§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of notifiable offences is committed by persistent reoffenders; and if he will make a statement. [75739]
§ Hilary Benn[holding answer 23 October 2002]Research suggests that about half of notifiable offences are committed by persistent reoffenders; and that about 15 per cent. of notifiable offences are committed by the core group of offenders who will be targeted under the persistent offender scheme, due to start in February 2003. These estimates are derived from studies on the reconviction of offenders for more serious crimes, with assumptions made to relate them to unsolved crimes. Details of the relevant research can be found in Annex B of the White Paper "Criminal Justice: the Way Ahead" (February 2001).