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This chapter outlines some more details concerning prisoners who re-offended within 3 years of release from custody, and who secured a court conviction within a further 2 years. It does not include details of the relatively small number of persons committed to prison for the non-payment of a fine (details on persons who receive a fine sentence generally can be found in Chapter 5).
Younger persons are more likely to re-offend than older age groups, while re-offending rates decline with age. Almost 80% of offenders aged under 21 years who were released in 2014, re-offended within 3 years of release compared to 29.5% of released prisoners aged over 50 years. See Table 3.1 and Figure 3.1.
| Re-offended within 3 years | |
| < 21 years | 79.6 |
| 21 - 25 years | 67.7 |
| 26 - 30 years | 57.2 |
| 31 - 35 years | 49.4 |
| 36 - 40 years | 45.8 |
| 41 - 50 years | 42.9 |
| Aged 50 and over | 29.5 |
In 2014, estimates indicate that re-offending within 3 years of release was most prevalent amongst individuals who were committed to prison for offences related to “Damage to property and to the environment” (78.9%). This group includes offences such as criminal damage or arson. A high percentage of re-offending was also seen by prisoners who were committed for offences related to “Public order and other social code offences” (75.8%). This group of offences includes offences related to threatening or abusive behaviour or failing to comply with a direction from a member of An Garda Síochána. See Table 3.2 and Fig 3.2.
| Re-offended within 3 years | |
| 12 Damage to property and to the environment | 78.9 |
| 13 Public order and other social code offences | 75.8 |
| 07 Burglary and related offences | 70.2 |
| 08 Theft and related offences | 67.9 |
| 05 Kidnapping and related offences | 66.7 |
| 06 Robbery, extortion and hijacking offences | 66.2 |
| 03 Attempts/Threats to Murder, assaults, harassments and related offences | 55.7 |
| 11 Weapons and explosives offences | 48.1 |
| 14 Road and traffic offences | 47.8 |
| 04 Dangerous or negligent acts | 46.1 |
| 09 Fraud, deception and related offences | 43.1 |
| 15 Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime | 40 |
| 16 Offences not elsewhere classified | 39.8 |
| 10 Controlled drug offences | 29.6 |
| 01 Homicide and related offences | 24.2 |
| 02 Sexual offences | 18.6 |
In 2014, the highest number of releases were prisoners who were originally placed into custody for offences related to "Theft and related crimes" (682 releases). Of these released prisoners, 463 (67.9%) re-offended within 3 years and most (110) re-offended in the category “Offences against Government, justice procedures”. This category includes offences such as “Bail related offences” and “Obstruction of a peace officer”. See Tables 3.2 and 3.3.
While a greater proportion of females re-offend than males – 58.3% of females compared to 55% of males – males make up 93% of total offenders released in 2014. For prisoners released in 2014 who subsequently re-offended, 1,569 males re-offended compared to 127 females. See Table 3.4 and Figure 3.3.
| Re-offended in 3 years | |
| Male | 92.5 |
| Female | 7.5 |
Go to next chapter: Details of 1-year Custodial Re-offending
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