Almost two-thirds of prisoners go on to reoffend within three years of release, a new study has shown.
The report, published this morning by the Irish Prison Service and the Central Statistics Office, shows 62.3 per cent of prisoners carried out another crime within three years of release, while more than 80 per cent of those who reoffended did so within 12 months of release.
The recidivism rate decreased as the offender age increased, the study found. The study examined those who were released after a prison sentence in 2007 and was based on reoffending and reconviction data up to the end of 2010. It focused on recidivism where the new offence did not necessarily lead to a period of imprisonment.
Male offenders represented 92.5 per cent of the total population studied and had a higher recidivism rate than female offenders (63 per cent for males and 57 per cent for females).
The most common offences for which offenders were reconvicted were related to public order.
Burglary offenders, while a relatively small group within the study, had the highest rate of reconviction, at 79.5 per cent.