- 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 and age group section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity over time section
- 6. Navigate to Reoffences per reoffender by ethnicity section
- 7. Navigate toData sources section
- 8. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- Black offenders had the highest rates of reoffending in 2016/17, at 33.3%
- for the same period, offenders in the Other ethnic group had the lowest rate of reoffending, at 21.3%
- across all ethnic groups, juveniles had a higher rate of reoffending than adults
- in 2016/17, White offenders had the highest average number of reoffences per reoffender at 4.12 reoffences
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
This data shows:
- the number and percentage of offenders who reoffended each year
- the average number of offences per reoffender
Offences are counted as ‘proven reoffences’ if both the following apply:
- the offender committed them within 12 months of being released from custody or receiving a caution or non-custodial conviction (such as a fine)
- they led to a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning within the same 12-month period (or up to 18 months to allow time for the reoffence to be proven in court)
The data includes adult and juvenile offenders.
Percentages are rounded to 1 decimal place. Numbers of offences per reoffender are rounded to 2 decimal places.
Not included in the data
The data does not include:
- offenders who could not be matched to the police national computer
- percentages based on fewer than 30 offenders (as they make estimates unreliable)
- numbers of reoffenders and reoffences based on fewer than 5 offenders (to protect people’s confidentiality)
The data does not count all reoffences committed during a 12-month period (for example, April 2016 to March 2017). It only counts reoffences committed by offenders who were released from custody or given a caution or non-custodial conviction in that period.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 4 ethnic groups:
- Asian
- Black
- White
- Other
Offenders do not choose their own ethnic group. It is assigned by the police based on appearance.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data used on this page.
Figures for April 2015 to March 2016 onwards are not comparable with figures from earlier years due to a change in the methodology and data source.
Proven reoffending statistics are produced every 3 months. The annual figures shown on this page are an average of the 4 combined three-month periods in each year. This means that a reoffender may appear more than once in the annual average figures.
The data underestimates the true level of reoffending. Official reoffending records are taken from police or courts, but not all crime is detected and crime is not recorded on one central system. This makes reoffending difficult to measure.
3. By ethnicity
| Ethnicity | % | Number of reoffenders | Average number of reoffences per reoffender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 24.0 | 6,569 | 3.33 |
| Black | 33.3 | 15,150 | 3.59 |
| White | 30.7 | 115,505 | 4.12 |
| Other including Mixed | 21.3 | 1,136 | 3.46 |
| Unknown | 6.1 | 1,251 | 3.08 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Proven reoffending By ethnicity Summary
This data shows:
- Black offenders had the highest rate of reoffending in 2016/17, at 33.3%
- offenders in the Other ethnic group had the lowest reoffending rate, at 21.3%,
- White offenders had the highest average number of reoffences per reoffender, at 4.12
- Asian offenders had the lowest average number of reoffences per reoffender, at 3.33
4. By ethnicity and age group
| Juvenile | Adult | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Juvenile % | Juvenile Number of reoffenders | Juvenile Average number of reoffences | Adult % | Adult Number of reoffenders | Adult Average number of reoffences |
| All | 42.6 | 13,474 | 3.92 | 29.5 | 124,886 | 4.03 |
| Asian | 35.9 | 631 | 3.22 | 23.2 | 5,938 | 3.34 |
| Black | 48.6 | 2,373 | 3.69 | 31.5 | 12,777 | 3.57 |
| White | 41.9 | 10,351 | 4.02 | 29.9 | 105,154 | 4.13 |
| Other including Mixed | 39.5 | 119 | 3.75 | 20.2 | 1,017 | 3.42 |
| Unknown | 11.9 | 212 | 3.45 | 5.6 | 1,039 | 3.00 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group’ (CSV)
Summary of Proven reoffending By ethnicity and age group Summary
This data shows that:
- in 2016/17, 42.6% of juvenile offenders reoffended, compared with 29.5% of adult offenders (excluding where ethnicity was unknown)
- the average number of reoffences per reoffender was higher for adults (4.03) compared with juveniles (3.92)
- Black offenders had the highest rates of reoffending for both juveniles and adults, with 48.6% of juveniles and 31.5% of adults reoffending
5. By ethnicity over time
| Asian | Black | White | Other including Mixed | Unknown | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 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 |
| 2006/07 | 25.7 | 9,960 | 35.2 | 22,816 | 32.1 | 229,168 | 23.2 | 1,852 | 7.6 | 2,679 |
| 2007/08 | 25.2 | 10,425 | 35.1 | 24,076 | 31.9 | 233,669 | 22.3 | 1,831 | 8.6 | 2,385 |
| 2008/09 | 25.0 | 10,539 | 34.1 | 23,676 | 32.4 | 227,671 | 21.7 | 1,968 | 11.2 | 2,100 |
| 2009/10 | 24.5 | 9,978 | 33.9 | 22,609 | 31.7 | 207,837 | 21.4 | 1,934 | 11.0 | 1,891 |
| 2010/11 | 24.9 | 9,697 | 34.5 | 21,974 | 32.4 | 199,874 | 21.2 | 1,893 | 10.8 | 1,795 |
| 2011/12 | 24.2 | 8,785 | 34.0 | 20,336 | 32.3 | 186,832 | 21.0 | 1,699 | 9.5 | 1,711 |
| 2012/13 | 24.0 | 7,940 | 34.0 | 18,175 | 31.9 | 165,241 | 21.5 | 1,590 | 8.9 | 1,554 |
| 2013/14 | 23.9 | 7,744 | 34.1 | 17,660 | 32.3 | 158,053 | 22.0 | 1,551 | 8.6 | 1,574 |
| 2014/15 | 23.8 | 7,143 | 33.2 | 16,457 | 31.2 | 140,954 | 20.8 | 1,349 | 7.0 | 1,413 |
| 2015/16 | 24.1 | 6,972 | 33.5 | 16,379 | 30.6 | 128,487 | 20.7 | 1,236 | 6.4 | 1,301 |
| 2016/17 | 24.0 | 6,569 | 33.3 | 15,150 | 30.7 | 115,505 | 21.3 | 1,136 | 6.1 | 1,251 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time’ (CSV)
Summary of Proven reoffending By ethnicity over time Summary
The data shows that:
- reoffending rates remained fairly consistent across all ethnic groups between 2006/07 and 2016/17
- Black offenders had the highest rates of reoffending for this period, and offenders from the Other ethnic group had the lowest rates
- due to a change in methodology and data source, take care when comparing recent figures with those from before 2015/16 as reoffending rates may vary by up to 5 percentage points using the new method
6. Reoffences per reoffender by ethnicity
| Year | Asian | Black | White | Other inc Mixed | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006/07 | 2.91 | 3.09 | 3.29 | 2.83 | 2.68 |
| 2007/08 | 2.87 | 3.08 | 3.28 | 2.82 | 2.88 |
| 2008/09 | 2.83 | 2.97 | 3.26 | 2.78 | 2.86 |
| 2009/10 | 2.78 | 2.92 | 3.22 | 2.65 | 2.70 |
| 2010/11 | 2.86 | 3.02 | 3.32 | 2.99 | 2.86 |
| 2011/12 | 2.79 | 2.95 | 3.37 | 2.78 | 2.81 |
| 2012/13 | 2.96 | 3.08 | 3.51 | 2.86 | 2.72 |
| 2013/14 | 3.06 | 3.19 | 3.64 | 2.87 | 2.86 |
| 2014/15 | 3.15 | 3.35 | 3.75 | 3.02 | 3.00 |
| 2015/16 | 3.31 | 3.47 | 3.87 | 3.05 | 2.78 |
| 2016/17 | 3.33 | 3.59 | 4.12 | 3.46 | 3.08 |
Download table data for ‘Reoffences per reoffender by ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Reoffences per reoffender by ethnicity’ (CSV)
Summary of Proven reoffending Reoffences per reoffender by ethnicity Summary
This data shows that:
- the average number of reoffences committed per reoffender increased across all ethnic groups between 2006/07 and 2016/17
- White reoffenders consistently had the highest average number of reoffences
- due to a change in methodology and data source, take care when comparing recent figures with those from before 2015/16 as reoffending rates may vary by up to 5 percentage points using the new method
7. Data sources
Source
Proven reoffending statistics: April to June 2017
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
National Statistics
Publisher
Ministry of Justice
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Reoffending data is used by the government to aid in the development of policy and the delivery of services to reduce re-offending.
8. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, year, age group, number of offenders, number of reoffenders, number of reoffences, average number of reoffences per reoffender