Accredited official statistics

Proven reoffending statistics: July to September 2024

Published 30 July 2026

Applies to England and Wales

1. Main points

This publication provides proven reoffending statistics for the July to September 2024 offender cohort, alongside historical data from 2013 onwards. This cohort is still affected by the recovery of the court system following the Covid-related lockdowns and operational restrictions^{[footnote 1]} as well as policy changes, such as Standard Determinate Sentence 40 (SDS40)^{[footnote 2]}, Probation Reset^{[footnote 3]}, End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL)^{[footnote 4]} and changes to fixed-term recalls^{[footnote 5]}. It is not possible to separate out the impact of any individual change on the overall rates.

Proven reoffences are measured over a one-year follow-up period and a further six-month waiting period to allow for offences to be proven in court. For more information, technical details and definitions on proven reoffending, please see the accompanying guide to proven reoffending.

The overall proven reoffending rate was 29.9% for the July to September 2024 offender cohort.	This is a small increase of 0.3 percentage points from the last quarter and an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year. Across the reported time series, the overall reoffending rate has fluctuated between 23.1% and 31.7%.
Adult offenders had a proven reoffending rate of 29.7%.	This is a small increase of 0.3 percentage points from the last quarter and an increase of 1.9 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year.
Child offenders had a proven reoffending rate of 33.3%.	This is an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the last quarter and an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year.
Reoffenders committed on average 5.11 reoffences.	This is the second highest in the time series. It is slightly down from the last quarter, which was the highest in the time series at 5.13.
Adults released from custody or starting court orders had a proven reoffending rate of 37.3%.	This is broadly the same as the last quarter but an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year.

2. Overall reoffending trends

• The overall proven reoffending rate was 29.9% for the July to September 2024 cohort.

• Among adult offenders, the proven reoffending rate was 29.7%, up 0.3 percentage points from the previous quarter. Among child offenders, the proven reoffending rate was 33.3%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter.

• Looking at the longer-term trend shown by Figure 1, up until the end of 2018 the rate of reoffending was slightly declining. The Covid pandemic and associated operational restrictions then resulted in some volatility and marked declines in the reoffending rate for the cohorts between October to December 2018, and October to December 2020. These declines began to reverse as the impact of lockdowns and operational restrictions decreased, and court throughput increased.

• Since October 2023, various policy changes such as ECSL, Probation Reset, SDS40 and changes to fixed-term recalls have been implemented in response to pressures on prison and probation capacity. Some of these system changes may have impacts upon both reoffending rates and the offender mix of the cohort from around the 2023 cohorts onwards. It is not possible to isolate the impact of these individual policies on the reoffending rates.

• The overall and adult reoffending rates are now above rates seen prior to the pandemic, although the child reoffending rate continues to remain below historic levels.

Figure 1: Percentage of adult and child offenders^{[footnote 6]} in England and Wales who commit a proven reoffence, by quarter, April to June 2013 - July to September 2024 (Source: Table A1)

3. Cohort size

• Approximately 87,000 offenders were released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, or received a caution in the July to September 2024 cohort.

• Of these, around 26,000 reoffenders committed more than 133,000 proven reoffences across the follow-up period.

• The size of the cohort declined more rapidly during the pandemic but is increasing as court activity increases. For the July to September 2024 cohort, the size of the cohort increased by 5.5% since the same quarter in the previous year, and the number of reoffenders increased by 12.7% since the same quarter in the previous year.

• Reoffenders are committing more reoffences on average than historical levels. For the July to September 2024 cohort, reoffenders committed on average 5.11 reoffences each, which is the second highest in the time-series.

4. Reoffending by disposal

Users should exercise caution when comparing the effectiveness of different sentences because the presented rates do not control for differences in offender characteristics receiving those sentences. For further information please consult research from 2019 on the impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on reoffending as well as the guide to proven reoffending^{[footnote 7]}.

• The proven reoffending rate for adults released from custody or starting a court order between July to September 2024 was 37.3%. This is a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous quarter, and an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the same quarter in the previous year.

• The small quarterly decrease was driven by a fall in the adult custody rate from 44.0% for the April to June 2024 cohort to 40.6% for the July to September 2024 cohort, whereas the adult court order reoffending rate increased from 34.8% to 36.2%.

• The fall in the adult custody rate was due to a change in the mix of offenders released from custody. There was a reduction in those who served sentences of less than 12 months (who typically have higher reoffending rates), and an increase in the proportion of offenders released from custody who served sentences of 12 months or more (who generally have lower reoffending rates), mainly caused by Tranche 1 SDS40 releases, which as a result lowered the overall custody rate.

• Adults released from custody from longer sentences typically have lower reoffending rates:

  • Adults released from custody with sentences of less than 12 months had a reoffending rate of 68.2%.

  • Adults released from custody from sentences of 12 months or more had a reoffending rate of 22.9%

• Child offenders given youth cautions^{[footnote 8]} between July to September 2024 had a proven reoffending rate of 24.3%. Children given a first-tier penalty had a proven reoffending rate of 31.1%. Children released from custody had a proven reoffending rate of 57.1%.

For any feedback on this new reduced bulletin or the content of this publication, please let us know at reoffendingstatistics@justice.gov.uk

5. Further information

5.1 Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A set of overview tables, covering each section of this bulletin, as well as various additional breakdowns including age, sex, ethnicity, index offence and reoffence type, number of previous offences, number of custodial sentences, index disposal, and accommodation and employment status.
• Geographic data tool for England and Wales (for the timeseries October 2013 to September 2024) covering various geographical reoffending breakdowns by age, sex, ethnicity and index offence.
• A technical guide to proven reoffending statistics providing information on how proven reoffending is measured and the data sources used.
• A data quality statement which outlines our policies for producing quality statistical outputs and the information provided to maintain our users’ understanding and trust.

These products are published on a quarterly basis, in January, April, July and October. Next update is 29 October 2026.

5.2 Tables and tools published within other proven reoffending releases

The following tools and tables are published on an annual basis in January (next publication 28 January 2027)

• Annual average tables provide data up to the 2023/24 performance year, with the next release covering data up to the 2024/25 performance year, including the same breakdowns as the quarterly overview tables above.

• Index disposal data tool provides index disposal and custodial sentence length breakdowns for both adult and child offenders.

• Offender management data tool provides breakdowns for adult offenders who are actively supervised, who received a custodial sentence or court order, by probation provider.

• Overview data tool provides combined breakdowns for adult and child offenders of age, ethnicity, sex, number of previous custodial sentences and number of previous offences, by region.

• Releasing prison data tool provides breakdowns for adult offenders released from custody by prison of release and prison category.

• Reoffences data tool provides gender and index disposal breakdowns for adult and child offenders by index offence group and reoffence group.

• Youth accommodation data tool provides breakdowns for child offenders by youth accommodation type (youth offender institution, secure training centre and secure children’s home).

The following tools and tables are published on a biennial basis in July (next publication 27 July 2028):

• Restricted patients bulletin and tables provide data on restricted patients who are absolutely or conditionally discharged from detention in high secure or other psychiatric hospitals, by breakdowns of sex, age and number of previous offences.

5.3 Accredited Official Statistics status

National Statistics are accredited official statistics that meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value as set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’. You are welcome to contact us directly with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website .

It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with OSR promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

5.4 Future publications

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. Should you have any feedback related to these statistics or any comments on this new reduced bulletin, please contact us at reoffendingstatistics@justice.gov.uk

5.5 Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
    Tel: 020 3334 3536
    URL: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice/about/media-enquiries

Other enquiries and feedback on these statistics should be directed to the Data and Analysis directorate of the Ministry of Justice:
    Liz Whiting, Head of Reducing Reoffending and Probation Statistics

    Ministry of Justice, 10th Floor, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ
    Email: reoffendingstatistics@justice.gov.uk

Next update: 29 October 2026

URL: www.gov.uk/government/collections/proven-reoffending-statistics

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Produced by the Ministry of Justice
Alternative formats are available on request from reoffendingstatistics@justice.gov.uk

1. The resultant increase in the court backlog means that some reoffence convictions may fall outside the one-year follow-up period and six-month waiting-period. Any offence falling outside of the measurement period will not be counted in the proven reoffending statistics. Conversely, any increase in court throughput may increase the reoffending rate as more cases fall within the measurement period. ↩

2. SDS40 allows certain prisoners serving a ‘standard determinate sentence’ (with a 50% conditional release point) to be released at the 40% point of their sentence, subject to eligibility criteria. It has been in operation since 10 September 2024, where eligible prisoners serving sentences of less than 5 years could be released under SDS40. On 22 October 2024, this was extended to eligible prisoners serving sentences of 5 years or more. ↩

3. Probation Reset, introduced in April 2024, is where probation contact is suspended for eligible offenders in the final third of their sentence, although their orders and licences remain active. For more information, please see glossary of terms in the Guide to Proven Reoffending. ↩

4. ECSL allowed certain determinate sentenced prisoners to be released prior to their Conditional Release Date and was in operation from 17 October 2023 until 9 September 2024. For more information, please see the glossary of terms in the Guide to Proven Reoffending. ↩

5. Changes to the recall process mandate the use of fixed term recalls rather than standard recalls for offenders sentenced to less than 12 months of custody, subject to certain exceptions. ↩

6. Children, or child offenders, are defined as those aged between 10 and 17. ↩

7. Proven reoffending rates by disposal should not be compared to assess the effectiveness of sentences, as there is no control for known differences in offender characteristics and the type of sentence given. For further information see Annex D of the October 2016 publication (page 41) and the guide to proven reoffending statistics. ↩

8. Reprimands and warnings for youths were abolished under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 with effect from 8 April 2013 and replaced with youth cautions. Youth cautions are a formal out-of-court disposal that can be used as an alternative to prosecution for child offenders in certain circumstances. A youth caution may be given for any offence where the young offender admits an offence and there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, but it is not in the public interest to prosecute. ↩