Criminal justice social work statistics show rising completion rate

Figures from Criminal justice social work statistics: 2013-14 show that the successful completion rate for social work orders has risen in each of the last five years, from 59 per cent in 2008-09 to 71 per cent in 2013-14.

The number of diversion from prosecution cases has also increased, more than doubling over the past three years to 2,250.

The number of social work orders issued has been fairly stable over the past seven years with numbers generally around the 20,000 mark.

The most recent figure of 20,400 shows a slight increase over the previous year.

Almost 80 per cent of orders imposed in 2013-14 contained unpaid work.

The vast majority of social work orders, 91 per cent, were community payback orders.

The completion rate for community payback orders was highest for the over 40s, at 81 per cent, and those in employment, at 82 per cent.

This publication is available here and contains information on criminal justice social work services and social work orders, as well as the characteristics of offenders involved. Information is provided for 2013-14 and, where possible, for earlier years too in order to identify longer-term trends.