A study by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has indicated that reoffending rates among released prisoners fell in the three years from 2014 to 2017.

The CSO found that more than half (55%) of prisoners released from custody in 2014 re-offended within three years. This was down, however, from the 64% recorded in the three years from 2011 to 2014.

Age contrast

The estimates were calculated using data provided by the Irish Prisons Service and An Garda Síochána's PULSE reporting system.

The CSO data indicates that younger age groups of released prisoners are much more likely to reoffend, with almost 80% of released prisoners aged less than 21 at the time of entering prison reoffending withing three years of release.

In contrast, just 29.5% of prisoners who were over 50 years old reoffended within three years of release.

Falling

CSO statistician Felix Coleman said reoffending rates, whether measured by three-year or one-year windows after release from custody, had been falling over time.

“A little more than 40% of prisoners released in 2017 reoffended within one year of release, compared to just over 46% of prisoners released in 2011 who reoffended within one year of release,” he said.

The 40% figure refers to prisoners released from custody. The CSO also gives a 33% reoffending rate for ‘fine sentences’ - cases such as road traffic offences which are usually resolved without a period of detention.

The CSO notes that these statistics are categorised as ‘under reservation’ due to issues linked to the quality of data recorded on the PULSE system.