Reconviction rates in Scotland: 2016-2017 offender cohort

Annex D – Transitional period between legacy community orders and Community Payback Orders

D1 CPOs replaced the provisions for the “legacy” community orders of Community Service Orders (CSO), Probation Orders (PO), and Supervised Attendance Orders (SAO) on the 1^st February 2011.

D2 There was a transition period between the phasing out of the legacy orders and the establishment of CPOs, due to the different disposals being given for offences committed before or after the 1^st February 2011. The first cohort of offenders with an index disposal of a CPO in 2010-11 was therefore very small as they had to commit a crime and also be convicted between 1 February and 31 March 2011.

D3 As CPOs have become established, the number of offenders with an index disposal of a CPO increased from 179 in 2010-11 to more than 10,000 from 2013-14 onwards. The number of those with an index disposal of a legacy order (CSO or PO) decreased from 8,237 to 198 between 2010-11 and 2013-14. There has been a very small number of offenders with an index disposal of a legacy order since 2013-14 which are given for offences committed prior to February 2011 (Table 9).

D4 During the transition from legacy orders to CPOs, there were changes in the characteristics of offenders that were given these disposal types. Therefore it is difficult to compare the two disposal types in the same year since the introduction of CPOs. Changes in offender characteristics are also likely to be responsible for the decreases in reconvictions of offenders given CPOs and legacy orders during the transition period, as both disposals showed an increase in the proportion of groups of offenders that typically have lower reconviction rates (females, older offenders, and offenders with fewer previous convictions). The characteristics of offenders given CPOs as they became fully established is similar to the legacy sentences prior to the introduction of CPOs. See Annex D of the Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2013-14 cohort publication for further comparison of the characteristics of offenders given CPOs and legacy orders.

D5 As CPOs have become established, changes in reconvictions for CPOs can be compared over time and CPOs can be compared with legacy orders prior to the introduction of CPOs. Compared to the legacy community orders, reconviction rates for CPOs are 2.5 percentage points lower than the last full year of legacy orders in 2009-10 before CPOs were introduced (31.2% for CPOs in 2016-17 and 33.7% for legacy orders in 2009-10). There were 0.55 reconvictions per offender on average for CPOs in 2016-17, which is 11% lower than 0.62 for the legacy orders in 2009-10 (Table 9 and Chart 8).