HL Deb 15 February 2000 vol 609 c142WA
Lord Dholakia

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What percentage of offenders aged under 18 are re-convicted following release from custodial sentences within two years and four years respectively. [HL913]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)

Estimates from criminal histories of a sample of young offenders who were aged under 18 when discharged from custody in 1987 showed that around 78 per cent were reconvicted within two years of release and around 87 per cent were reconvicted within four years of release. A more recent sample showed that around 85 per cent of those aged under 18 when discharged in 1995 where reconvicted within two years; a comparable four-year reconviction rate is not yet available.