Reconviction rates in Scotland: 2014-2015 offender cohort

Analysis of trends in reconviction statistics up to the latest cohort of 2014 to 2015.

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Table 9: Reconviction rates and average number of reconvictions per offender, by custodial sentence length: 1997-98 to 2014-15 cohorts

Custodial sentence length Total offenders Reconviction rate Average number of reconvictions
3 months or less
1997-98 2,724 56.7 1.33
1998-99 2,555 59.3 1.42
1999-00 2,540 55.5 1.28
2000-01 2,393 58.0 1.31
2001-02 2,463 58.2 1.37
2002-03 2,639 61.4 1.49
2003-04 2,472 63.0 1.51
2004-05 2,563 61.5 1.44
2005-06 2,724 59.1 1.37
2006-07 3,066 60.7 1.40
2007-08 2,870 59.0 1.35
2008-09 2,362 59.7 1.38
2009-10 2,067 58.9 1.32
2010-11 1,824 61.7 1.35
2011-12 1,406 59.7 1.36
2012-13 1,405 60.5 1.39
2013-14 1,306 60.8 1.33
2014-15 1,294 60.0 1.25
Over 3 months to 6 months
1997-98 1,459 58.0 1.22
1998-99 1,403 57.9 1.31
1999-00 1,330 56.7 1.23
2000-01 1,325 58.0 1.24
2001-02 1,431 57.2 1.33
2002-03 1,382 60.1 1.37
2003-04 1,346 59.8 1.33
2004-05 1,338 57.3 1.31
2005-06 1,371 56.9 1.31
2006-07 1,470 58.0 1.29
2007-08 1,454 57.9 1.34
2008-09 1,901 55.1 1.20
2009-10 1,935 54.1 1.15
2010-11 2,024 53.2 1.11
2011-12 2,332 53.3 1.19
2012-13 2,304 51.8 1.13
2013-14 2,212 54.6 1.09
2014-15 2,021 54.5 1.16
Over 6 months to 1 year
1997-98 596 35.6 0.65
1998-99 533 33.0 0.61
1999-00 540 37.4 0.71
2000-01 493 34.5 0.64
2001-02 578 40.7 0.74
2002-03 518 36.1 0.67
2003-04 563 36.4 0.72
2004-05 558 33.3 0.69
2005-06 575 36.0 0.67
2006-07 629 37.2 0.70
2007-08 771 36.7 0.67
2008-09 1,032 44.3 0.83
2009-10 1,181 42.4 0.82
2010-11 1,217 41.6 0.80
2011-12 1,250 42.7 0.81
2012-13 1,343 42.4 0.80
2013-14 1,290 43.2 0.78
2014-15 1,176 40.8 0.75
Over 1 year to 2 years
1997-98 566 30.4 0.52
1998-99 489 33.1 0.55
1999-00 511 29.2 0.48
2000-01 495 32.3 0.54
2001-02 553 30.0 0.50
2002-03 506 30.0 0.53
2003-04 559 31.1 0.52
2004-05 636 32.9 0.55
2005-06 552 28.8 0.48
2006-07 643 30.2 0.54
2007-08 803 35.1 0.59
2008-09 944 34.2 0.53
2009-10 1,072 34.4 0.60
2010-11 1,025 32.0 0.53
2011-12 1,029 32.8 0.59
2012-13 1,170 33.0 0.54
2013-14 1,125 30.6 0.50
2014-15 1,070 29.7 0.47
Over 2 years to less than 4 years
1997-98 371 27.5 0.37
1998-99 359 25.6 0.41
1999-00 352 21.9 0.32
2000-01 366 20.8 0.30
2001-02 378 27.5 0.44
2002-03 396 27.0 0.46
2003-04 364 27.7 0.46
2004-05 423 22.9 0.41
2005-06 397 23.2 0.38
2006-07 483 25.9 0.43
2007-08 535 22.1 0.35
2008-09 614 27.0 0.44
2009-10 622 29.3 0.48
2010-11 732 27.0 0.43
2011-12 760 27.2 0.43
2012-13 708 26.4 0.40
2013-14 659 25.6 0.39
2014-15 639 23.5 0.36
Over 4 years
1997-98 305 23.9 0.35
1998-99 384 21.9 0.29
1999-00 346 15.3 0.17
2000-01 392 14.8 0.16
2001-02 424 17.2 0.24
2002-03 449 16.7 0.21
2003-04 444 18.5 0.24
2004-05 444 16.4 0.20
2005-06 464 18.8 0.22
2006-07 495 13.7 0.16
2007-08 497 13.3 0.16
2008-09 460 15.0 0.19
2009-10 440 16.4 0.17
2010-11 374 12.6 0.15
2011-12 422 13.0 0.15
2012-13 418 10.0 0.11
2013-14 425 7.8 0.09
2014-15 373 12.3 0.13

1. Figures for previous cohorts may differ from previously published figures as updated information is fed into the Scottish Offenders Index.

2. Caution is needed when comparing reconvictions between different sentence lengths. The length of a sentence may affect the reconviction rates, but different lengths of sentence are given for different types of offending behaviour, which are themselves also likely to affect reconviction rates.

Contact

Email: Mariken Schipper

Phone: 0300 244 4000 – Central Enquiry Unit

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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