NCJ Number
133310
Date Published
1991
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The criminal histories of life licensees and restricted offenders (mentally disordered and conditionally discharged from hospital) in England and Wales were updated to the end of 1989 using the Offenders' Index.
Abstract
The statistics showed that the number of offenders released on life license have fallen from over 100 a year in 1982 to about 65 a year between 1984 and 1989. The 2-year reconviction rate of life licensees is stable at 2 percent for a violent offense and 10 percent for standard list offenses. This is a much lower rate than that for all adult male ex-offenders. Reconviction rates for life licensees originally convicted of homicide were lower than for other offenses; rates for offenders with previous convictions were twice those for offenders with no previous convictions. There were 134 restricted offenders in 1989 compared with 90 a year in 1986 to 1988. While the 2-year reconviction rate of restricted offenders was stable for grave offenses, it fluctuated from between 19 percent in 1980 and 3 percent in 1987 for standard list offenses. Reconviction rates were higher for restricted offenders from special hospitals than for those from other hospitals. They were also higher for offenders with a psychopathic disorder than for those with mental impairments or other mental illnesses. 6 tables, 12 notes, and 1 appendix