Research and analysis

The correlation between prison misconduct and reoffending

An exploration of how prison misconduct is associated with reoffending. Explores the links between prison adjudications and proven reoffences within a 2-year follow-up period.

• From: Ministry of Justice
• Published: 21 May 2026

Documents

The correlation between prison misconduct and reoffending

PDF, 293 KB, 43 pages

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Details

This study aims to assess a method of approximating custody-based programme effectiveness in advance of reoffending studies. This is due to reoffending studies often requiring significant portions of time to be carried out.

By estimating the association of prison-related behaviour with post-release behaviour across a very large and broad offending cohort and examining the prevalence, volume, and time to reoffences across those with and without misconduct, this report offers a thorough exploration of any associations between the two behaviours.

Published 21 May 2026