• This is an index of data and statistics referred to on this site.
  • References are in no particular order. The purpose is to provide the sources.
  • If you’ve been directed to this page, you were probably reading a statistic on this site and clicked the link – you should find its source on this page.
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Reference 1

There are 11.8 million people with a criminal record on the Police National Computer.
Source: Freedom of Information Act response, September 2020

Reference 2

Less than 10% of people convicted are sentenced to prison.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2020) Criminal justice statistics quarterly, England and Wales

Reference 3

Around 1.2 million individuals are sentenced in courts every year.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2019) Criminal justice statistics quarterly, year ending 2018, England and Wales

Reference 4

In 2018, 69,400 people were cautioned. The number of people receiving cautions has fallen 79% since 2008.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2019) Criminal justice statistics quarterly, year ending 2018, England and Wales

Reference 5

Stable and secure employment plays a key role in former lawbreakers not only ‘going straight’ but ‘staying straight’ and reaching their true potential.
Source: Sampson, R.J. and Laub, J. (1995) ‘Understanding variability in lives through time: Contributions of life-course criminology’, Studies on Crime and Crime Prevention, 4: 143-158; Maruna S. (2001) Making Good: How ex-convicts reform and rebuild their lives. Washington: American Psychological Association

Reference 6

The UK Government’s Social Exclusion Unit reported that ‘employment reduces the risk of re-offending by between a third and a half’.
Source: Social Exclusion Unit (2002), Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners, London: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Reference 7

People with convictions make up a sizeable proportion of the unemployed population – 33% of Job Seekers Allowance claimants received a criminal record in the last ten years.
Source: Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions (2011) Offending, employment and benefits – emerging findings from the data linkage project, London: MOJ/DWP

Reference 8

People with convictions are the least likely ‘disadvantaged group’ to be employed – only 12% of employers have knowingly employed one in the last three years.
Source: CIPD (2010) Labour Market Outlook Summer 2010, London; CIPD

Reference 9

Over half of employers said disclosure of an unspent conviction would have a negative effect on their recruitment decision, even if the candidate was considered equal to other candidates in all other areas. Around a sixth stated that they would automatically exclude a candidate with a previous conviction.
Source: Working Links (2010) Prejudiced: Tagged for life – A research report into employer attitudes towards ex-offenders, London: Working Links

Reference 10

Royal Mail has a blanket ban on applicants with unspent convictions for a range of offence categories – including non-payment of fares – citing the need to protect the ‘security of the mail and the public’.
Source: Royal Mail website

Reference 11

Nearly three quarters of large employers ask about criminal records at application stage
Source: Unlock (2018) A question of fairness: Research into employers asking about criminal records at application stage

Reference 12

Removing the ‘tick-box’ has shown to have a positive impact. ‘Banning the box’ has had success in the USA, led there by the National Employment Law Project. In the city of Minneapolis, where the City Council banned the box, 57.4% of applicants with convictions in the last seven years were hired (2007-08), compared to just 5.7% hired before the box was removed (2004-6).
Source: Article in the Star Advertiser

Reference 13

There were 1.2 million DBS checks in 2002 ; this rose to 3.9 million in 2013/14.
Source: Criminal Records Bureau (2003) Annual Report 2002-2003, Liverpool: CRB ; Disclosure and Barring Service (2014) Strategic Plan 2014-2017, Liverpool: DBS

Reference 14

No Registered Body has been de-registered as a result of submitting ineligible applications.
Source: Obtained via a Freedom of Information request by Unlock

Reference 15

75% of employers discriminate against applicants on the basis of a criminal record.
Source: Working Links (2010) Prejudged: Tagged for life, London: Working Links

Reference 16

1 in 3 men (and one in 9 women) have a criminal record by the age of 56.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2010) Conviction histories of Offenders between the ages of 10 and 52, London: Ministry of Justice

Reference 17

Over half of people with a criminal record would not apply for a job where they needed to disclose their criminal record – this is known as the “chilling-effect”.
Source: Business in the Community (2015) Finding work after prison – A survey into prisoners’ attitudes towards employment and the criminal record tick box, London: BITC

Reference 18

71% of people with convictions think that ticking ‘yes’ to a question about convictions would affect their chances of getting the job.
Source: Business in the Community (2015) Finding work after prison – A survey into prisoners’ attitudes towards employment and the criminal record tick box, London: BITC

Reference 19

Only 1 in 3 people said they would declare their criminal convictions when asked on an application form.
Source: Business in the Community (2015) Finding work after prison – A survey into prisoners’ attitudes towards employment and the criminal record tick box, London: BITC

Reference 20

There are around 5 million criminal record checks each year.
Source: This is based on information collated by Unlock in response to Freedom of Information requests

Reference 21

Every year, over 240,000 criminal record checks disclose convictions or cautions.
Source: This is based on information collated by Unlock in response to Freedom of Information requests

Reference 22

Of those employers that recruit people with convictions, 87% consider them to be at least as productive.
Source: CIPD survey, Employer attitudes towards ex-offenders, 2002

Reference 23

47% of employers say that those they’ve recruited with convictions stayed for over 3 years.
Source: CIPD survey, Employer attitudes towards ex-offenders, 2002

Reference 24

Re-offending is estimated to cost the UK around £18 billion every year.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2019) Economic and social costs of reoffending, London: Ministry of Justice

Reference 25

Each re-offender costs the Ministry of Justice £65,000 annually
Source: Social Exclusion Unit (2002), Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners, London: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Reference 26

Two years after release from prison, 47% of individuals were receiving out-of-work benefits.
Source: Ministry of Justice/DWP (2011) Offending, employment and benefits – emerging findings from the data linkage project, London: MoJ/DWP

Reference 27

Of those employers who promote the fact that they employ people with convictions, around two-thirds (65%) report that it has had a positive impact on their corporate reputation.
Source: CIPD (2007), Employing ex-offenders to capture talent, London: CIPD

Reference 28

In a survey of 474 employers that recruited people with convictions, only 23 reported negative experiences (less than 5%).
Source: CIPD (2007) Survey report May 2007, London: CIPD

Reference 29

Among the 134 organisations that record positive experiences with people with convictions, the reasons given are that they settle into work well with colleagues (86%).
Source: CIPD (2007) Survey report May 2007, London: CIPD

Reference 30

Between March 2012 and February 2014, the DBS had written to counter signatories on 3,311 occasions under the Ineligible Applications Process, and 1,385 applications were subsequently not completed (42%).
Source: Response to a Freedom of Information request, issued 05/03/2014

Reference 31

In a 2010 survey, only 10% of employers said they would not consider employing ex-offenders, yet only 18% said they had knowingly employed someone they know to have convictions.
Source: Working Links (2010) Prejudged: Tagged for life, London, Working Links

Reference 32

Just over a quarter (27%) of people have a job to go to on release from prison. Nearly three-quarters of people are unemployed on release from prison.
Source: Table 8, Ministry of Justice (2015) National Offender Management Service annual report 2014/15: Management Information Addendum, London: Ministry of Justice

Reference 33

Nearly 80% of people make at least one benefit claim within a year of release.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2014) Experimental statistics from the 2013 MoJ /DWP /HMRC data share: Linking data on offenders with benefit, employment and income data, London: Ministry of Justice

Reference 34

People who obtain P45 employment during the year after release are less likely to reoffend. Rates are 9% lower for those with sentences under a year, and 6% lower for those with longer sentences.
Source: Ministry of Justice (2013) Analysis of the impact of employment on re-offending following release from custody, using propensity score matching, London: Ministry of Justice

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