FIGURES RELEASED TODAY reveal just over 40 per cent of people re-offend within the three year period of being placed under Probation Service supervision.

The figures for 2008, published by the CSO today, show 3,761 individual cases were placed on either probation orders or community service orders. Overall rates fell from the previous year when almost 50 per cent of those under supervision re-offended.

Some 40.3 per cent who re-offended did so within the first 12 months while an additional 31.7 per cet did so within 18 to 24 months.

Re-offending was higher among males, at 42.1 per cent, than females, at 34 per cent. It also decreased with age with 58.1 per cent of those re-offending aged less than 18 years.

Levels were higher for those under probation orders than for community service orders.

The majority of the ‘re-offences’ were in the area of public order while 17 per cent related to theft and related offences and almost 10 per cent were controlled drugs offences.

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