HC Deb 08 February 1995 vol 254 cc252-3W
Mr. Sweeney

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the current reconviction rates for persons discharged from(a) first custodial sentences, (b) subsequent custodial sentences and (c) custodial sentences generally.

Mr. Maclean

The information is as follows:

Percentage of offenders reconvicted1 within a two-year period following discharge from a custodial sentence in 1990 by whether or not the current sentence was a first custodial sentence.

History of imprisonment Number discharged Per cent, reconvicted
First custodial sentence 28,298 52
Subsequent custodial sentence 18,701 53
All discharges2 47,473 52
1 Reconvicted of a serious offence as defined by the standard list in Appendices 4 and 5 of Criminal Statistics England and Wales 1993.
2 Includes 474 cases where the previous history of imprisonment is not known.

Comparisons between reconviction rates are affected by differences in the age, sex, previous convictions and other characteristics of offenders.