Following the publication of the fifth Review of the Quality of Crime Statistics in October 2023, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has lifted the 'Under Reservation' categorisation around Recorded Crime Statistics. This is possible because An Garda Síochána have introduced a range of quality measures over the last number of years which have resulted in sustained improvement in the quality of the underlying crime data. These changes give a level of assurance to users that they can rely on Recorded Crime Statistics.
For further information see our Lifting of Under Reservation categorisation for Recorded Crime Statistics FAQ page.
To provide more timely estimates of re-offending, this chapter provides data that relate to custodial releases that took place in 2021. To provide these estimates it is necessary to only include offences that took place a year after release and where the offender has secured a court conviction resulting in reconviction within a further year. Although this method loses coverage of a proportion of re-offending incidents and resulting convictions (as we only look at 1-year rather than 3-years) it allows the analysis to come forward to reference year 2021.
Figure 3.1 below shows the time periods and process of establishing these re-offending indicators for the prison re-offending of persons released in 2021 (1-year re-offending). The 1-year re-offending period relates to individuals released or fine sentenced in 2021. The time period for a re-offence to occur is 1-year (2022) and a further year is left for court decisions (convictions/acquittals) to take place.
In 2021, slightly more than four in ten (42%) individuals released from custody re-offended within a year of being released. This was a slight increase of one percentage point when compared to the same re-offending estimate for 2020 (41%). Overall, there has been a reduction in one-year custodial re-offending of 12 percentage points since 2011. See Figure 3.2 and Table 3.1.
One-year re-offending rates in young adults (18-25 year olds) continued to decline sharply between 2020 and 2021. In 2021, more than half (54%) of individuals under 21 at the time of release re-offended within a year. In comparison just under seven in ten (69%) of those released in 2019 re-offended in the same period following release. There was also a smaller decline in the proportion of 21-25 year olds who re-offended within 12 months of release. In 2021, less than half (48%) of those released re-offended while in 2019 it was more than half (53%). See Figure 3.3 and Table 3.2.
More than six in ten individuals (61%) released from custodial sentences in 2021 in relation to Burglary related offences re-offended within a year of their release. Individuals released from custodial sentences relating to Theft had the highest number of releases (435 out of the 2,779) with 236 or 54% of these individuals linked to a re-offence in the year following their release. In contrast, individuals released from custody for serving sentences in relation to Homicide (17%), Kidnapping (11%), or Sexual (6%) offences were the least likely to re-offend. See Figure 3.4 and Table 3.3.
Note: The offence types that individuals are released from custody does not always correspond to the same re-offence type for the individual. Table 3.4 of this publication provides details of 1-year re-offence types.
Of the 1,168 individuals who re-offended within a year of release in 2021, more than one third (36%) re-offended in just two offence groups - Theft (236) or Public Order related offences (190). Individuals released from custody in relation to offences linked to Homicide (4), Sexual offences (8) and Assaults (151) were also most likely to re-offend in Public Order (48), Theft (20), or Drug related (20) offences. See Table 3.4.
More than half (52%) of individuals released in 2021 who spent three to six months in custody prior to release, re-offended within a year of being released. In contrast, more than one third (35%) of individuals that served custodial sentences greater than 12 months re-offended within a year following their release. See Figure 3.5 and Table 3.5.
A third (33%) of re-offences that took place within a year of release from custody in 2021 resulted in a re-comital for the individual. Fraud (67%), Theft (47%) and Weapons related offences (47%) were the re-offence types that were most likely to receive custodial sentences for the re-offending conviction. In contrast, the lowest level of custodial re-offence sanctions was seen in offences linked to Public Order & Other Social Code offences where just under one quarter (24%) of individuals received a custodial sentence for their re-offence. See Figure 3.6 and Table 3.6.
Note: Custodial sanctions cover all court outcomes that indicate individuals were detained for any period of time for their re-offending offence. Non-custodial outcomes include a variety of sanctions such as Disqualification (mostly associated with driving or licence related offences), fines, probation supervision or suspended sentences that can result in custody if conditions set out by the court are not adhered to. Further details are available in the Background Notes of this publication.
The Midland (50%) and Mid-West (48%) regions had the highest levels of one-year re-offending across Ireland in 2021, and Monaghan (67%) was the county with highest individual county re-offending rate. Donegal (5%), Roscommon (16%), and Wexford (23%) had the lowest recorded county re-offending rates which are calculated by using the location that individuals recorded living at the time of their release. See Map 3.1 and Table 3.7.
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