§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if figures are available for the re-offending rates of young people released from each young offender institution; and if he will make a statement. [58458]
§ Mr. BoatengThe most recent available information is given in the table. It relates to a sample of sentenced prisoners released during 1994. The table contains reconviction rates within two years of discharge for young offenders discharged from each institution.
Differences between reconviction rates cannot simply be taken to show that one establishment is more effective than another as the characteristics of offenders vary between establishments.
The sample was drawn to produce national results. Reconviction rates at individual establishments need to be interpreted with considerable caution due to small numbers in the sample at some establishments.
Reconviction rates are affected by differences in age, sex, previous convictions and other characteristics of those sentenced (see Home Office Research Study 136, "Explaining reconviction rates: a critical analysis").
It is important to note that:
The establishment from which a prisoner is discharged will often not be the establishment in which he or she spent most of their sentence;The process of allocation of prisoners to establishments is far from random. In some instances, prisoners are virtually hand-picked as being suitable for a particular type of regime. Factors such as age, gender and previous criminal history have significant influence on the allocation process; andregional variations in reconviction rates are likely to be related to factors such as police clear-up rates and this, in turn, will have some effect on rates for individual establishments.45W
Reconviction rates within two years1 for prisoners discharged from young offender institutions during 1994 Establishment Number sampled2 Reconviction rate Aylesbury 50 66 Brinsford 230 87 Castington 128 73 Deerbolt 593 85 Dover 290 65 Drake Hall 79 54 Feltham 525 68 Glen Parva 410 74 Guys Marsh 278 81 Hatfield 293 66 Hollesley Bay 166 60 Huntercombe/Finnamore Wood 357 64 Lancaster Farms 81 79 Moorland 82 74 Onley 674 78 Portland 380 80 Stoke Heath 219 80 Thorn Cross 417 75
Reconviction rates within two years1 for prisoners discharged from young offender institutions during 1994 Establishment Number sampled2 Reconviction rate USK/Prescoed 58 60 Warrington 291 87 Wetherby 374 86 Total 6,135 75 1 For standard list offences only. These include all indictable offences and some of the more serious summary offences. 2Figures are not given where the sample contains fewer than 50 offenders discharged from an institution.