what is reoffending?

Rates and Cost of Reoffending

Our student volunteer, Emily, conducted a weeks work experience with us in July 2024. She wrote an essay into the rates and cost of reoffending, which we would like to share with you!

Rate of reoffending:

The rate of reoffending (or recidivism) is calculated by looking at how many people have committed an offence that has resulted in a custodial sentence within a year of them being released from prison. Current rates of reoffending for adult prisoners serving 12 months or more is 25.4% but those who serve less than that have a significantly higher reoffending rate of 56.1%. From 2011 to 2022 the rates of reoffending have fluctuated between 22.7% and 30.6% but within recent years has stayed within the mid 20’s showing that some progress has been made to reduce recidivism but not much. 

Who is most likely to reoffend?

Those who have had an initial conviction of theft are the most likely to go on to reoffend with them making up 52.6% of people who commit another offence within a year of release. As well as this, the most common offence that is committed by ex-prisoners is theft, making up 29.2% of proven reoffences. 43.1% of adults who have had 11 or more convictions go on to reoffend, demonstrating that a high amount of custodial sentences makes the offender more likely to commit a crime again. 1 in 3 people who use class A drugs when released are reconvicted, which shows how drug use increases the likelihood of someone committing a crime. Another reason someone is likely to reoffend is due to lack of employment as this leads to it being hard for the person to afford to live through legitimate means, causing them to turn to crime.

Financial cost of reoffending:

The government spends an estimated £18.1 billion each year on reoffending alone. This includes the costs that come with detecting, sentencing and imprisoning the person who has committed the offence. As the most common reoffence is theft, the government spends over half of the amount (£9.3 billion) on the anticipation, consequence and response of this crime. The economic cost of reoffending can also be broken down into an average amount of money spent based on how long their previous sentence was. For those who served less than 12 months it is estimated to cost £5 billion but for those who had a custodial sentence of 12 months or more it has an estimated cost of £1 billion suggesting that longer sentences decrease the likelihood of reoffending.

Social cost of reoffending:

Reoffending doesn’t just impact the perpetrator but also their family. Children of offenders are significantly more likely to go on and become criminals themselves, creating the inter-generational transmission of crime. This was clearly shown in a study that found that 6% of families in England and Wales accounted for half of all convictions. As well as this they are also more likely to live in poverty due to financial instability that comes with having a parent going in and out of prison. This can impact things such as school attendance and mental health, that can often lead to things such as drug or alcohol use to cope with their mental health but this in turn can lead to antisocial behaviour. This means that the cycle of crime continues.

How futures unlocked reduces reoffending:

Futures unlocked is a way for offenders to get help with a number of different aspects of their life in order for them to be less likely to reoffend. This is done through helping people with many different pathways including accommodation, alcohol and drugs, education and employment, faith, families and relationships, finance and debt, health and social life and thinking, attitude and behaviour. As well as this all the clients have one to one mentoring by staff or a trained volunteer that can help them keep on track and who they can talk to about any problems that they are having. This has been shown to reduce reoffending as at futures unlocked reoffending rates are over 30% lower than the national average which was calculated as a saving of over £250,000 on the social cost of crime across Warwickshire. 

Websites used:

Proven reoffending statistics quarterly bulletin, April to June 2022 - GOV.UK 

The Challenge - Unlocked Graduates 

Economic and social costs of reoffending - GOV.UK 

Family relationships. 

Theme: Parent in the Criminal Justice System 

Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile 

Futures Unlocked