(2) how many probation recalls to prison were there in each month since 2000; and if he will make a statement;
(3) how many prison recalls there were in each year since 2000; how many in each year were due to (a) breaches of licence and (b) committal of further offences; and if he will make a statement.
Information held centrally gives a breakdown of recalled offenders and a breakdown of offenders who were charged with committing a serious further offence, as defined by the national probation serious further offence review process. To provide a breakdown of offenders who were both charged with a serious further offence and who were subsequently recalled would require a manual trawl of two databases; this would incur disproportionate cost.
The annual figures for the number of offenders who were on licence (including life licence and Home Detention Curfew) and recalled to custody are in the following table. To break this information down into monthly totals would incur disproportionate cost.
Financial year Number of determinate recalls 2000-01 3,226 2001-02 5,042 2002-03 9,057
The number of prisoner recalled to custody has increased over recent years. There are several reasons for this increase: nearly all prisoners on licence can now be recalled to prison executively by the Secretary of State. Prior to 1998, prisoners serving less than four years could be recalled only by the courts, a slow and bureaucratic process that was rarely used. The Probation Service has become far more effective in enforcing licence conditions. In 1997 appropriate enforcement action was taken in only a third of cases where the offender breached a sentence being served in the community. This figure was over 90 per cent. in 2007; and there is more robust supervision of high risk licensees and better information sharing between police and probation, through multi agency public protection arrangements.
A breakdown of the number of offenders returned to custody following a breach of their licence (including life licence and Home Detention Curfew conditions) in each month since June 2003 is in the table.
Month/year Total 2003 June 914 July 956 August 869 September 915 October 1,113 November 880 December 987 2004 January 1,046 February 1,065 March 1,079 April 945 May 941 June 1,007 July 1,029 August 900 September 943 October 915 November 962 December 900 2005 January 893 February 821 March 817 April 974 May 880 June 1,053 July 1,089 August 1,014 September 616 October 978 November 1,114 December 1,007 2006 January 949 February 815 March 963 April 757 May 1,028 June 981 July 1,300 August 1,233 September 1,300 October 1,146 November 1,009 December 943 2007 January 1,234 February 1,147 March 1,196 April 957 May 1,025 June 1,155 July 1,183 August 1,214 September 907 October 1,157 November 1,132 December 992
All offenders recalled to custody will have breached one or more of the conditions of their licence (including those on life licence and the Home Detention Curfew scheme). We do not hold a comprehensive breakdown of reasons for recall prior to April 2007. The number of offenders recalled in each of the last 12 months together with the number recalled following a charge for a further offence since April 2007 is provided in the table as follows.
As at 2007 Number of offenders recalled Number recalled for further charges January 1,234 — February 1,147 — March 1,196 — April 957 246 May 1,025 223 June 1,155 261 July 1,183 272 August 1,214 321 September 907 241 October 1,157 266 November 1,132 287 December 992 172