Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
5. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Taoiseach the number of persons released from jail that went on to commit an offence again within three years of their release; the proportion of the number of released prisoners they represented, in each of the past five years, by category of offence, and by period within which the subsequent crime was committed, in tabular form; the way in which the rate of recidivism here compares with other EU countries. [34831/23]
View answerThe exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The Central Statistics Office compiles official statistics on one-year and three-year Prison Reoffending on an annual basis. The most recent statistics of prison reoffending published on the 11thJuly 2023 covers the one year reoffending rates of individuals released from custody in 2020 and the three year reoffending rates of individuals released in 2017. More recent estimates covering the years 2018 onwards (three-year rates) and 2021 onwards (one-year rates) cannot be calculated until the periods of time in which re-offences can take place (three and one year after release) plus additional time for related court proceedings leading to a conviction has elapsed. Comparisons of reoffending rates with other countries in the EU or the UK are not available due to national differences in the methodology of calculating reoffending. In the absence of a European Statistical regulation to standardise a methodology, countries statistics on reoffending use varying time periods and different thresholds for reoffending events. The tables below provide the most recent statistics of Prison Reoffending for reference years 2017 (three-year) and 2020 (one-year).
· Table 1.1 Three-year custodial reoffending from 2011-2017.
In 2017 1,593 of 2,604 (61%) of individuals released from custody during the reference year reoffended within three years of release.
· Table 1.2 One-year custodial reoffending from 2011-2020.
In 2020, 1,137 of 2,747 (41%) of individuals released from custody during the reference year reoffended within one year of release.
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Table 1.1 Individuals released1 from custody 2011 - 2017 classified by 3-year re-offending indicator |
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3-year re-offending indicator |
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Re-offender |
Non re-offender |
Total individuals released |
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Release Year |
Number |
% |
Number |
% |
Number |
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2011 |
2,559 |
68 |
1,218 |
32 |
3,777 |
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2012 |
2,724 |
65 |
1,463 |
35 |
4,187 |
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2013 |
2,054 |
60 |
1,400 |
40 |
3,454 |
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2014 |
1,845 |
60 |
1,229 |
40 |
3,074 |
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2015 |
1,607 |
62 |
999 |
38 |
2,606 |
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2016 |
1,636 |
62 |
990 |
38 |
2,626 |
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2017 |
1,593 |
61 |
1,011 |
39 |
2,604 |
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1 A released individual is classified to have re-offended if prison or PULSE records indicate the individual re-entered custody or committed a convicted incident within 3 years of their release. |
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Table 1.2 Individuals released from custody 2011 - 2020 classified by 1-year and 3-year re-offending indicator |
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Re-offending indicator |
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1-year rate |
3-year rate |
Total individuals released |
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Release Year |
Number |
% |
Number |
% |
Number |
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2011 |
2,041 |
54 |
2,559 |
68 |
3,776 |
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2012 |
2,071 |
50 |
2,724 |
65 |
4,184 |
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2013 |
1,561 |
45 |
2,054 |
60 |
3,453 |
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2014 |
1,365 |
44 |
1,845 |
60 |
3,072 |
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2015 |
1,230 |
47 |
1,607 |
62 |
2,602 |
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2016 |
1,272 |
48 |
1,636 |
62 |
2,626 |
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2017 |
1,226 |
47 |
1,593 |
61 |
2,604 |
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2020 |
1,137 |
41 |
n/a |
n/a |
2,747 |
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2018 |
1,323 |
48 |
n/a |
n/a |
2,783 |
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2019 |
1,794 |
45 |
n/a |
n/a |
4,026 |
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1 A released individual is classified to have re-offended if prison or PULSE records indicate the individual re-entered custody or committed a convicted incident within 1 or 3 years of their release depending on the re-offending indicator chosen. |
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Footnote: Further tables of reoffending rates classified by offence group available on request
