Latest figures show 45% of offenders reoffending
31 Oct 06
Executive claims initiatives tackling continuing problem
Figures released today show that 45% of offenders discharged from custody or given a non-custodial sentence in Scotland in 2002-03 were reconvicted within two years.
This compares with 43% of such offenders from 1999-2000.
Other key findings recorded in the national statistics publication include:
- The likelihood of reconviction increased markedly with the number of previous convictions - 26% of offenders with no previous convictions were reconvicted within two years, compared with 76% of offenders who had more than 10 previous convictions.
- Reconviction rates were highest among young male offenders - 56% of males under 21 were reconvicted within two years compared with 36% of males aged over 30 and 37% of female offenders. For all age groups, males were more likely to be reconvicted than females.
- Those offenders who were discharged from a custodial sentence (64%) or given probation (63%) were on average more likely to be reconvicted within two years than those given community service (42%) or a monetary penalty (41%). However, once the age, sex and number of previous convictions of offenders were taken into account, these differences were less pronounced.
- Offenders whose index conviction was for a crime of dishonesty, including housebreaking, had the highest two-year reconviction rate (58%) while the lowest was for sexual crime (17%).
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said the Executive was committed to tackling the unacceptably high reoffending rate through reforms to the management of offenders in prison and community, scrapping the automatic release of short-term offenders and increasing the range of effective community sentences.
She said: "These historic figures for reconvictions show the scale of the challenge we face in terms of reducing the number of repeat offenders.
"There are too many people now in our prisons who shouldn't be. We must ensure they are not full of less serious offenders whose behaviour could be better addressed through tough community sentences. Reducing this churn of short-term prisoners will ensure time and resources can be better focused on tackling more serious offenders."
The statistics can be viewed online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00534 .