Reconviction rates rise in latest figures

Reconviction rates for recent offenders in Scotland rose in the past year, according to the latest official figures.

The statistics show the proportion of offenders who are reconvicted within a year after being released from a custodial sentence or given a non-custodial sentence. Figures for the 2018-19 offender cohort show a reconviction rate of 28.3%, up from 26.4% in 2017-18, going against the general downwards trend over the past decade. 

The average number of reconvictions, a measure of how often offenders are reconvicted, also increased over the same period from 0.47 to 0.50, an increase of 6%.

Over the longer term, in the decade between 2009-10 and 2018-19, the reconviction rate has decreased from 30.6% to 28.3%, while the average number of reconvictions per offender decreased by 11% from 0.56 to 0.50.

Male offenders recorded an average of 0.51 reconvictions per offender, compared with 0.48 for females – both up on the previous year.

Offenders who committed a crime of dishonesty had the highest reconviction rate (45.6%), while sex offenders had the lowest (10.4%).

The reconviction rate for custodial sentences was 43.8% in 2018-19, up from 41.0% in 2017-18. However for offenders who received community payback orders the rate was unchanged at 29.2%.

For individuals given a non-court disposal by the police in 2018-19 (such as a warning or fine), or by COPFS, 18% and 15% respectively received another non-court disposal within a year.

Click here for the full statistical publication.