One in every five offenders reconvicted in six months

ONE in five people convicted of a criminal offence in Edinburgh is convicted of another crime within six months, new figures have revealed.

The figures also showed that four in ten, or a total of 2036 people, reoffended within two years of being sentenced.

The study prompted Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to call for a "system of immediate and robust community penalties which are a credible alternative to custody".

Mr MacAskill pointed to national figures which showed that three-quarters of offenders given less than six months in jail are reconvicted within half a year, while those given community sentences are less likely to reoffend so quickly.

The figures, published by Scotland's Chief Statistician, revealed that out of 5193 people convicted of a crime in Edinburgh and Midlothian between April 2006 and March 2007, 952, or 18 per cent, reoffended within six months.

The report also showed that the number of reconvictions fell slightly against the previous year's figure of 20 per cent.

Gavin Brown, Lothians Tory MSP, said: "It is clear that criminals are not being successfully rehabilitated when they are behind bars. However, contrary to what the Justice Secretary believes, this does not mean we should be letting offenders off without a jail sentence.

"We must send a clear message that society will not tolerate repeated serious offending and until the SNP agrees with this, these figures will only get worse in the years to come."

The national figures also showed that 42 per cent of offenders given community service orders are reconvicted within two years, compared with 62 per cent of those sent to prison.

Offenders released from custody after a short sentence of three months or less are also much more likely to be reconvicted within two years than those who have a sentence of four years, 73 per cent compared with 25 per cent.

Mr MacAskill said: "Short sentences simply don't work for low-level offenders. That is why we are creating a community payback order - giving sheriffs the ability to send low level offenders out into the community to pay back through hard work.

"If we are serious about improving the safety of our communities we need to ensure that our prisons focus on the most serious criminals."