Proven Re-offending Statistics Quarterly Bulletin, April 2013 to March 2014
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Proven Re-offending statistics. Key statistics on proven reoffending in England and Wales. It gives proven reoffending figures for offenders who were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, or received a caution or reprimand.

Proven Re-offending Statistics 
Quarterly Bulletin 
April 2013 to March 2014, 
England and Wales 
Ministry of Justice 
Statistics Bulletin 
28 January 2016 

 
 
 
 
2
Contents 
  
Introduction ................................................................................. 3 
Key findings ................................................................................. 5 
Main report ................................................................................... 7 
Overall - adult and juvenile offenders .........................................7 
Males and Females ....................................................................8 
Age ............................................................................................9 
Index offence ............................................................................ 10 
Previous offences ..................................................................... 11 
Index disposal (sentence) type ................................................. 12 
Comparing the effectiveness of sentences ............................... 14 
Measuring proven re-offending ................................................ 17 
Contact points ........................................................................... 19 
 

 
 
 
 
3
Introduction 
This quarterly bulletin provides key statistics on Proven Re-offending for adult 
and juvenile offenders who were released from custody, received a non-
custodial conviction at court, received a caution, or received a reprimand or 
warning in the period April 2013 to March 2014. It presents the proportion of 
offenders who re-offend (proven re-offending rate) and the number of proven 
re-offences by offender history, demographics, individual prisons, probation 
trusts, local authorities and youth offending teams. 
 
How is proven re-offending measured? 
A proven re-offence is defined as any offence committed in a one year follow-
up period that leads to a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning in 
the one year follow-up or within a further six month waiting period to allow the 
offence to be proven in court as shown in the diagram below. 
 
 
An offender enters cohort if they are released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, 
received a caution, or received a reprimand or warning in the period April 2013 to March 2014. 
 
Latest figures are provided with comparisons to April 2012 to March 2013, 
and the calendar year 2003 in order to highlight long-term trends. The full set 
of results is published separately in a set of Excel tables which provide 
headline Proven Re-offending statistics, and data tools which provide more 
detailed breakdowns. 
 
Annex A the latest interim re-conviction estimates from the Peterborough 
Payment by Results pilots is published separately alongside this bulletin. 
 
Youth Justice annual statistics are also published today, and will cover the 
April 2013 to March 2014 cohort for youth proven re-offending.  
 
If you have any feedback, questions or requests for further information 
about this statistical bulletin, please direct them to 
xxx@xxx.xx. 
 
01-Apr-13
30-Sep-13
31-Mar-14
30-Sep-14
31-Mar-15
30-Sep-15
Offender A 
enters cohort
One year period in which 
re-offences are measured 
Offender B
enters cohort
We report on the offences that 
lead to a court conviction, 
caution, reprimand or warning 
within the year 
OR within a further 
six months to allow 
the offence to be
proven in court
Offender C
enters cohort

 
 
 
 
4
Publication of National Probation Service Community Rehabilitation 
Companies and proven re-offending rates 
Probation Trusts ceased to exist on 1 June 2014, and were replaced with the 
National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. On 
1 February 2015, new providers took ownership of, and began running, the 
21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC).  
 
The next proven re-offending publication in April covers the period from July 
2013 to June 2014. We propose that the next proven re-offending publication 
continues to have a probation trust breakdown, but not an NPS/CRC 
breakdown, as this will only cover one month of these organisations being 
operational. The July publication will, for the first time, provide proven re-
offending rates by NPS regions and CRCs for offenders starting a court order 
in the period from June 2014 to September 2014. 
 
Public consultation 
Alongside the October 2015 bulletin, we published a public consultation on 
proposals to change the presentation of the data in re-offending statistics 
produced from October 2017. These changes will be the direct consequence 
of reforms made to the probation services through introducing the Offender 
Rehabilitation Act in February 2015. We intend to publish a response to this 
consultation in spring 2016. 

 
 
 
 
5
Key findings 
Overall - adult and juvenile offenders 
In April 2013 to March 2014 around 510,000 adult and juvenile offenders1 
were cautioned, received a non-custodial conviction at court or released from 
custody. Around 134,000 of these offenders committed a proven re-offence 
within a year.  
 
This gives an overall proven re-offending rate of 26.2%; this rate has 
remained fairly stable, fluctuating between around 26% and 28% since 2003. 
 
Around 418,000 proven re-offences were committed over the one year 
follow-up period, with those that re-offended committing, on average, 3.12 re-
offences each. This is an increase of 3.8% compared to the previous 12 
months and a fall of 7.7% since 2003.  
 
The highest re-offending rate by age group is 38.9%, for offenders aged 10 to 
14, the number of offenders in this cohort has fallen by around 80% since 
2003. The re-offending rate for offenders aged 15 to 17 is second highest, at 
37.8%. 
 
Less than 1% of all proven re-offences committed over the one year follow-
up period were serious violent or sexual offences with very little change since 
2003. 
 
Adult offenders 
Adult offenders had a proven re-offending rate of 25.2%, representing a small 
increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and a 
fall of 1.7 percentage points since 2003, this rate has been fairly flat since 
2003 fluctuating between around 24% and 27%. 
 
Around 368,000 proven re-offences were committed by adults over the one 
year follow-up period. Those that re-offended committed on average 3.12 re-
offences each. 
 
Unsurprisingly, adult offenders with 11 or more previous offences have a 
higher re-offending rate than those with no previous offences – 46.6% 
compared to 7.9%. 
 
In the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, adult offenders with an index offence 
of ‘Theft’ had the highest proven re-offending rate of 42.8%. Those with the 
lowest rate had an index offence of ‘Fraud’ and re-offended at a rate of 
10.9%. 
                                                 
1 A certain proportion of offenders who could not be matched to the Police National Computer (PNC) 
are excluded from the offender cohort. Therefore, this number does not represent all proven offenders. 
This means that the number of offenders in this bulletin will be different from the numbers published in 
Offender Management Statistics Quarterly and Criminal Justice Statistics. Please refer to the 
‘Definitions and Measurement’ document for further information.  

 
 
 
 
6
 
Adult offenders starting a court order 
The proven re-offending rate for adult offenders starting a court order 
(Community sentence or Suspended Sentence Order) was 34.0%, a fall of 
5.9 percentage points since 2003, and a slight increase of 0.1 percentage 
points compared to the previous 12 months. 
 
Adult offenders released from custody 
The proven re-offending rate for adult offenders released from custody in 
April 2013 to March 2014 was 45.8%. This represents a small increase of 0.7 
percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and a fall of 5.8 
percentage points since 2003. Since 2004, the overall rate for those released 
from custody has remained relatively stable at around 45% to 49%; 
 
The rate for those released from short sentences has been consistently 
higher compared to those released from longer sentences. Adults who 
served sentences of less than 12 months re-offended at a rate of 59.8%, 
compared to 33.9% for those who served determinate sentences of 12 
months or more. The trends for those released from short and long 
sentences have both remained broadly flat since 2005 and are consistent 
with the overall trend. 
 
Juvenile offenders 
Around 42,000 juvenile offenders were cautioned, convicted or released from 
custody in April 2013 to March 2014 and around 16,000 of them committed a 
re-offence.  
 
This gives a proven re-offending rate of 38.0%, up 1.9 percentage points 
from the previous 12 months and an increase of 3.8 percentage points since 
2003, the cohort has fallen by around 69% since 2003. 
 
Around 50,000 proven re-offences were committed by juveniles over the one 
year follow-up period. Those that re-offended committed on average 3.12 re-
offences each, the same as for adults. Juvenile offenders with 11 or more 
previous offences have a higher re-offending rate than those with no previous 
offences – 74.3% compared to 24.2%. 
 
Juvenile offenders released from custody 
The proven re-offending rate for juvenile offenders released from custody in 
April 2013 to March 2014 was 67.1%.  
 
In spite of the increase in the overall juvenile re-offending rate, the re-
offending rate for juveniles released from custody continues to fall with a 
decrease of 0.8 percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and 
a fall of 7.8 percentage points since 2003. 
 

 
 
 
 
7
Main report 
Overall - adult and juvenile offenders (Table A1) 
 
Adult offenders accounted for 92% (around 468,000) of the April 2013 to 
March 2014 offender cohort, and juvenile offenders accounted for 8% 
(around 42,000). A certain proportion of offenders who could not be matched 
to the Police National Computer (PNC) are excluded from the offender 
cohort. Therefore, this number does not represent all proven offenders. 
 
Figure 1: Proportion of adult and juvenile offenders in England and 
Wales who commit a proven re-offence, 2003 to March 2014 
 
 
Around 118,000 of all adult offenders were proven to have committed a re-
offence within a year. This gives a proven re-offending rate of 25.2% which 
represents a small increase of 0.2 percentage points compared to the 
previous year. Since 2003, there has been little change in this rate, as 
illustrated in Figure 1. Over this time it has ranged from around 24% to 27% 
and since 2004 it has remained steady at around 25%. 
 
The proven re-offending rate for juvenile offenders is higher, and in the last 
12 months it has increased from 36.1% for the year ending March 2013 to 
38.0% for the year ending March 2014. While the juvenile re-offending rate 
has seen an increase of 3.8 percentage points since 2003, the cohort has 
fallen by around 69%. The average number of previous offences per juvenile 
offender was 2.57 in April 2013 to March 2014 and 1.83 in 2003. In spite of 
the increase in the overall juvenile re-offending rate, the re-offending rate for 
juveniles released from custody continues to fall. 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Number of offenders in cohort ('000s)
Cohort
Adult offenders
Juvenile offenders
Adult proportion (%)
Juvenile proportion (%)
For 2006 to 2014 , data are for the 12 months ending March

 
 
 
 
8
Males and Females (Table A2) 
 
 
In the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, 82% were male and 18% were 
female – a split that has changed little since 2003. Male offenders from the 
April 2013 to March 2014 cohort re-offended at a higher rate of 27.8% 
compared to female offenders who re-offended at a rate of 19.4%. Both rates 
have remained broadly stable since 2003 (Figure 2). Between 2003 and April 
2013 to March 2014, the proven re-offending rate for male and female 
offenders decreased by 2.2 and 2.1 percentage points respectively. 
 
Figure 2: Proportion of adult and juvenile offenders in England and 
Wales who commit a proven re-offence, by sex, 2003 to March 2014 
 
 
A summary report was published by Ministry of Justice in November 2014 
which related to the experience of women in the criminal justice system.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Number of offenders in cohort ('000s)
Cohort
Male offenders
Female offenders
Male proportion (%)
Female proportion (%)
For 2006 to 2014 , data are for the 12 months ending March

 
 
 
 
9
Age (Table A3) 
 
 
The highest re-offending rate by age group is 38.9%, for offenders aged 10 to 
14, this cohort has fallen by around 80% since 2003. The age group with the 
second highest re-offending rate was for those offenders aged 15 to 17, at 
37.8%. 
 
Since 2003 the age distribution for proven re-offending has changed. 
Compared to 2003, the proven re-offending rate has increased for 10 to 17 
year olds and for those aged 35 and over, but has fallen for offenders aged 
18 to 34.  
 
Figure 3 shows that the proven re-offending rate generally falls with 
increasing age. 
 
 
Figure 3: Proportion of adult and juvenile offenders in England and 
Wales who commit a proven re-offence, by age, 2003 and April 2013 to 
March 2014 
 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
10 to 14
15 to 17
18 to 20
21 to 24
25 to 29
30 to 34
35 to 39
40 to 44
45 to 49
50+
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Age
2003
Apr 2013 to Mar 2014

 
 
 
 
10
Index offence (Table A4a,b) 
 
 
The offence that leads to an offender being included in the offender cohort is 
called the index offence. In the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, adult 
offenders with an index offence of ‘Theft’ had the highest proven re-offending 
rate of 42.8%. This was followed by those with an index offence of ‘Robbery’ 
with a rate of 36.3%. Those with the lowest rate had an index offence of 
‘Fraud’ and re-offended at a rate of 10.9%. Additionally, with a fall of 10.3 
percentage points, the ‘Fraud’ index offence category saw the largest 
decrease between 2003 and April 2013 to March 2014. In contrast, the 
largest increase of 6.6 percentage points over the same period occurred for 
those with an index offence of ‘Public Order’ with a re-offending rate of 
30.0%. 
 
In the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, juvenile offenders with an index 
offence of ‘Miscellaneous crimes against society’2 had the highest proven re-
offending rate of 45.8%. Those with the lowest rate had a ‘sexual’ index 
offence and re-offended at a rate of 12.1%. The ‘Summary Motoring’ index 
offence category, with a fall of 16.8 percentage points, had the largest 
decrease between 2003 and April 2013 to March 2014. The largest increase 
of 9.4 percentage points over the same period occurred for those with an 
index offence of ‘Theft’ with a re-offending rate of 42.1%. 
 
 
Figure 4: Proportion of adult and juvenile offenders in England and 
Wales who commit a proven re-offence, by index offence, April 2013 to 
March 2014 
 
                                                 
2 Miscellaneous crimes against society comprises a variety of offences. The largest volume offences 
include: handling stolen goods, threat to commit criminal damage and perverting the course of justice. 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Theft
Robbery
Public Order
Miscellaneous Crimes
Against Society
Criminal Damage and
Arson
Possession of
Weapons
Drug
Summary Non-
motoring
Violence Against the
Person
Sexual
Summary Motoring
Fraud
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Index offence
Adult
Juvenile

 
 
 
 
11
Previous offences (Table A5a, b) 
 
 
Generally, offenders with a large number of previous offences have a higher 
rate of proven re-offending than those with fewer previous offences and this 
is true for both adults and juveniles. In the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, 
for adults, the proven re-offending rates ranged from 7.9% for offenders with 
no previous offences to 46.6% for offenders with 11 or more previous 
offences. For juveniles these figures were 24.2% and 74.3% respectively.  
 
Between 2003 and April 2013 to March 2014 the proven re-offending rate for 
adults who had committed 11 or more previous offences decreased by 4.9 
percentage points. For juveniles who had committed 11 or more previous 
offences, and over the same period, this decrease was 8.0 percentage 
points.  
 
Adult offenders with 11 or more previous offences represented just under a 
third of all adult offenders in the April 2013 to March 2014 cohort, but 
committed over two thirds of all adult proven re-offences. For juvenile 
offenders this group made up only 6% of all juvenile offenders, but committed 
nearly a fifth (18%) of all juvenile proven re-offences. 
 
 
Figure 5: Proportion of adult and juvenile offenders in England and 
Wales who commit a proven re-offence, by number of previous 
offences, April 2013 to March 2014 
 
 
 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
No previous offences
1 to 2 previous
offences
3 to 6 previous
offences
7 to 10 previous
offences
11 or more previous
offences
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Previous offence band
Adult
Juvenile

 
 
 
 
12
Index disposal (sentence) type (Table C1a, b) 
 
The index disposal of the offender is the type of sentence the offender 
received for their index offence. For the Proven Re-offending Statistics 
Quarterly Bulletin, this is defined as custody, court order, or other disposal 
resulting from a conviction at court, such as a fine or discharge, caution 
(adult offenders), reprimand or final warning (young offenders). 
 
Adult offenders released from custody or commencing a court order  
 
Between April 2013 and March 2014, around 172,000 adult offenders were 
released from custody or commenced a court order. Around 61,000 of these 
offenders were proven to have committed a re-offence within a year. This 
gives a proven re-offending rate of 35.6%. Since 2005, this rate has fallen by 
2.8 percentage points. 
 
Adult offenders commencing a court order 
 
Between April 2013 and March 2014, around 124,000 adult offenders started 
a court order and around 42,000 of these (34.0%) committed a proven re-
offence within a year. This represents a slight increase of 0.1 percentage 
points compared to the previous 12 months, and a fall of 5.9 percentage 
points since 2003. 
 
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced 
Suspended Sentence Orders (SSOs) without requirements attached. 
Offenders sentenced to such SSOs are not supervised by the Probation 
Service. There have been increasing numbers of such orders given since 
they were introduced in December 2012. The re-offending rate for these 
SSOs without requirements is 35.1%. The re-offending rate for SSOs with 
requirements is 30.2%. 
 
These figures should not be compared to assess the effectiveness of different 
types of SSOs, as there is no control for known differences in offender 
characteristics and the type of sentence given. 
 
Adult offenders released from custody 
 
Between April 2013 and March 2014, around 58,000 adult offenders were 
released from custody and around 27,000 of these (45.8%) were proven to 
have committed a re-offence within a year. The rate has decreased by 5.8 
percentage points since 2003, and has increased slightly from 45.1% for the 
same period 12 months ago.  
 
Just under half of the adult offenders released from custody in April 2013 to 
March 2014 were released from a custodial sentence of less than 12 months. 
These offenders had a proven re-offending rate of 59.8% compared to 33.9% 
for those who served sentences of 12 months or more. The rate for those 
released from short sentences has been consistently higher compared to 
those released from long sentences, as shown in Figure 6. However, the re-

 
 
 
 
13
offending rate for those released from sentences of more than 10 years has 
seen an increase over recent years, and now stands at 16.5%.  
 
Figure 6: Proportion of adult offenders released from custody who 
commit a proven re-offence, by custodial sentence length, 2003 to 
March 2014 
 
 
Juvenile offenders given a reprimand, warning or youth caution (Table 
C1b) 
 
The re-offending rate for juveniles offenders given a reprimand, warning or 
youth caution was 30.6% an increase of 4.3 percentage points from the 
previous year and 5.1 percentage points from 2003. Reprimands and 
warnings for youths were abolished under Legal Aid Sentencing and 
Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 with effect from 8 April 2013 and replaced 
with youth cautions.  
 
Youth cautions are a formal out-of-court disposal that can be used as an 
alternative to prosecution for juvenile offenders in certain circumstances. A 
Youth Caution may be given for any offence where the young offender 
admits an offence, there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of 
conviction but it is not in the public interest to prosecute. 
 
Juvenile offenders released from custody (Table C1b) 
 
The re-offending rate for juveniles released from custody continues to fall. In 
April 2013 to March 2014 around 1,200 juvenile offenders were released from 
custody and around 800 of these (67.1%) were proven to have committed a 
re-offence within a year. This represents a decrease of 0.8 percentage points 
compared to the previous 12 months and fall of 7.8 percentage points since 
2003. 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Proportion of offenders who re-offend (%)
Cohort
Less than 12 months
12 months to less then 4 years
4 years to 10 years
More than 10 years
For 2006 to 2014 , data are for the 12 months ending March

 
 
 
 
14
Figure 7: Proven adult re-offending: Offenders, re-offenders and 
proportion of offenders who re-offend by index disposal and custodial 
sentence length, April 2013 to March 2014 
 
 
The first event within each disposal is taken as the start point. Therefore, some offenders will 
appear in more than one disposal category and number of offenders in each disposal 
category do not sum to the total number of offenders. Please see the definitions and 
measurement paper for more information. 
 
Data are rounded to the nearest 1,000; except for indeterminate sentences which are 
rounded to the nearest 100. 
 
25%
All Adult Offenders: 
468,000
33%
Absolute/Conditional 
Discharge: 57,000
17%
Caution: 
149,000
34%
Court Order: 
124,000
46%
Custody: 58,000
36%
Custody or Court 
Order: 172,000
29%
Fine: 136,000
47%
Other: 18,000
35%
Community Order: 
85,000
34%
Determinate - 12 
months or more: 
30,000
60%
Determinate - Less 
than 12 months: 
27,000
10%
Life: 700
Suspended 
Sentence Order -
with requirements: 
35,000
30%
35%
Suspended 
Sentence Order -
without 
requirements: 
3,000
Offenders
Proportion of 
offenders who 
re-offend
Legend

 
 
 
 
15
Comparing the effectiveness of sentences 
 
 
Proven re-offending rates by index disposal (sentence type) should not be 
compared to assess the effectiveness of sentences, as there is no control for 
known differences in offender characteristics and the type of sentence given. 
 
The ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, Community Orders and 
Suspended Sentence Orders on reoffending’ compares like for like offenders 
which enables a more reliable comparison of proven re-offending rates 
between offenders receiving different sentences. 
 
Short-term custody (less than 12 months in prison, without supervision on 
release) for the 2008 to 2011 cohorts was consistently associated with higher 
rates of proven re-offending than community orders and suspended sentence 
orders (‘court orders’).  
 
Over a one year follow-up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended 
having been sentenced to short term custody than other, similar people 
given: 
 
 a community order, of 3 percentage points higher; 
 
 a suspended sentence order, of 7 percentage points higher. 
 
Short term custody was associated with up to one more re-offence per 
person on average than both community and suspended sentence orders. 
 
 
In the ‘2013 Compendium of Re-offending Statistics and Analysis’, non-
custodial sentences were also compared: 
 
 Suspended sentence orders had a lower re-offending rate than 
community orders (3.2 percentage points for 2010); 
 
 Community orders had a higher re-offending rate than fines, though 
the difference was small (0.9 percentage points in 2010); 
 
 Conditional discharges had a lower re-offending rate than: Community 
orders (5.1 percentage points for 2010); and Fines (5.5 percentage 
points for 2010). 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
16
Adult offenders by individual prison (Prison/youth secure 
accommodation/probation trust data tool) 
 
 
Among prisons that released 30 or more offenders in April 2013 to March 
2014, proven re-offending rates varied considerably from 13.2% to 76.0% for 
offenders with a sentence of less than 12 months and from 1.3% to 55.7% for 
offenders with a sentence of 12 months or more. A large part of this 
variability reflects the mix of offenders who are held in different prisons and, 
therefore, comparisons between prisons should not be made using these raw 
re-offending rates. 
 
 
Adult offenders by probation trust (Prison/youth secure 
accommodation/probation trust data tool) 
 
 
For the period this report covers, offenders given a court order were 
managed by the Probation Service which comprised of 35 probation trusts. 
Proven re-offending rates for these offenders are presented by probation 
trust in the Prison/youth secure accommodation/probation trust data tool. 
This takes the first court order from within each probation trust as the start 
point for measuring re-offending and subsequent events as proven re-
offences. 
 
Proven re-offending rates varied considerably between probation trusts from 
29.5% to 43.3%. A large part of this variability reflects the mix of offenders 
who are given a court order and, therefore, comparisons between probation 
trusts should not be made using these raw re-offending rates. 
 
 

 
 
 
 
17
Measuring proven re-offending 
There is no agreed international standard for measuring and reporting re-
offending. An offender’s journey through the criminal justice system can be a 
complex one; offenders can appear on numerous occasions. 
 
Measuring true re-offending is complex. Official records are taken from either 
the police or courts, but they will underestimate the true level of re-offending 
because only a proportion of crime is reported and/or detected and not all 
crimes are recorded on one central system. Furthermore, other methods for 
measuring re-offending, such as self-report studies, which do not identify the 
offender, are likely to be unreliable. Therefore, this report aims to estimate 
proven re-offending for a specified group of offenders using data mainly from 
the Police National Computer. 
 
Since this report measures re-offending on a consistent basis across all 
groups, it is possible to tailor analysis of re-offending to meet specific 
requirements. 
 
The headline measure 
This is the overall measure of re-offending and is presented for different 
demographic groups and by offence. To provide this overview of proven re-
offending, offenders are tracked and their proven re-offending behaviour is 
recorded, taking the first event3 in the relevant period as the start point and 
subsequent events as proven re-offences. Users should refer to tables A1 to 
A6, B1 to B4 and the proven re-offending overview data tool for these 
statistics. 
 
Index disposal 
In this measure offenders are tracked and their proven re-offending 
behaviour is recorded within each disposal (caution, court order, release 
from custody, etc.) Users should refer to tables C1 to C2b for these statistics 
and the proven re-offending by index disposal data tool for these statistics. 
 
Prison/Probation Trust 
In this measure offenders are tracked and their proven re-offending 
behaviour is recorded within each operational unit (prison or probation trust) 
taking the first event within each as the start point and subsequent events as 
re-offences. 
 
Probation Trusts ceased to exist on 1 June 2014, and were replaced with the 
National Probation Service and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. 
However, since the reporting period for this bulletin covers April 2013 to 
March 2014, we have continued to publish statistics at Probation Trust level 
in the accompanying tables. 
                                                 
3 An event is one of the following: a release from custody, convicted at court with a non-custodial 
sentence, received a caution, reprimand or warning. 

 
 
 
 
18
Early estimates 
An early estimate of proven re-offending for young offenders– this uses a 
shorter follow-up and waiting period, but otherwise measures re-offending in 
exactly the same way as the headline measure. This provides an earlier 
indication of proven re-offending trends for young offenders and is published 
as management information alongside the accompanying proven re-
offending tables. 
 
Re-conviction measure – Payment by results 
A re-conviction measure for use by payment by results pilots – this is the 
measure used in the prison pilots at HMP Peterborough and HMP Doncaster 
which measures court convictions. For more details, please refer to Annex A. 
 
For a more detailed explanation, please see the accompanying ‘Definitions 
and Measurement’ document.  
 
Consultation 
 
This quarterly bulletin was developed in response to a consultation in late 
2010 and early 2011 by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on “Improvements to 
Ministry of Justice Statistics”. 
 
Users 
 
The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to Government policy makers, 
the agencies responsible for offender management at both national and local 
levels, providers, practitioners and others who want to understand more 
about proven re-offending. 
 
In particular there are two MoJ impact indicators which will be monitored 
using results from this bulletin: 
 
 Adult and juvenile re-offending – the percentage of adult and juvenile 
offenders who re-offend. 
 
 The percentage of adults released from custody who re-offend. 
 
Government policy makers also use these statistics to develop, monitor and 
evaluate key elements of its policies including those on payments by results, 
legal aid and sentencing guidelines. Offender management agencies use 
these statistics to gain a local understanding of the criminal justice system, 
understand performance and to highlight best practice. Key agencies include: 
the National Offender Management Service, the Youth Justice Board, private 
and voluntary sector providers of prison and probation services and local 
authorities. 
 

 
 
 
 
19
Contact points 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: 
 
Nick Mavron 
Ministry of Justice 
Justice Statistics Analytical Services 
7th Floor 
102 Petty France 
London 
SW1H 9AJ 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be 
e-mailed to: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
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