Written Answers - Recidivism Rates.
Jack Wall
Question:
53
Mr. Wall
asked the
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
if he will provide details of the recidivism rate for every 100,000 head of population in Ireland; if he will provide comparative statistics for each OECD country; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25167/98]
Records are not maintained in a way which would allow the provision of the information sought by the Deputy. The indications from an expert sociological study conducted in 1996 on the Mountjoy Prison population is that the rate of recidivism amongst our prisoners is high. The study showed, for example, that about 77 per cent of the prisoner sample profiled had previously served a custodial sentence.
Following contact with the OECD and the Council of Europe I have been informed that such information is not available from them in relation to member states.
Recidivism is a recognised phenomenon in modern society in Ireland and throughout the world. It is very much associated with dysfunctional personalities — substance abusers, homeless persons and persons with a disordered social background. Recidivism is also, of course, associated with so-called professional criminals such as bank robbers and fraudsters who commit crime as a way of life and seem quite prepared to accept the associated risks of detection and punishment.
Measures which are in place to address recidivism include the provision of a wide range of training and educational facilities relating to both academic and practical and vocational subjects where inmates are concerned and the availability of non-custodial options, particularly for potential young offenders through the juvenile liaison officer scheme. The juvenile liaison officer scheme has been particularly successful, with a four fold increase in the numbers cautioned over the last six years. More importantly, 89 per cent of these have not re-offended within their two year supervisory period.
The courts are, in addition, increasingly availing of alternatives to custody such a community service orders and probation. Both of these options involve a substantial commitment from the probation and welfare service, which operates under the aegis of my Department.
One must be cautious when comparing the success from a recidivism point of view of non-custodial options with prison. It is obvious that individuals least likely to re-offend will benefit from a non-custodial approach whether it is through the JLO scheme or by way of probation or community service order. It should not be a surprise, therefore, that those who continue to offend notwithstanding the use of non-custodial sanctions will end up being committed to prison by the courts. The expert sociological study referred to earlier showed that 78 per cent of the sample of prisoners in Mountjoy received a non-custodial sanction on their first conviction, while 25 per cent of the sample benefited from four or more alternative sanctions.
It is recognised that recidivism is likely to remain a feature of behaviour amongst those inclined towards criminal activity but I am committed to take any action necessary in order to minimise its impact both on the individuals concerned and on society as a whole.
