Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 22 Oct 2002

Vol. 555 No. 5

Written Answers. - Recidivism Rates.

Richard Bruton

Question:

350 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the details of his Department's estimates of reoffending rates for persons released from prison, distinguishing between reoffending rates of prisoners imprisoned for serious offences compared to those imprisoned for minor offences. [18959/02]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

I am advised that information on the rate of reoffending is not readily available in the detail sought by the Deputy.

As regards recidivism in the prisoner population, a new information technology system, which went live in each institution last year, will, going forward, enable us to view a prisoner's past committal history, but only in depth research will enable us to accurately assess rates of recidivism. In this context, the Director General of the Prison Service, as part of the positive sentence management process, will be commissioning such research which, it is hoped, will present an accurate picture of recidivism which, in turn, will assist and shape the way we manage sentences in the future. I will shortly establish an expert group on crime statistics, and the need for more accurate measurement of recidivism is one of the issues which will fall to be considered in that context.