WIREDGOV

A new report from think tank Policy Exchange warns yesterday that the official reoffending rate is unsafe. It recommends a radical shake-up of the criminal justice system in order to truly reduce reoffending, including the abolition of the regional structure of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the introduction of new public-private partnerships to reduce crime and recidivism.

The report finds a strong correlation between reductions in reoffending rates and increases in police cautions.  Although the frequency of reoffending has fallen by 15.9% since 2000, this has coincided with a 15.6% increase in the proportion of cautions issued by the police. Although cautions require an acceptance of guilt from the offender, they are excluded from adult reoffending statistics.

See more at http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/assets/Carter_but_smarter_PR.pdf