John O'Donoghue
Ceist:111 Mr. O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Justice the average rate of recidivism among prisoners currently imprisoned in each Irish jail and place of detention; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13073/97]
Written Answers. - Recidivism Rate.
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 among 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.
Recidivism is a recognised phenomenon in all criminal justice systems. It is very much associated with dysfunctional personalities — substance abusers, homeless persons and persons with a social background which is disordered. 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-custodical options, particularly for potential young offenders through the juvenile liaison officer scheme. The juvenile liaison officer scheme has been particularly successful, with a quadrupling of the numbers cautioned over the last six years. More importantly, 89 per cent of these have not reoffended within their two year supervisory period.