§ Lord Dholakiaasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the conviction rate within two years of release of (a) all prisoners; (b) prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more; and (c) prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months; and what were the equivalent figures five, 10 and 15 years ago respectively. [HL1651]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)The requested two year reconviction rates are shown in the table.
Due to a change in the methodology of calculating reconviction rates, the rates given for prisoners discharged in 1987, 1991 and 1999 are not directly comparable with rates given for earlier years. The 1996 rates are for the first quarter of the year only.
88WA
Two year reconviction rates for Year All prisoners Prisoners sentenced to 12 months or more Prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months 1996 56% 49% 60% 1991 53% 45% 58% 1987 57% 54% 59% 19861 50%1 n/a n/a 19811 57%1 n/a n/a 1Figures prior to 1987 are based on a different methodology, which resulted in lower reconviction rates by some 5 or 6 percentage points.