§ Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the percentage of people who have been sentenced to community service orders and who are later convicted of further crimes; and how this compares with other forms of sentence.
§ Mr. MellorReconviction rates for those given community service orders, including comparison with reconviction rates for those discharged from custodial sentences, are published in "Reconvictions of Those Given Community Service Orders", Home Office Statistical Bulletin 18/83 (tables 1 and 2 and paragraph 12). Information on reconviction after other types of sentences can be found in "Previous Convictions, Sentence and Reconviction," Home Office Research Study No 53 (in particular figure 3.1). Copies of 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.