Dr Natasha Du Rose explains the key findings from new reoffending statistics
Date: 29 October 2026
New figures from the Ministry of Justice show:
- Around 26,000 people released, convicted or cautioned between October and December 2024 went on to commit more than 138,000 proven offences within a year
- The reoffending rate for all adults was 30.1 per cent - up from 28.2 per cent
- Reoffenders committed on average 5.29 reoffences each - the highest since records for this measure began in 2013
Dr Natasha Du Rose, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at London Metropolitan University, said:
"Today's figures show that 30.1 per cent of people reoffended within a year, up 1.8 percentage points, and those who reoffended committed an average of 5.29 offences each, the highest since the series began in 2013. That means more victims, and a system failing the same people again and again.
"With more people recalled to prison than released for the second quarter running, sending people back is not breaking the cycle. Investing in relationships inside prison and support through the gate is one of the clearest ways to cut crime and keep communities safe."
Dr Du Rose recently evaluated the Key4Life charity rehabilitation programme at HMP Fosse Way. A Ministry of Justice analysis of the programme found that 24 per cent of participants reoffended within a year of release, compared with 47 per cent of a matched group.
She added: "I was interviewing men at HMP Fosse Way in September 2024, as the first early releases began. Many of the men had learned to hide trauma and fear behind a mask, and to feel that even a minor insult could not be allowed to pass. Those habits do not disappear at the gate. They come home with people, into families, workplaces and communities.
"Overstretched prisons leave many men with few other tools to draw on, and violence can become a way to survive and earn respect. What helped men find another way was relationships. Through Key4Life, a charity-run rehabilitation programme at the prison, men worked with mentors who had served time themselves, and learned to pause, walk away and repair conflict."
Dr Natasha Du Rose is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at London Met. She is a leading criminologist with expertise in custodial research, desistance, drug policy, and identity transformation in prison settings.