More than a quarter of criminals in Bolton reoffended within a year of their conviction or release from prison, new figures show. Charity Catch-22 said reoffending highlights the challenges within our criminal justice system which struggles to "effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders". Ministry of Justice figures show 1,634 offenders in Bolton were released from prison, cautioned or handed a non-custodial sentence in the year to September 2022.
Of them, 460 went on to reoffend within a year. This included 28 under-18s. The reoffending rate in the area stood at 28.
2 percent – up from 22.2 per cent the year before. Across England and Wales, the rate rose from 24.
3 per cent in 2020-21 to 25.8 per cent in the October 2021 to September 2022 cohort. Matt Randle, justice director at Catch-22, said: "Proven reoffending rates indicate that the system struggles to effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders, often due to limited resources and structural flaws.
"Systemic pressures such as staffing shortages, an overcrowded prison population, and ongoing impacts from Covid have further strained the sector." He added a "more rehabilitative focus" in the justice system was crucial to help reduce reoffending. Reoffending rates across the country also varied significantly depending on both the type of offence and length of sentence.
The highest were for theft at 52.3%, and for adults released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months at 55.9 per cent.
Mr Randle said: "Brief i.