Key findings:

• More than half of individuals (57%) who were released from custodial sentences during 2019 were convicted of re-offending within three years of release.
• While 78% of young adults re-offended within three years of being released in 2019, just under one-third (32%) of those aged 51 years and over re-offended in the same period.
• Individuals linked to custodial sentences relating to Public Order offences (75%) were the most likely to be convicted of a re-offence within three years of being released.
• More than four in ten individuals (44%) who were released from custodial sentences during 2022 were convicted of re-offending within one year of release.
• Individuals released during 2022 from custodial sentences relating to Public Order (68%) or Theft (63%) had the highest rate of re-offending within a year of being released.
• Over half of individuals (52%) released from custody during 2022 and living in the Mid-West region (Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary) re-offended within a year of being released. In contrast, one-third (33%) of individuals based in the Border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) re-offended in the same period following release.

National Re-offending Rates
Overall, the most recent estimates for 2022 covering one-year re-offending estimates indicate a continuing increase in the re-offending rate of individuals released from custody when compared with the previous year’s rates. Statistics for 2022 indicate the one-year re-offending rate (44%) was 2 percentage points higher than the same measure for 2021 (42%). The longer-term re-offending rate measuring re-offending three years following release in 2019 (57%) shows a 5 percentage point decrease in the levels of re-offending when compared with 2018 (62%).

Factors Relating to Re-offending
Offence Type - The higher rate of one-year re-offending in 2022 was due to an increase in re-offending by individuals serving custodial sentences related to Public Order related offences. Almost six out of ten (58%) individuals released in 2021 from custodial sentences relating to Public Order re-offended within a year of release. In 2022 this figure had risen to more than two-thirds (68%).

Age - The highest levels of re-offending from individuals who were released from custody in 2022 were among young adults (aged less than 21 years old). The re-offending rates for this age group also increased between 2021 and 2022. In 2021, more than half (54%) of young adults under the age of 21 who were released from custody re-offended within a year compared with more than six out of ten (63%) of the same age group in 2022.

Geographical Region - Regionally, the highest rates of re-offending from individuals who were released from custody in 2022 took place in the Mid-West area (52%) consisting of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary. In contrast, one-third (33%) of individuals based in the Border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) re-offended in the same period following release. When compared with the re-offending rates for 2021, the South-East had the largest increase in re-offending rates from 2021 (35%) to 2022 (44%) while the Midlands had the largest decrease in one-year re-offending rates from 2021 (50%) to 2022 (43%).”

• Figure 2.3 Individuals released from custody in 2019 by 3-year re-offending indicator and offence type
• Table 2.2 Individuals released from custody in 2019 classified by 3-year re-offending indicator and offence type
• Figure 3.4 Individuals released from custody in 2022 by 1-year re-offending indicator and offence type
• Table 3.3 Individuals released from custody in 2022 classified by 1-year re-offending indicator and offence type