Law Weblog

Three in four convicts remain criminals

Sunday 7 November 2010 at 8:51 am | In News | 1 Comment Three in four convicted criminals never give up a life of crime regardless of whether or not they are jailed or agree to community penalties.

Ministry of Justice figures released this week show that 74 per cent of those convicted go on to commit a further crime within 10 years – at the very most. And 61% of prisoners are re-convicted within a year of release.

Last year alone, convicts being monitored by the probation service went on to commit almost 600 serious further offences, including murder, rape and grievous bodily harm.

Community orders are not significantly more effective than short term prison sentences and that, over time, most offenders returned to crime regardless of what punishment they are given.

The report contains the most detail on re-offending ever produced and discloses that from 14 prisons, seven in ten inmates re-offend within a year of release (9 years for other prisons).

Re-offending statistics are normally only based on the first year after punishment.
This report is based on a study of offenders released from custody (or who started a community penalty) and re-convicted within nine years. It is based on the period between January and March 2000.

The conclusion is that the majority of offenders are never rehabilitated.  The justice system is failing to deter criminals who remain active for many years and sentences are clearly not working to rehabilitate when most convicts go back to crime regardless of how many prior sentences they have served.

At Dorchester prison, around 75 per cent of those inmates went on to re-offend as did almost 77 per cent of women at New Hall prison in Wakefield.

Crispin Blunt, the Justice Minister, said: “Prison remains the right place for the most serious, dangerous and persistent offenders.”

Justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke will reduce prison populations by introducing legislation whereby criminals with serious mental illnesses or drug addictions will not be sent to prison but offered “voluntary” treatment in hospital. They will be diverted from jail to secure NHS units, but will be free to walk away. Officials define “secure” as having a grip on the individual, rather than locking them up.