MOJ determined to tackle 'shamefully high' reoffending rates

Figures have been announced this week saying that one in four criminals went straight back to crime following a stint in prison. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said 'We are tackling the shamefully high reoffending rates in this country by introducing a rehabilitation revolution - offenders must be punished, but we must also deal with the root causes of offenders' behaviour so they don't return to crime.' In 2010, a total of 497,969 offences were committed by 173,274 offenders. More than half (55.3 per cent) of the offences were committed by 78,149 offenders with 11 or more previous offences. For criminals leaving jail, the reoffending rate was 47.5 per cent, up from 46.8 per cent in 2009. Among adults jailed for less than 12 months, 57.6% went on to commit another crime.