Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Justice to detail any assessment she has made of the potential impact of short custodial sentences, on the reoffending rate.
Minister of Justice: Custodial reoffending rates vary significantly according to the length of sentence imposed. The latest one-year proven reoffending statistics for those released from custody in 2022/23 show that individuals released from sentences of 12 months or more had a substantially lower reoffending rate (19.3%) than those released from sentences of less than 12 months (52.4%).
A breakdown by sentence length is provided below:
| Sentence Length | Reoffending Rate |
| Up to 3 months | 58.4% |
| 3 to 12 months | 49.4% |
| 12 months to 3 years | 21.1% |
| Over 3 years | 3.7% |
These figures should be interpreted with caution, as they do not control for differences in offender characteristics, criminal histories or offence types, all of which can influence reoffending outcomes.
Notwithstanding these statistics, the Northern Ireland Prison Service places a strong emphasis on rehabilitation, supporting those in its care to address the factors that contribute to offending behaviour. This includes initiatives such as Extern’s Prisoner Support Project, which provides targeted support for individuals serving short custodial sentences.
In addition, work is ongoing to develop a new cross-government Reducing Offending and Reoffending Strategy. As part of this work, a public Call for Views is currently seeking evidence, research, lived experience and stakeholder perspectives on the interventions and approaches most effective in reducing offending and reoffending. The findings will help inform future policy and efforts to improve outcomes for those at risk of reoffending.
ENDS
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