Tackling a persons offending behaviour is often intrinsically linked to their physical and mental health, and in particular any substance misuse issues. This outcome therefore cannot be addressed in isolation. Offenders often also experience significant health inequalities that will need to be identified, examined and addressed locally in partnership with organisations across the criminal justice system. Furthermore, a large proportion of families with multiple needs are managed through the criminal justice system, and their issues are inter-generational. Reoffending therefore has a wide impact on the health and well being of individuals, their children and families, and the communities they live in.

Children and adolescents exposed to violence (as victims, directly witnessing violence or hearing about crimes) are at risk for adverse long-term behavioural and mental health issues including depression, anxiety, aggression and substance use.

The consequences of tackling offending and reoffending will benefit a wide range of service agencies and enhance their outcomes. Public health is a crucial part of a multi-agency approach to reducing reoffending, which includes police, courts, prisons, probation, community safety partners, social services, housing and education at a local level.

The Public Health England Wider Determinants of Health profile for Bury shows that Bury has successes in certain areas relating to crime, however is worse off against certain indicators. 

A reoffender is an offender who, after entering the cohort in a three month period, commits a reoffence that leads to a court conviction, caution, reprimand or warning within the one year follow up period, or within a further six months to allow the offence to be proven in court.

Bury has been below the national average for the percentage of ‘offenders who re-offend’ since 2016/17 and in Bury this figure has fallen by almost 6% in the subsequent 3 years to 23.4%. Across the North West region, the average sits at 24.9%, which is closer to Bury’s most recent figure than in previous years.

Bury also has one of the lowest ‘average number of offences per re-offender’ in England and as of 2019/20 had the lowest figure of all Bury’s statistical neighbours.

Bury has seen the rate of hospital admissions due to violence decrease significantly in the previous few years from 74.8 in 2009/10-11/12 to 41.4 in 2018/19-20/21.This has brought Bury’s rate below the national average and the latest figure is also one of the lowest amongst Bury’s statistical neighbours.

The rate of violent offences in Bury has nearly doubled over the last 5 years from 22.6 to 42.0.

In the same time period, with the exception of 2019/20, Bury has a consistently higher rate of violent offences than the national average. Despite this, in 2021/22 Bury had the 5^th lowest rate when compared to its statistical neighbours.

The rate of sexual offences has also followed a similar pattern in Bury, with Bury’s rate remaining higher than the national average in 4 out of the 5 previous years.