Non-custodial sanctions do work

Conor Ryan’s article (Irish Examiner, Jan 4) on ‘Repeat Offenders’, “why criminals reoffend, and what can be done... to buck the trend” explores an important phenomenon across the world — why some people reoffend, having already been sanctioned by the courts.

Regrettably, by implying a context whereby imprisonment is presented as the ‘default’ punishment for those convicted of crime, the article is misleading in some significant parts.

The majority of sanctions imposed by the courts for criminal offending are non-custodial, including fines and suspended sentences, as well as probation supervision and community service. It is not correct to state that “more than half of people who were convicted of a crime in 2008 were guilty of another offence within three years”. It is correct that the December 2013 Central Statistics Office (CSO) study on reoffending by those who were released from prison in 2008 showed a reconviction level of 51% over the following three years. (Incidentally, that represented a drop of 4.3% in reoffending levels when compared to the 2007 group of released prisoners).

A similar study by the CSO (also published last month), on those who had been placed by the courts on probation or community service (supervised by the Probation Service) in 2008, found a reoffending rate of 41% over the following three years — a drop of 7.9% in reconviction when compared with 2007 figures.

These studies, as with similar research from other jurisdictions, point to the relative success of community-based sanctions in reducing reoffending, compared to custodial sanctions. They do not leave room for complacency, however. Custody is needed for certain offenders, but has limited effect as a sanction, if reducing reoffending is the goal. Mr Ryan is unfortunately correct when he writes that, for many of those sent to prison, custody in itself is not a deterrent.

The article concludes by quoting from the joint Irish Prison Service & Probation Service Strategic Plan 2013-2015, which is built on a “multi-agency approach to offender management and rehabilitation”. It is through this kind of cross-agency collaboration, supported by rigorous statistical analysis, such as that undertaken by the CSO, that we can identify what is effective and what is not, and work together to better reduce levels of reoffending and help achieve a safer and fairer Ireland.

Vivian Geiran,

Director, The Probation Service

Dublin 7