April2014 / 89575

Freedom of Information Request

You requested the following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

I would like to know the year-on-year figures and percentages for all released prisoners convicted and jailed for re-offending for the last five years. Please break down by year, either annual or financial, whatever youprefer.

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I can confirm that the department holds information that you have asked for, and I am pleased to provide this to you.

The table below presents the number of adult and juvenile offenders in England and Wales who were released from custody between 2007 and 2011; and the number and proportionthat were convicted and given a custodial sentence for an offence committed within 12 months of their release.

The number of adult and juvenile offenders in England and Wales who were released from custody between 2007 and 2011; and the number and proportion that were given a custodial sentence for a proven re-offence1,2

Cohort / Number of
offenders released from custody3 / Offenders given a custodial sentence
for a proven re-offence
Number / Proportion
Adult
2007 / 60,081 / 17,771 / 29.6%
2008 / 65,051 / 18,906 / 29.1%
2009 / 63,832 / 17,315 / 27.1%
2010 / 56,284 / 16,217 / 28.8%
2011 / 59,313 / 17,282 / 29.1%
Juvenile
2007 / 3,534 / 1,580 / 44.7%
2008 / 3,522 / 1,452 / 41.2%
2009 / 2,938 / 1,163 / 39.6%
2010 / 2,304 / 958 / 41.6%
2011 / 1,981 / 847 / 42.8%
  1. This table represents a further breakdown of statistics published in Tables 18a and 18b of the Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, January to December 2011
  2. A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-up period which resulted in a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up period or within a further six month waiting period to allow the offence to be proven in court
  3. This does not represent all offenders released from custody - offenders who are released from custody are matched to the Police National Computer so that we can assess their subsequent proven re-offending, and those who cannot be matched are excluded from the offender cohort

The statistics presented in the table above are a further breakdown of the custody figures published in Tables 18a and 18b of the “Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, January to December 2011”, which can be found in the Excel document entitled “Proven Re-offending Tables, January to December 2011” at the following link:

An explanation of the proven re-offending measure and definitions of the main terms used in the bulletin can be found at the same link in the “Definitions and Measurement” document.

As part of the Government’s Transforming Rehabilitation reforms for England and Wales, all adult offenders leaving custody will be subject to statutory supervision and all offenders will be subject to a licence period (or a combination of licence and supervision) of at least 12 months in the community.

The competition to find future providers of rehabilitative services was launched in September 2013. A more diverse market of rehabilitation providers will also bring innovation in rehabilitative services, helping to deliver a real reduction in re-offending rates.Our reforms will use payment by results to encourage providers to focus on outcomes.

Efficiencies will help to fund a wide range of services, including new arrangements for supervision on release for those serving short prison sentences.

We will create a new public sector National Probation Service, working to protect the public and building on the expertise and professionalism already in place.

The Government’s response to the Transforming Youth Custody consultation was published on 17 January 2014. The response can be found at:

We are introducing a pathfinder SecureCollege which will open in the East Midlands in 2017. If it proves successful, our vision is for a network of Secure Colleges across England and Wales that would replace existing provision in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), Secure Training Centres (STCs) and some capacity in Secure Children’s Homes (SCHs). There will be a rigorous competition to operate the SecureCollege. We want to develop a diverse market of prospective SecureCollege providers, including drawing on expertise and experience in the education and voluntary sectors.

We are also taking steps to improve the existing youth custodial estate. We will seek to double the average provision of education in YOIs. We are also taking steps to ensure custodial staff have the right skills and qualifications for working with young people.

We are committed to improving the resettlement of young people so that progress made in custody is built upon on release. We want all young people to return to suitable accommodation, and education, training or employment, with fewer going on to re-offend.

We will be launching four Strategic Resettlement Consortia in the spring. These will be in high custody areas and will bring together partners from the custodial estate, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs), local authorities and the community to ensure that young people receive the support they are entitled to on release and to tackle barriers to effective resettlement. They will build on the initial pilots of resettlement consortia launched in 2009.

Regional Employment Forums will bring together large and local employers to help secure training, corporate mentoring and job opportunities for young people on their return into the community. As with resettlement consortia, they will be focused in high custody areas. We will be launching the first forums later this year in London and Manchester.