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Reconviction of Offenders
24/06/2008
Figures released today by Scotland's Chief Statistician show that 44.5 per cent of offenders discharged from custody or given a non-custodial sentence in Scotland in 2004-05 were reconvicted within two years.
This was a 0.2 percentage point decrease on the 2003-04 cohort.
Key findings:
- The likelihood of reconviction increased markedly with the number of previous convictions: 26 per cent of offenders with no previous convictions were reconvicted within two years compared with 75 per cent of offenders with over 10 previous convictions. Of those with over 10 previous custodial convictions, 61 per cent received a further custodial reconviction within two years
- Males were more likely to be reconvicted than females for all age groups: 46 per cent of males and 38 per cent of females were reconvicted within two years
- Offenders sentenced to a Drug Treatment and Testing Order (88 per cent) or a Restriction of Liberty Order (71 per cent) were on average more likely to be reconvicted within two years than those given a Community Service Order (42 per cent) or a monetary penalty (41 per cent). However, information is not available on whether or not these offenders completed the order they were sentenced to