Bradford’s re-offending rates are the second lowest in the region – but the Government has warned that’s no cause for complacency.

According to recent figures, 8.68 per cent of offenders in Bradford monitored over a 12-month period went on to commit a further crime, but the Ministry of Justice predicts this will rise to a significantly higher 10.09 per cent.

The Governent says, nationally, re-offending is unacceptably high and the statistics published last month by the Ministry for Justice highlight the need for reform.

Of 8,729 offenders monitored in Bradford between July 1 last year and June 30 this year, 8.68 per cent went on to commit a further crime within three months.

While Bradford has the second lowest re-offending rate across Yorkshire and Humber, it has the best record in West Yorkshire. Hull recorded the worst regionally, with 12.49 per cent of its sample re-offending.

Nationally, 9.81 per cent went on to re-offend, compared with 10.14 per cent in West Yorkshire and 10.39 across Yorkshire.

The snapshot of offenders, covering a range of crimes, from low-level to high-risk, is used to monitor re-offending rates. Since the measure was introduced in 2007/8, to provide probation trusts with quarterly data on trends in re-offending, the indication is that re-offending rates have fallen by 13.92 per cent across Bradford compared to 5.43 across West Yorkshire and 5.23 across Yorkshire and the Humber.

But while rates have fallen in Bradford, the figures predict that re-offending would be 10.09 per cent in the district, which is significantly higher than the actual re-offending rate.

Shipley MP Philip Davies warned it’s not a time for complacency. “There is still an awful lot of people who are re-offending,” he said. “I want to make sure that the public is properly protected.

“These re-offences will be happening because people have been let out of prison too early or too leniently punished by the courts, and in turn, we are creating more victims of crime.”

Maggie Smallridge, head of Bradford Probation, said the figures showed that probation is effective and “a viable alternative to short prison sentences”.

“We are not complacent and are at the forefront of developing innovative ways to help offenders change their lives,” she added.

An MoJ spokesman said the figures highlight the need for reform. Proposals include a “rehabilitation revolution” in prisons and community sentences.

He added: “That is why we are introducing tougher sentences that properly punish offenders while addressing the root causes of their behaviour.

“Our plans to restore public confidence in community sentences include prohibiting foreign travel and imposing longer curfew requirements. We will also be making Community Payback more intensive and demanding with unemployed offenders serving longer hours, carrying out purposeful, unpaid activity which benefits their local community.”

Re-offending rates have been made more accountable to the public, with online maps giving a local breakdown published for the first time by the MoJ.

People can now go on the Making Sense of Criminal Justice website to find out sentences handed down by local courts, check the rate offenders have committed further crimes in their area, and make comparisons with national trends.

Official statistics on local re-offending rates can be searched by local authority area, as well as data for individual prisons and probation trust areas.

Lord McNally, the minister responsible for increasing the transparency and availability of Ministry of Justice information, said: “Making more information available in a way that is relevant to local communities is central to the Government’s commitment to being open and accountable.

“But it’s no good just publishing pages of data. We need to make sure we present it in a way that’s easy to understand. That’s why the Making Sense of Criminal Justice website, which includes new maps and myth busters, is such an important step forward. It will really help people to see re-offending levels in their area and give them the knowledge and, therefore, the power to hold local services to account.”

The re-offending statistics are based on a new standardised measure for data making it easier to understand and compare re-offending in different areas, for different offences, and for adults and young offenders. The latest data is for 2009. The sentencing data includes information for the years between 2005 and 2010.

The Making Sense of Criminal Justice website can be viewed at sentencing.justice.gov.uk.