Vic recidivism rate at 10-year high

Victoria's recidivism rate is at a 10-year high, with the revelation sparking a fresh round of post-election political fingerpointing.

The government says a big increase in the number of prisoners returning to jail represents a problem it's inherited but the Liberal National opposition claims Labor is trying to create a crisis to blame it for.

Figures obtained by Fairfax Media reveal about 40 per cent of offenders were sent back to jail in 2013/14, up from 34 per cent four years ago.

They come to light amid growing demands on Victoria's jail system.

With the former Napthine government having introduced a raft of tough sentencing and parole reforms during 2013 and 2014, overall inmate numbers are projected to increase by 1000 by the middle of this year.

Corrections Minister Wade Noonan says Labor has inherited a "very difficult and challenging issue" from the former government.

"We have crime rate going up, more people entering prison and more prisoners returning to prison," he told ABC radio on Saturday.

"That is not a cycle that any government would wish to inherit.

"The challenge is, once people are in prison, to look at what can be done to correct their offending behaviour.

"That's what we'll be focused on doing."

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy says Labor has a soft-on-crime approach.

"The reality is that recidivism rates in Victoria are lower than the national average and the Labor government is yet again lying about the fact that there's a crisis in this space," he told reporters.

"I challenge the Labor party to go and talk to families of victims and ask whether or not putting people back on the street and cutting prison numbers is a good idea for Victoria."

State ombudsman Deborah Glass expressed concerns in October that offending behaviour was not being addressed before people left jail.

She released a discussion paper revealing the number of prisoners let out without parole had more than doubled in a year.