Reconviction rates cut ahead of target

The government’s five-year target to cut
juvenile offender reconviction rates has been met four years early,
according to the latest statistics.

The
number of young offenders reconvicted for a crime within 12 months
of the original conviction, reprimand or final warning has fallen
by 14.6 per cent, the latest figures show.

The
aim was to achieve a 5 per cent reduction in the reconviction rate
of young offenders by 2004.

Home
Office minister Hilary Benn attributed the success to the Home
Office, Youth Justice Board, youth offending teams and other
agencies working together across England and Wales.

The
latest quarterly youth justice figures released last Friday showed
the average time it takes to deal with a persistent young offender
had been cut to 67 days.