Some 45 per cent of people released from prison in 2010 had reoffended within three years, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Of almost 9,350 prisoners released from the custody of the Irish Prison Service six years ago, more than 4,200 had reoffended with three years.

The reoffending, or recidivism rate, was down by more than 2 per cent on 2009 figures.

But young women released from prison in 2010 reoffended much less than those released the previous year, while older women reoffended more.

The CSO matched prisoners released in 2010 to crime incident and court outcomes up to the end of 2015 to identify reoffences and reconvictions.

It found men were more likely to reoffend than women. And younger people had a higher recidivism rate.

But though recidivism was higher among people under 21 years, with almost half reoffending, this figure had reduced since 2009. And while less than 30 per cent of those released who were aged 51 years or older had reoffended , this figure had increased by almost 5 per cent.

The CSO said this pattern, showing an increase in older people reoffending, was the same for both sexes, but was more dramatic in women. The recidivism rate for young women, under 21, fell by almost 13 per cent compared to 2009. And for women aged over 51, the figure rose by almost 9 per cent.

Prisoners jailed for burglary, robbery, extortion, theft and related offences were more likely to reoffend; they had a recidivism rate of more than 60 per cent, the data shows.

Sexual offenders

Offenders with the lowest recidivism rate, 14 per cent, were those convicted of sexual offences, followed by those jailed for road and traffic offences at almost 28 per cent.

Once released, reoffenders did not necessarily commit the same crime again. Almost 22 per cent were convicted for offences of the same type, while most were convicted for other offences.

More than 60 per cent of reoffenders committed their crime within six months of being released from prison and a further 17 per cent had offended within a year of release. And almost all of the young people, under 21, who reoffended, did so within a year.

The CSO also examined outcomes for 3,860 offenders who were given probation orders and community service orders in 2010.

Recidivism was lower in this group, at almost 38 per cent, with little change overall since 2009.

Similar to those who reoffended after release from prison, recidivism was highest among young people. Almost 63 per cent of under 18s reoffended compared to 24 per cent of those aged 45 to 64.

The numbers of community service orders given made up almost 49 per cent of the total, up by 10 per cent on 2009. And offenders were less likely to reoffend if given community service.

Almost 60 per cent of those who did reoffend, carried out theft or public order crimes. And almost half carried out the crime within a year.

Someone on probation has to keep regular contact with a supervising probation officer and must comply with conditions set by the court, for example, a ban on drug use.

A breach of such an order can lead to imprisonment. A person given community service must carry out unpaid work of between 40 and 240 hours in the community.