Reoffending
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and age group section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (number of reoffences) section
- 7. Navigate toData sources section
- 8. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- in the year ending in March 2022, 26.6% of white offenders had committed another offence within 12 months – the highest reoffending rate out of all ethnic groups
- offenders in the ‘other’ (including mixed) ethnic group had the lowest reoffending rate (16.8%)
- in every ethnic group, young offenders (10 to 17 year olds) had a higher reoffending rate than adults
- white offenders committed the most reoffences on average (3.80)
- offenders in the ‘other’ (including mixed) ethnic group committed the least (2.99)
Further research:
2023 research by Traverse and the Youth Justice Board looked at ethnic disparities in youth reoffending in England and Wales. It found statistically significant differences in youth reoffending rates between ethnic groups. Reoffending was higher among black children than white children, even when accounting for factors such as offence type and local area deprivation.
The researchers also interviewed child reoffenders and practitioners to get their perspectives. The 4 emerging themes they found were: (1) marginalisation of people and communities; 2) individual, institutional and systemic bias; 3) weaknesses in prevention and intervention, and; 4) negative experiences of the wider youth justice system
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows:
- the number and percentage of offenders who reoffended each year
- the average number of reoffences for every reoffender
A ‘reoffence’ is when someone commits another offence within 12 months of being released from custody or receiving a caution, fine or court order. This must then lead to a conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in the same 12-month period, or up to 18 months to allow for court proceedings.
The data does not count all reoffences committed during each 12-month period (for example, April 2021 to March 2022). It only counts reoffences committed by offenders who were released from custody or given a caution or non-custodial conviction in that period.
The data includes adult and young offenders (aged 10 to 17 years).
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place. Numbers of offences for every person are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Not included in the data
The data does not include people who could not be matched to the Police National Computer, a database used by the police and other UK law enforcement organisations.
Percentages based on less than 30 offenders or reoffenders are removed as they make data unreliable for interpretation. And numbers are suppressed if based on five or fewer offenders to prevent the disclosure of individual information.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 4 ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- white
- ‘other’ (including mixed)
Each offender’s ethnic group is assigned by the police based on their appearance.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data.
Figures for April 2015 to March 2016 onwards cannot be compared with figures from earlier years due to a change in the methodology and data source. You can see data for the period from April 2010 to March 2015 if you download the data.
There were large decreases in the reoffending rate for cohorts affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, between October to December 2018 and October to December 2020. This pandemic-related decline has begun to reverse in the last seven quarters, impacting the annual figures for April 2021 to March 2022.
Reoffending statistics are produced every 3 months. The annual figures are an average of the 4 quarters in each year. This means that a reoffender may appear more than once in the annual average figures.
The data may underestimate the true level of reoffending. Official reoffending records are taken from police or courts, but not all crime is detected or recorded on a single system.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Number of reoffenders | Average number of reoffences per reoffender |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 25.2 | 83,451 | 3.69 |
| Asian | 20.8 | 4,238 | 3.13 |
| Black | 25.9 | 8,213 | 3.25 |
| White | 26.6 | 68,902 | 3.80 |
| Other including Mixed | 16.8 | 605 | 2.99 |
| Unknown | 9.2 | 1,493 | 2.87 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Reoffending By ethnicity Summary
The data shows that, in the year ending March 2022:
- white offenders had the highest reoffending rate (26.6%) and committed the most reoffences (3.80 for every person on average)
- offenders in the ‘other’ (including mixed) ethnic group had the lowest reoffending rate (16.8%) and committed the fewest reoffences (2.99)
4. By ethnicity over time
| All | Asian | Black | White | Other including Mixed | Unknown | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | All % | All Number of reoffenders | Asian % | Asian Number of reoffenders | Black % | Black Number of reoffenders | White % | White Number of reoffenders | Other inc Mixed % | Other inc Mixed Number of reoffenders | Unknown % | Unknown Number of reoffenders |
| 2015/16 | 29.5 | 154,375 | 24.1 | 6,972 | 33.5 | 16,379 | 30.6 | 128,487 | 20.7 | 1,236 | 6.4 | 1,301 |
| 2016/17 | 29.4 | 139,611 | 24.0 | 6,569 | 33.3 | 15,150 | 30.7 | 115,505 | 21.3 | 1,136 | 6.1 | 1,251 |
| 2017/18 | 29.2 | 125,829 | 24.3 | 6,010 | 32.7 | 13,818 | 30.6 | 103,866 | 20.9 | 962 | 5.7 | 1,173 |
| 2018/19 | 28.0 | 112,507 | 24.1 | 5,428 | 31.5 | 12,120 | 29.5 | 93,145 | 20.0 | 810 | 5.0 | 1,004 |
| 2019/20 | 25.6 | 95,951 | 22.5 | 4,885 | 28.2 | 10,158 | 27.0 | 78,787 | 20.4 | 795 | 6.1 | 1,326 |
| 2020/21 | 24.4 | 74,262 | 19.9 | 3,658 | 25.7 | 7,533 | 25.4 | 60,849 | 19.7 | 687 | 10.9 | 1,535 |
| 2021/22 | 25.2 | 83,451 | 20.8 | 4,238 | 25.9 | 8,213 | 26.6 | 68,902 | 16.8 | 605 | 9.2 | 1,493 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Reoffending By ethnicity over time Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 7 years to March 2022, reoffending rates went down in every ethnic group
- black offenders had the highest reoffending rate in the 6 years between April 2015 and March 2021
- white offenders had the highest reoffending rate in the year ending in March 2022
- offenders in the ‘other’ (including mixed) ethnic group had the lowest reoffending rate in every year shown
5. By ethnicity and age group
| Adult | Juvenile | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Adult % | Adult Number of reoffenders | Adult Average number of reoffences per reoffender | Juvenile % | Juvenile Number of reoffenders | Juvenile Average number of reoffences per reoffender |
| All | 24.9 | 79,004 | 3.67 | 32.2 | 4,447 | 4.07 |
| Asian | 20.6 | 4,039 | 3.11 | 26.4 | 199 | 3.65 |
| Black | 24.8 | 7,322 | 3.25 | 38.9 | 891 | 3.26 |
| White | 26.3 | 65,700 | 3.77 | 33.9 | 3,202 | 4.36 |
| Other including Mixed | 16.4 | 569 | 3.02 | 26.7 | 36 | 2.50 |
| Unknown | 9.1 | 1,374 | 2.81 | 10.0 | 119 | 3.52 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV)
Summary of Reoffending By ethnicity and age group Summary
The data shows that, in the year ending March 2022:
- 32.2% of young offenders (10 to 17 year olds) reoffended, compared with 24.9% of adults
- the average number of reoffences for every person was higher for young offenders (4.07), compared with adults (3.67)
- black offenders had the highest reoffending rate out of all ethnic groups for young people (38.9%)
- white offenders had the highest reoffending rate for adults (26.3%)
6. By ethnicity over time (number of reoffences)
| Year | All | Asian | Black | White | Other inc Mixed | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average number of reoffences | Average number of reoffences | Average number of reoffences | Average number of reoffences | Average number of reoffences | Average number of reoffences | |
| 2015/16 | 3.78 | 3.31 | 3.47 | 3.87 | 3.05 | 2.78 |
| 2016/17 | 4.01 | 3.33 | 3.59 | 4.12 | 3.46 | 3.08 |
| 2017/18 | 4.04 | 3.40 | 3.50 | 4.17 | 3.32 | 2.91 |
| 2018/19 | 3.98 | 3.33 | 3.46 | 4.10 | 3.32 | 2.85 |
| 2019/20 | 3.72 | 3.15 | 3.26 | 3.83 | 2.82 | 3.46 |
| 2020/21 | 3.59 | 3.13 | 3.14 | 3.68 | 3.13 | 3.22 |
| 2021/22 | 3.69 | 3.13 | 3.25 | 3.80 | 2.99 | 2.87 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (number of reoffences)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (number of reoffences)’ (CSV)
Summary of Reoffending By ethnicity over time (number of reoffences) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the 7 years to March 2022, the average number of reoffences committed per reoffender went down in every ethnic group
- white reoffenders committed the most reoffences in every year
7. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Justice
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The government uses reoffending data to develop policies and services aimed at reducing reoffending.
8. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, time, geography, gender, age, previous custodial sentences, previous offences, value, denominator, numerator