Sharp fall in number of criminals reoffending
The number of criminals reoffending within a year of their sentence has fallen sharply across the West Midlands and Staffordshire, new figures revealed today.
One in 20 offenders have gone on to commit further crimes over the past 12 months – with Dudley named best in the country at cutting reoffending.
Tougher community punishments such as unpaid work have been credited for the drop.
But it comes just days after it was revealed almost half of those released from prison in the West Midlands in 2011 went on to reoffend within a year.
Today's news also comes against a backdrop of strike action by probation officers disputing Government proposals to privatise large parts of the service.
Figures released by the Ministry of Justice today show Dudley's reoffending rate is around 25 per cent better than government predictions with 5.5 per cent of criminals going back before the courts.
Sandwell is third in the government chart with a rate of 5.46 per cent, compared to its predicted rate of seven per cent.
Wolverhampton is ninth overall in the list with a 6.98 per cent reoffending rate, while Walsall is 14th with a rate of 7.08 per cent.
Staffordshire had a reoffending rate of 7.08 per cent – around eight per cent better than predicted.
However in Worcestershire rates of reoffending are more than five per cent worse than Government predictions according to latest statistics revealed.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Bob Jones has welcomed the drop in reoffending rates for the region.
But he warned the Government against further reforms to part-privatise the service.
"A crucial part of our strategy for coping with fewer resources has been investing in strategies to reduce the level of crimes by preventing them from being committed in the first place," he said.
"Offender management is a key part of this strategy, which aims to drive down reoffending and the number of crimes committed by people after they are released from prison.
"I am concerned that government plans for the reform of the probation service, which would see the private sector more heavily involved, could undermine partnership working and introduce a profit motive into the criminal justice system."
