Convicted criminals in Dundee are more likely to reoffend than anywhere else in Scotland, official figures have shown.
The reconviction rate in the city has risen in recent years as the comparable rate in Scotland fell.
Scottish Government figures showed the percentage of offenders convicted of a subsequent crime within a year rose from 37.55% in 2007-08 to 39.85% in 2008-09.
That means Dundee now has the highest percentage of reoffenders in Scotland.
The news will cause concern in the city, as the one-year reconviction rate in Scotland as a whole dropped over the same period to 31%.
Labour’s Dundee-based MSP Jenny Marra said she was “worried” that the figures suggest Dundee was not following the national trend of a drop in reoffending.
“These figures suggest a rate of reoffending that is higher in Dundee,” she said. “In light of this, I will be asking the Scottish Government about the success of rehabilitation programmes in Scottish prisons and why they are not working for people convicted in Dundee.”
However, Dundee City West MSP Joe FitzPatrick defended the picture in the city.’Mustn’t be complacent’He said: “The reconviction rates at Dundee Sheriff Court seem to show a very slight increase from 2007 to 2009 but it is a relatively small number of offenders reoffending at a higher rate that’s causing Dundee to look bad.
“In actual numbers of offenders Dundee is only in eighth position out of 25 community justice authorities in Scotland.
“We mustn’t be complacent and we can always do more to tackle crime but these figures reinforce that breaking the cycle of reoffending is the most important thing.”
The Scottish figures also showed a substantial fall in the frequency of reconvictions for the under-21 age group between 1998 and 2009 from 93.4% to 70.3%.
Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill welcomed the national drop in reoffending.
He said: “We are working hard to make our streets safer and I am delighted that, thanks to the efforts of the police, courts and other justice partners, backed by this government, the rate is now at its lowest since 1997-98.
“It is also encouraging to see a significant reduction in reconvictions for those aged under 21, which reflects our considerable efforts made to steer young people away from a life of crime.”
In 2008-09 the one-year reconviction rate in Angus was 29.7%, in Perth and Kinross it was 29.5% and in Fife 34.4%.