoffence is an offence that leads to a new court conviction, caution, reprimand, or warning in the one-year follow-up or within a further six-month waiting period to allow the offence to be proven in court. The most recently available annual data is therefore April 2021 – March 2022.
The overall juvenile proven reoffending rate has fallen from 40.4% in 2011/12 to 32.2% in 2021/22.
Reducing youth reoffending remains a key priority. That’s why we are piloting more intensive community alternatives to custody for children, which can be more effective in reducing reoffending. At the same time, the Government is working to improve outcomes and reduce reoffending rates for the small number of children sentenced to custody. For this reason, we are trialling secure schools as an alternative to Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) and Secure Training Centres (STCs). Secure schools will be “schools with security” rather than “prisons with education” and will have education, healthcare and purposeful activity at their heart.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the College of Policing's publication entitled Imprisonment and other custodial sanctions, published on 30 November 2023, if he will (a) make and (b) publish an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings of that publication on the impact on reoffending of (i) custodial and (ii) non-custodial sentences.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government has no plans to publish an assessment of the implications of this publication, as the findings of the College of Policing’s report entitled ‘Imprisonment and other custodial sanctions’ support the findings of Ministry of Justice research.
A 2019 MoJ analysis of a matched cohort of over 30,000 offenders shows that those who serve sentences of immediate custody of less than 12 months reoffend at a rate higher than similar offenders given community orders and suspended sentence orders by the courts
Our statistics suggest that 55% of people given a custodial sentence of less than 12 months are convicted for further crimes. For offenders punished with Suspended Sentence Orders with requirements that are served in the community, the reoffending rate is significantly lower at 24%.
Based on this evidence, the Government introduced the presumption to suspend short sentences as part of the Sentencing Bill, currently before Parliament. This measure will place a duty on the courts to suspend custodial sentences of 12 months or less. Offenders will then serve their sentence in the community and will be required to comply. When the court imposes a suspended sentence, they can impose requirements on the offender and the sentencing framework provides a flexible range of requirements, such as unpaid work, drug and alcohol treatment, curfew, and electronic monitoring, with the intention of punishing the offender, providing reparation to the community, and addressing any criminogenic or rehabilitative needs of the offender which may otherwise increase the likelihood of their reoffending.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the re-offending rate for individuals serving a custodial sentence for burglary is.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The proven reoffending rate for the October to December 2021 offender cohort (the latest available) who had an index offence of burglary and served a custodial sentence for this offence was 48.3%.
This Government is committed to tackling reoffending and keeping our communities safe. We are investing to address reoffending through a number of initiatives including:
As a result, 5796 prison leavers have been supported through our temporary accommodation service between 1 July 2021 and 31 March 2023, while the proportion of prison leavers in employment six months after release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023 from 14% to over 30%.
Between 2010/11 and 2020/21, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.6% to 24.4%.