Over a quarter of criminals offend again

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show that 549 adults (26%) who were released from prison, cautioned or handed a non-custodial conviction at court between July 2019 and June 2020 went on to commit at least one further crime inside 12 months.

Between them, they racked up 2,058 new offences – an average of 3.7 each.

At 49.8%, reoffending rates in the city were highest for theft offences.

A year previously, 31% of convicted criminals reoffended within a year.

Nationally 25.8% of criminals reoffended within a year – down from 27.4% the year before – and one in five fraud offenders reoffended within a year of their release or conviction.

In Sunderland 11 out of 42 fraud offenders broke the law again.

Cifas, a not-for-profit fraud prevention organisation, said fraud can have a "devastating impact on victims".

Amber Burridge, head of fraud intelligence for Cifas, said: "Often people feel ashamed and embarrassed about being a victim to fraud and may be susceptible to further scams that claim to help you get your money back..

"This is not something you have to struggle with on your own."

A Government spokeswoman said: “Reducing reoffending is one of our top priorities which is why an extra £550m will be invested over the next three years to rehabilitate offenders and protect the public.

“We’re also spending £400m to tackle economic crime and developing a new strategy to support victims.”