Media Release
Embargoed until 1 a.m. (AEST), Friday 29 May 2015
Less than half of all people sentenced in Victorian courts reoffended over the next decade, a new study has found.
The research study found that 55 per cent of all offenders did not reoffend. If the original offence was not traffic-related, the percentage that did not reoffend rose to 66 per cent.
The research by the Sentencing Advisory Council examined the reoffending patterns for 63,366 people sentenced in Victoria’s criminal courts (both adult and children’s) between July 2004 and June 2014.
Little previous research has been conducted into reoffending patterns in Victoria, despite the minimisation of reoffending being a key aim of sentencing.
The Council’s research found that most (81%) offenders were male, 60 per cent were aged 22 to 44 at the time of their first offence, and just over a quarter (26%) were aged 21 or younger.
The research also found that:
- nearly half (47%) of reoffending occurred within the first two years following the initial sentence
- males had a higher reoffending rate (47%) than females (36%)
- offenders aged 10 to 17 years had a higher reoffending rate (64%) than older offenders (44%)
- traffic offences, including drink driving, were by far the most common offence category in the first and second sentencing event in the study (comprising 42% of offending in each event)
- the likelihood of offenders receiving imprisonment was more than four times greater on their tenth offending episode (37%) than in their first offending episode in the study period (7%)
- the majority (61%) of reoffenders committed different offences in their first and second episodes
- the offence most likely to be repeated was traffic offences (at a rate of 63%) while sexual offences (10%) and arson and property offences (9%) were the least likely to be repeated.
The method the Council used for examining reoffending is consistent with the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, but differs from that used by the Productivity Commission in the Report on Government Services. The methodology is detailed in the report.
Council Chair Emeritus Professor Arie Freiberg said, 'This overview of reoffending is the first of its kind in Victoria. While it provides valuable insights into reoffending, it will raise as many questions as it answers, and provide fertile ground for further research into reoffending in Victoria.'
The full report Reoffending Following Sentence in Victoria: A Statistical Overview is available to view and download from the Council’s website.
