Re-imprisonment rates by age at release

The relationship between age and reconviction rates has been the subject of considerable criminological analysis in the past. A number of studies have already established a very high (inverse) correlation between age and reconviction rates. The graph below gives rates of re-imprisonment and reconviction for offenders of different age bands (note that prisoners’ ages here are as at the time of release).

Seventy percent of those aged under 20 were re-imprisoned within 48 months. Only 34 percent of those aged over 40 were re-imprisoned. In other words, prisoners aged under 20 have double the likelihood of returning to prison than do those aged over 40. Prisoners aged between 20 and 24 are 1.2 times less likely to return to prison than those aged under 20.

Graph 2: Reconviction and re-imprisonment rate by age at release