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To provide more timely estimates of re-offending, this chapter introduces an alternative re-offending indicator. This indicator captures re-offending which occurs within 1 year of release from custody, and where the offender has secured a court conviction resulting in recommittal within a further year. This allows the analysis to come forward to reference year 2017, capturing as it does prisoners released in 2017 who re-offend and secure a court conviction to end 2019.
The 1-year re-offending indicator for 2017 (40.2%) had a decrease of 0.7 percentage points when compared to the 1-year re-offending estimate for 2016 (40.9%) and a decrease of 6 percentage points when compared to the 1-year rate for 2011 (46.2%). See Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1.
| 1-year re-offending indicator | |
| 2011 | 46.2 |
| 2012 | 43.5 |
| 2013 | 38.1 |
| 2014 | 36.4 |
| 2015 | 37.9 |
| 2016 | 40.9 |
| 2017 | 40.2 |
Almost 58% (57.7%) of prisoners aged less than 21 have been identified as re-offenders within 1 year of release in 2017. This is a decrease on 2012 levels, when over three fifths (61.1%) of prisoners aged less than 21 years reoffended within 1 year of release. In general the level of re-offending tends to reduce as individuals fall into older age groups. The proportion of released prisoners who re-offended in the over 50 age group has declined from a just over a third (34%) in 2011 to less than half of that (15.7 %) in 2017. See Table 4.2 and Figure 4.2.
| Less than 21 years | 21 - 25 years | 26 - 30 years | 31 - 35 years | 36 - 40 years | 41 - 50 years | Aged 50 and over | |
| 2011 | 57.6 | 52.4 | 44.4 | 43.1 | 41.7 | 34.2 | 34 |
| 2012 | 61.1 | 48.4 | 43.9 | 38.9 | 40.6 | 33.5 | 25.8 |
| 2013 | 53.9 | 44.6 | 37.7 | 34.2 | 35.9 | 30.9 | 18.4 |
| 2014 | 54.5 | 42.6 | 38.6 | 30.5 | 30 | 32.6 | 20.2 |
| 2015 | 49.8 | 44.7 | 43.9 | 35.7 | 31.5 | 29.4 | 16.6 |
| 2016 | 53.8 | 45.4 | 45.5 | 43.1 | 33.8 | 34.5 | 22.3 |
| 2017 | 57.7 | 46.1 | 46.7 | 41 | 35.7 | 31.9 | 15.7 |
The highest proportion of 1-year re-offending took place by prisoners who were placed into custody having committed “Public order and other social code offences” with almost six in ten of them (58.9%) re-offending within 1 year of release.
The highest number of releases that occurred in 2017 related to the offence group “Theft and related offences” (592), where almost half (49.8%) of released individuals re-offended within a year of being released. See Table 4.3.
In 2017, the highest number of releases were prisoners who were originally placed into custody for offences related to "Theft and related crimes" (592 releases). Of these releases, 295 (49.8%) re-offended within 1 year and most of these (86) re-offended in the category “Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation or crime”. This category includes offences such as “Bail related offences” and “Obstruction of a peace officer”. See Table 4.4.
Go to next chapter: Details of 1-year Fine Sentence Re-offending
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