Parolee re-offending rates probed in NSW

Offenders granted parole by courts in NSW are almost 20 per cent more likely to commit further crimes compared with those released by the State Parole Authority (SPA), a new study has found.

More than 800 "matched pairs" of offenders freed through either method of parole have been tracked by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) to find out if they would reoffend.

There was no difference in reoffending between the groups while they were on parole but a significant gulf emerged once their orders had expired, the bureau found.

Court-ordered offenders were 19 per cent more likely to reoffend compared with SPA parolees, with the trend most obvious at 24 and 36 months.

There was little difference between the types of crimes committed by either group of parolees, the bureau said on Monday.