Probation Service Annual Report 2023

24th October 2024

The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee published the Probation Service Annual Report 2023 on 24 October 2024.

Some key points from the report covering 2023:

• 1,614 Community Service Orders were carried out, up from 1,288 in 2022. This resulted in 209,311 hours of community service work in lieu of 778 years in prison, resulting in over €2 million worth of voluntary work for the benefit of communities nationwide.
• 75% of referrals to the probation service werefor the top six offences - theft, drug offences, assult, public order, road traffic and burglary.
• 18% of referrals were women.
• 2,142 community service assessments were completed, an increase of nearly 30% over 2022.
• 1 Year re-offending was at the lowest rate since 2008 and dropped significantly, from 36% to 25%.
• 3,033 prisoners in custody were engaged with through supporting sentence management and reintegration of imprisoned offenders, up from 2,880 in 2022.

Some other stats include:

• Only 43% of assessment reports were submitted to the Parole Board within 12 weeks (target was 80%), down from 58% in 2022.
• Community Service Reports under the Fines Act are up from 292 in 2022 to 461 in 2023, a 63% increase.
• A further fall in family conferencing to zero taking place in 2023 (which is a restorative justice mechanism).

The Probation Service Annual Report 2023 is available here.