HC Deb 25 May 2000 vol 350 cc628-9W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent research his Department has conducted into(a) short-term and (b) long-term reoffending rates for criminal offences; and if he will place copies of that research in the Library. [123862]

Mr. Boateng

Reconviction rates for offenders discharged from prison during 1995 and those sentenced to community penalties during 1995 were published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin issue 19/99 on 25 October 1999. Further information on reconviction rates for prisoners appears in chapter 9 of "Prison Statistics England and Wales 1998". Copies of both publications have been placed in the Library.

There are several ongoing research projects on offenders participating in various crime reduction programmes. Reconviction rates are used as one of the measures of success for many of these projects, which include evaluations of Welfare to Work and the effectiveness of probation programmes via the Pathfinder and other projects. Copies of the latest findings from these research projects will be placed in the Library upon completion.