Nearly a third of criminals in Swindon reoffended within a year of their conviction or release from prison, new figures show.

This is above the national figure, and represents an increase on last year in Swindon.

A charity has blamed the challenges within the criminal justice system which struggles to "effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders".

Ministry of Justice figures show 1,619 offenders in Swindon were released from prison, cautioned or handed a non-custodial sentence in the year to September 2022. 

Matt Randle, justice director at Catch-22, said: "Proven reoffending rates indicate that the system struggles to effectively punish and rehabilitate offenders, often due to limited resources and structural flaws.

"Systemic pressures such as staffing shortages, an overcrowded prison population, and ongoing impacts from Covid have further strained the sector."

He added a "more rehabilitative focus" in the justice system was crucial to help reduce reoffending.

Of them, 495 went on to reoffend within a year. This included 25 under-18s.

The reoffending rate in Swindon stood at 30.6 per cent – up from 26.1 per cent the year before.

Across England and Wales, the rate rose from 24.3 per cent in 2020-21 to 25.8 per cent in the October 2021 to September 2022 cohort.

Mr Randle said: "Brief incarceration often exacerbates existing resettlement challenges, and the limited rehabilitative provisions available can leave them in a worse position upon release.

"For low-risk offenders, non-custodial sentences have shown greater success in achieving rehabilitative goals.

"However, the lack of meaningful alternatives to custody forces judges to impose custodial sentences despite their high cost, both monetarily and in human terms."

Across England and Wales, reoffenders had an average of 3.8 new offences. This was higher in Swindon, with around 4.9 each.

On average, this group had committed 22.7 previous offences.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "This Government is committed to a criminal justice system that makes better citizens, not better criminals.

"That has started by addressing the crisis in our prisons with the emergency measures set out by the Lord Chancellor last month.

"We are also strengthening the probation services, bringing on 1,000 new probation officers by March 2025. And we will be doing more to bring together prison governors and employers to help get people into work and break the cycle of crime.

"These statistics are a reminder of the scale of that task, but this new Government is committed to reducing reoffending."