Scottish Government statistics released today show that the numbers of convicted criminals that go on to re-offend are shockingly high. 36% of individuals sentenced to custody (for their most recent conviction) in 2008-09, for a crime or relevant offence, had more than 10 previous convictions between 1999-00 and 2008-09.

Commenting Liberal Democrat Justice Spokesman Robert Brown MSP said:

“These figures show that rates of reoffending are appallingly high.

“Offenders frequently come out of prison as more hardened offenders than when they went in - and all at huge cost to the public purse.

“The fact that bail-related offences have risen to 16% per cent is also alarming. When Sheriffs make decisions on whether to grant bail, they need to take into account the relative risk of the accused committing further offences.

“Sentences of all kinds imposed on offenders must be more focused and more effective. The big gain can be made with community sentences where reoffending is much less – but they must be properly supported and targeted.

“ We want to see the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill replace sentences of 3 months or less, which are expensive and don’t work, with tough community payback orders, where offenders work to pay back the communities they have damaged.”