Justice system ‘needs a more targeted approach’ to reduce adult re-offending

Some 16% of adult offenders went on to re-offend within one year. A new report by Northern Ireland's Comptroller and Auditor General, Dorinnia Carville, acknowledges the current challenges that the Department of Justice faces, particularly in terms of its budget. But it also highlights initiatives and interventions which have shown encouraging results in potentially helping rehabilitate offenders.

The report calls for a "better-defined strategic approach", which takes account of the particular challenges associated with rehabilitating short-term and remand prisoners. It notes that around 77% of those handed prison sentences in Northern Ireland receive short-term prison sentences of 12 months or less. Re-offending rates for short-term prisoners was described as around 52%.

The report acknowledges that these short sentences can limit the scope for rehabilitation services to be provided but they can still result in the loss of housing, employment and family contact, which can impact further on offending behaviour. It said the introduction of Enhanced Combination Orders in particular, has shown promise through positive evaluations, however budget pressures have prevented this along with several other pilot initiatives being taken forward to wider application.

In terms of remand prisoners, numbers have risen sharply in recently years to 37% of the prison population in Northern Ireland. This compares to 25% in Scotland and 17% in England and Wales. The report found this provides further challenge as prisoners on remand have not been convicted of a crime and so tend to focus their efforts on their case defence, rather than their rehabilitation and resettlement prospects.

The report observes that, while other jurisdictions have introduced a variety of bail initiatives providing the judiciary with viable alternatives to remand, none of these have been implemented in Northern Ireland.

Ms Carville said they recognise that reducing re-offending is extremely challenging. "Many factors that can prevent re-offending, such as good physical and mental health, accommodation, education and employment, sit outside the scope of the justice system," she said. "In addition, the Department of Justice and other key statutory stakeholders are facing major financial pressures.

"We note there is a strong commitment to tackling this issue, but increased cross-government working is now required, along with a more clearly defined strategic direction that identifies the key actions, targets and expected outcomes required."

She added: ""A number of initiatives have been brought forward in recent years which appear to have had a positive impact, but these have generally been stand-alone pilots limited to specific regions. "More generally, a lack of robust outcome measurement has made it difficult to measure real progress and offer clarity on which initiatives are achieving the greatest impact.

"Better data collection, analysis and benchmarking is required to inform future plans, and deliver cost-effective initiatives, particularly in targeting a remaining cohort of prolific offenders. Importantly, this should include steps to reduce the numbers and improve the rehabilitation of short-term and remand prisoners."

Responding, a Department of Justice spokesperson welcomed the report, saying it "acknowledges the considerable work undertaken by justice partners to improve outcomes in this extremely challenging area". Ronnie Armour, director of reducing offending, said: "Some individuals coming into the prison system have many requirements and issues that need addressed.

"These include physical and mental health problems; difficulties with educational attainment; provision of safe, secure accommodation; and unemployment. If we are to truly tackle levels of reoffending we need a system-wide approach with a key focus on these factors. "Over the last 10 years, there has been a downward trend in the number of adults released from custody or receiving non-custodial disposals, as well as a corresponding reduction in the number who reoffend.

"Of those who do reoffend, almost half do so within the first three months. "Many reoffenders live chaotic lifestyles and whilst the prison service is committed to offering them the very best chance of a fresh start, we need to equip them with the ability to desist from their offending behaviour. We need to address the fundamental environmental factors that lead them to reoffend."

He also reiterated the Prison Service's commitment to working across government and with a range of partners to further reduce the rate of reoffending.