evidence: Overall, almost half of criminals released from prison in 2018 reoffended within a year, according to the data from the Central Statistics Office. [...] CSO statistician Felix Coleman said: "In 2015, 62% of individuals released from custody were linked to a reoffending incident within three years of their release with the most frequent reoffending offence type relating to theft and related offences. "The data also indicates that younger age groups of released individuals continue to be more likely to reoffend, with more than 83% of released individuals aged less than 21 at the time of leaving prison reoffending within three years of release.