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In 2019, CSO released estimates of prison re-offending that combined individuals who received both fine sentences or custodial sentences into a single re-offending indicator. A fine sentence is a fine imposed by the court, for example for a road traffic offence. In this publication, chapters 3 - 5 now separates the data into custodial (chapters 3 and 4) and fine sentence (chapter 5) cohorts. This has been carried out so that estimates, primarily relating to individuals who receive a custodial or “prison” sentence (chapter 3 and 4), can be provided.
Statistics on non-custodial re-offending such as probation or fine sentence re-offending are presented separately. Chapter 5 in this publication provides re-offending estimates about individuals who received a fine sentence sanction by courts. The CSO also publish separately estimates of Probation Re-offending.
Chapter 6 of this publication provides re-offending estimates of both custodial and fine sentence re-offending together so that it is clear to see how historical prison re-offending estimates that CSO have published compare with the updated indicators presented in Chapters 3 - 5.
Further methodological details are available at: Prison Re-offending Estimates 2011-2017 Technical Note.
Prisoners released in 2014 experienced a re-offending rate of 55.2% (they re-offended within 3 years of release and have secured a court conviction within another 2 years). This is a marked reduction on the re-offending levels for prisoners released in 2011, where almost two-thirds (63.8%) of prisoners re-offended. Looking more closely at the data, we can see that younger offenders are more likely to re-offend than older offenders – for prisoners released in 2014, young offenders (those aged less than 21 years) have a re-offending rate of four-fifths (79.6%), whereas prisoners aged over 50 years have a re-offending rate of around 30%. See Tables 1.1, 3.1 and Figures 1.1, 3.1.
In 2014, although most prisoners released were male (92.9%), which broadly reflects the sex profile of the prison population in Ireland, the re-offending rate was higher for females (58.3%) released from custody than that of males (55.0%). See Table 3.4 and Figure 3.3.
Statistics in respect of 3-year custodial re-offending are presented in further detail in Chapter 3:
| 3-year re-offending indicator | |
| 2011 | 63.8 |
| 2012 | 60.2 |
| 2013 | 56.1 |
| 2014 | 55.2 |
A measure that allows a more timely indicator of prison re-offending rates can be calculated by reducing the qualifying period for re-offending after being released from 3 years down to 1 year (so reoffended within one year of release and secured a court conviction within another year). The 1-year re-offending indicator for 2017 indicates that 40.2% of prisoners released from custody re-offended within 1 year of their release. See Table 1.2 and Figure 1.2.
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 1.2 and Figure 1.2.
Statistics in respect of 1-year custodial re-offending are presented in further detail in Chapter 4:
| 1-year re-offending indicator | 3-year re-offending indicator | |
| 2011 | 46.2 | 63.8 |
| 2012 | 43.5 | 60.2 |
| 2013 | 38.1 | 56.1 |
| 2014 | 36.4 | 55.2 |
| 2015 | 37.9 | |
| 2016 | 40.9 | |
| 2017 | 40.2 |
"Fine sentence re-offending" estimates the proportion of persons linked to re-offending having received a fine sentence by court proceedings following a guilty conviction. As the majority of fine sentences are resolved without a custodial sentence (96% in 2017), and do not involve a period of detention in prison, the time period to a re-offence is calculated from the court outcome date. Further detail is available in the Background Notes. In 2017, one third (33%) of individuals that received a fine sentence from court re-offended within a year of their previous court outcome. See Table 1.3 and Figure 1.3.
Statistics in respect of fine sentence re-offending are presented in further detail in Chapter 5:
| 1-year re-offending indicator | 3-year re-offending indicator | |
| 2011 | 32.2 | 43.7 |
| 2012 | 31.1 | 42.1 |
| 2013 | 26.7 | 38.2 |
| 2014 | 26.5 | 38.2 |
| 2015 | 27.1 | |
| 2016 | 28.3 | |
| 2017 | 33 |
Combining both custodial and fine sentence sanctions into one re-offending indicator provides a historical comparison to prison re-offending estimates that CSO have published previously. In 2014, the combined estimate of custodial and fine sentence re-offending was 43.1%, compared to 51.2% in 2011 when calculated in the same way. See Table 1.4.
Statistics in respect of historical re-offending indicators are presented in further detail in Chapter 6:
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