Prison Re-offending Statistics 2021

Introduction

This publication provides figures for the re-offending rates of individuals released from prison or having received a court fine sentence in the years 2011 to 2021 (the 2011 to 2021 cohorts).

The term “offences” in this report refers to crime incidents known to An Garda Síochána and recorded as such in the Garda PULSE (Police Using Leading Systems Effectively) system. Because of timing issues with respect to the extraction of data, figures may be revised after this publication.

Methodological updates

CSO's publication of prison related re-offending from 2019 onwards has been adjusted to include some methodological updates.

Further details of these are available at: Prison Re-offending Estimates 2011-2017 Technical Note and Prison Re-offending Estimates 2011 - 2018 Methodological Updates.

There are four key changes that have taken place:

1. The release date of individuals now incorporates early release dates to measure the time periods to re-offending incidents. Early release takes place when an individual receives a reduction in their custodial period and is released earlier than the court sentence they received. Historically, only the courts custodial release date was used to calculate periods to re-offending incidents. Incorporating the early release data has resulted in:

• A more accurate calculation of the period between physical release and re-offence.
• A more accurate determination of the individual’s year of release in cases where early release takes place in a different reference year to the court allocated release date. Table 7.1 below shows the changes between using the court reference date and the adjusted release date that uses the updated information from the prison service.
• A more consistent re-offending indicator to measure re-offending.
• More accurate measure of the time to the 1^st re-offending incident (For example in 2017 an additional 214 custodial re-offenders (8%) were identified as re-offenders by being re-committed to custody in the reference period).

2. A re-committal to prison by a released individual during the re-offending periods (three and one year) has now been included as a re-offending indicator in addition to the existing Garda PULSE identifiers of incidents and convictions. It has resulted in:

3. Prison related re-offending is now separated into custodial and fine sentence re-offending indicators. The update aims to provide a clearer indicator of re-offending related to two different forms of sanction. "Custodial / Prison re-offending" indicators are focused on individuals who have served custodial sentences while fine sentence related re-offending is mainly related to non-custodial reprimands. 

4. Offences linked to Road and Traffic related incidents that are dealt with through the courts (and outside of the penalty points system) that were traditionally excluded from the measurement of re-offending have now been included as a qualifying re-offending offence.

Overall, 10% of individuals who received a sanction of a fine sentence from court served a custodial period greater than 1 day in 2021. See Table 7.2.

Fine Sentence population

In 2018 - 2021 there was a significant drop in the number of Fine sentence related committals than with previous years. Just 213 Fine sentences were presented to the prison service in 2021 compared to 2,197 cases in 2017 and 7,889 from 2016. The decrease is likely attributed to an increase in use of Fines Act (2010) which provides more flexibility and options for an individual to pay a fine and avoid custodial related sanctions related to non-compliance (See Table 7.1).

Data collection

These figures were produced using a combination of An Garda Síochána and Prison records. Since there is no direct link between the two systems, a statistical matching protocol was devised by the CSO to match Prison and Garda records. This protocol was updated in 2019 to capitalise on technological improvements that have become available in the 5 years since the report was first published. This revised matching process was applied to the 2011 to 2018 cohorts and will be applied to all subsequent cohorts until further notice.

Due to the absence of a unique identifier in the Irish Criminal Justice system, the matching process involves the comparison of individual records. In the region of 95% of all matches are matched automatically. That is, the name, address, and date of birth details for the subject in the Prison dataset corresponds exactly with those details in the Garda PULSE dataset.

Due to data quality issues and limitations on the reliability of some information provided to law enforcement authorities, the remaining 5% of matches require manual examination. There are clear guidelines in place in relation to the selection or rejection of matches, but a certain level of subjectivity is inevitable in the absence of a unique identifier.

Crime recording

Incidents reported, or which become known to members of An Garda Síochána, are recorded when, on the balance of probability, a Garda determines that a criminal offence defined by law has taken place and there is no credible evidence to the contrary. If it is subsequently determined that a criminal incident did not take place, the record is invalidated and is not counted in the statistics. If a person makes a report and subsequently withdraws it, then this too is invalidated unless there is evidence to suggest that, by reasonable probability, the offence has taken place. 

For criminal incidents where victim confirmation is required (e.g., assault, fraud), a criminal incident is recorded only where the victim confirms the incident or where there is evidence to suggest that by reasonable probability it occurred.

Custodial/Non-custodial court outcomes

For the purposes of showing re-offending sanctions in this publication, court outcomes have been classified to provide aggregate estimates of either a custodial or non-custodial reprimand. The following outcomes have been classified for this purpose under either custodial or non-custodial sanction.

Classification	Court Outcome Description
Custodial	Detention Detention - Consecutive Detention - Part Suspended Juvenile Detention between the ages of 12 - 17 yrs. Juvenile Detention Consecutive Sentence 12 -17 yrs. Imprisonment Imprisonment - Consecutive Imprisonment - Consecutive & Part Suspended Imprisonment - Part Suspended Imprisonment in Absence Imprisonment in Absence - Consecutive Remand on Continuing Bail
Non-Custodial	Disqualification - FOR LIFE Detention - Suspended Conviction / Probation Act Orders Dismiss Probation Act 1(2) Disqualification Conviction / Probation Act Orders Forthwith Fine Fine Imprisonment - Suspended Juvenile Fine Order Community Service Order Strike Out Community Service Order - Consecutive Unusual Result ‘Withdrawn Imprisonment - Consecutive & Suspended Detention - Consecutive & Consecutive & Suspended

Crime Classification

A criminal incident is classified as a particular offence type at the initial recording of that incident. However, upon investigation, it may later become apparent that an alternative offence type should be used. In this event, the record is amended to reflect this. Re-classification based on court proceedings only occurs in relation to homicide offences. The classification is used in this publication is the ICCS.

ICCS Offence Groups
01	Homicide Offences	Murder Manslaughter Infanticide Manslaughter (traffic fatality) Dangerous driving causing death
02	Sexual Offences	Rape of a male or female Rape Section 4 Unlawful carnal knowledge/Criminal law (Sexual Offences Act) 2006 Buggery Sexual offence involving mentally impaired person Aggravated sexual assault Sexual Assault Incest Child pornography offences Child pornography – obstruction of warrant Gross indecency
03	Attempts or Threats to Murder, Assaults, Harassments and Related Offences	Murder – attempt Threat to kill or cause serious harm Assault causing harm Poisoning Assault or obstruction of Garda/official, resisting arrest Minor assault Coercion Harassment, stalking, threats Demanding payment of debt causing alarm Housing Act Menacing phone calls Incitement to hatred offences
04	Dangerous or Negligent Acts	Dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm Driving/In charge of a vehicle while over legal alcohol limit Driving/In charge of a vehicle while under the influence of drugs Endangerment with potential for serious harm or death Abandoning a child, child neglect and cruelty Unseaworthy/dangerous use of a boat or ship False alarm/interference with aircraft or air transport facilities Endangering traffic offences
05	Kidnapping and Related Offences	False imprisonment Abduction of person under 16 years of age Human trafficking offences
06	Robbery, Extortion and Hijacking Offences	Robbery of an establishment or institution Robbery of cash of goods in transit Robbery from the person Blackmail or extortion Carjacking, hijacking/unlawful seizure of aircraft/vessel
07	Burglary and Related Offences	Aggravated burglary Burglary (not aggravated) Possession of an article (with intent to burgle, steal, demand)
08	Theft and Related Offences	Theft/Unauthorised taking of a vehicle Interfering with vehicle (with intent to steal item or vehicle) Theft from person Theft from shop Theft from vehicle Theft/Unauthorised taking of a pedal cycle Theft of, or interference with, mail Handling or possession of stolen property Theft of other property
09	Fraud, Deception and Related Offences	Fraud, deception, false pretence offences Forging an instrument to defraud Possession of an article for use in fraud, deception or extortion Falsification of accounts Offences under the Companies Act Offences under the Investment Intermediaries Act Offences under the Stock Exchange Act Money laundering Embezzlement Fraud against the European Union Importation/Sale/Supply of tobacco Counterfeiting notes and coins Counterfeiting of goods Bad debts criminal (Debtors Ireland) Corruption (involving public office holder)
10	Controlled Drug Offences	Importation of drugs Cultivation or manufacture of drugs Possession of drugs for sale or supply Possession of drugs for personal use Forged or altered prescription offences Obstruction under the Drugs Act
11	Weapons and Explosives Offences	Causing an explosion Making of explosives Possession of explosives Chemical weapons offences Discharging a firearm Possession of a firearm Possession of offensive weapons (not firearms) Fireworks offences (for sale, igniting etc.)
12	Damage to Property and to the Environment	Arson Criminal damage (not arson) Litter offences
13	Public Order and Other Social Code Offences	Affray/Riot/Violent disorder Public order offences Drunkenness offences Air rage-disruptive or drunken behaviour on aircraft Forcible entry and occupation (not burglary) Trespass on lands or enclosed areas Liquor licensing offences Registered clubs offences Special restaurant offences Provision of intoxicating liquor to under 18 year olds Purchase or consumption of alcohol by under 18 year olds Sale of intoxicating liquor to under 18 year olds Brothel keeping Organisation of prostitution Prostitution, including soliciting etc. Offences under the Betting Acts Collecting money without permit, unauthorised collection Offences under Gaming and Lotteries Acts Permit/License offences for casual/street trading Allowing a child (under 16 years) to beg Bigamy Bestiality Indecency Begging
14	Road and Traffic Offences (NEC)	Driving licence-failure to have, produce etc. Insurance-failure to have, produce, display etc. No tax, non-display of tax, unregistered vehicle etc. Misuse of Trade Licence Misuse of trailers, weight and other offences Obstruction under road traffic acts Other road offences Road transport – carriage of goods offences Public service vehicle offences Light rail offences (Luas)
15	Offences against Government, Justice Procedures and Organisation of Crime	Treason Breaches of Offences Against the State Acts Breaches of Official Secrets Act Impersonating member of An Garda Síochána Electoral offences including personation Public mischief-annoying phone calls, wasting police time Criminal Assets Bureau offences (organised crime) Conspiracy to commit a crime Perjury Interfering with a jury (embracery) Assisting offenders Public mischief, pervert course of justice, conceal offence Escape or help to escape from custody Prison offences Breach of Domestic Violence Order (protection, safety, barring) Breach of order under Family Law Act Breach of bail Failure to comply under Sex Offenders Act Other failure to comply with court order, jury summons, warrant etc.

NUTS2 and NUTS3 Regions

The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) were created by Eurostat in order to define territorial units for the production of regional statistics across the European Union. In 2003 the NUTS classification was established within a legal framework (Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003).

As the administrative territorial breakdown of EU Member States is the basis of the NUTS classification, changes made under the 2014 Local Government Act prompted a revision to the Irish NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 Regions. These changes included the amalgamation of the local authorities of Tipperary North and South, Limerick City and County Councils and Waterford City and County Councils. In addition, three Regional Assemblies were established (Northern & Western, Southern, Eastern & Midland).

The main changes at NUTS 3 level are the transfer of South Tipperary from the South-East into the Mid-West NUTS 3 region and the movement of Louth from the Border to the Mid-East NUTS 3 Region. There are now three NUTS 2 Regions which correspond to the Regional Assemblies established in the 2014 Local Government Act and are groupings of the new NUTS 3 Regions. The revisions made to the NUTS boundaries have been given legal status under Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2066. The new NUTS 2 and NUTS 3 structure and classification are displayed in the table below:

Northern & Western NUTS2 Region		Southern NUTS2 Region		Eastern & Midland NUTS2 Region
Border	Cavan Donegal Leitrim Monaghan Sligo	Mid-West	Clare Limerick Tipperary	Dublin	Dublin City Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Fingal South Dublin
		South-East	Carlow Kilkenny Waterford Wexford	Mid-East	Kildare Louth Meath Wicklow
West	Galway Mayo Roscommon	South-West	Cork Kerry	Midland	Laois Longford Offaly Westmeath