Probation Service publishes second Recidivism Study (December 2013)

The Probation Service and Central Statistics Office (CSO) have established a partnership to conduct research on recidivism and related issues among offenders on supervision in the community. This second study report is based on anonymised offender and offence information on a 2008 cohort of offenders from the Probation Service supervision database. The study reports on recidivism within three years among that cohort using five years follow up of recorded crime and Court Service data held by the CSO. The study also examines variations in recidivism relating to type of original order, gender and age of the offender, category of original offence and of the subsequent offence.
This recidivism study provides a clear overview of community sanctions and their outcomes; informing the Service in the development and support of effective interventions in working to make our communities safer.
Key Findings

• Almost 60% of offenders on Probation Service supervision had no conviction for a further offence committed within three years of the imposition of a Probation or Community Service order.
• The overall recidivism rate of offenders in the study was 41% over a three year period.
• There is a higher level of re-offending in the first year after the making of the supervision order in comparison with subsequent years within the 2008 cohort. The reduction between first and second year was more significant in the 2007 cohort.
• The recidivism rate decreased as the offender age increased.
• Male offenders represented 87% of the total population and had a higher recidivism rate than female offenders.
• Public Order was the most common original offence.
• The three most common offences for which offenders were reconvicted were the same as with the 2007 cohort: Public Order, Theft and Controlled Drugs Offences.

A copy of the report can be accessed by clicking here