§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will set out in the Official Report the reconviction rate within two years for offenders given (a) community service orders, and (b) custodial sentences; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. MellorThe information available is published in "Reconvictions of those given Community Service Orders" (Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/83) and in chapter 8 of "Prison Statistics, England and Wales, 1983" (Cmnd. 9363). Copies of both these publications are in the Library of the House. In comparing reconviction rates, it needs to be remembered that the main factors related to subsequent reconviction (sex, age on conviction, the number of previous convictions and the type of offence) are also likely to have influenced the sentence of the court.