HL Deb 17 January 1989 vol 503 c227WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will publish the rates of re-offending by inmates of each type of penal institution for males and females, and whether the nature of the custodial regime and the length of the sentence appear to influence the degree of recidivism.

Earl Ferrers

Reconviction rates for offenders discharged from Prison Service establishments are published annually in Chapter 8 ofPrison Statistics, England and Wales. Statistics by type of custody, length of sentence and sex were published in Tables 8.2, 8.6 and 8.9 of the latest issue, Cmnd. 547, a copy of which is in the Library. Reconviction rates for offenders discharged from each type of Prison Service establishment are not available centrally. Although these statistics show differences in the reconviction rates following discharges from sentences of different lengths and types, the offender's propensity to reoffend is affected by many factors (including age and sex) other than the nature of the custodial regime and the sentence length. There is no clear evidence of an effect of the type of regime on the rate of reconviction after discharge.