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The qualitative and quantitative evidence highlighted in this evaluation shows that the initiative has been successful in achieving its aims. The ECO pilot has been shown to be an effective programme for participants who valued the support it provided. The commitment of the staff involved was evident across all the evaluation activities and the high regard in which they were held by participants was demonstrated during the client focus groups.
The initiative has been embraced by the Judiciary and the number of custodial sentences of 12 months or less, awarded by courts involved in the ECO pilot, decreased by 10.5% between 2015 and 2016. While there was also a reduction in the overall number of short term sentences across all the NI courts, at 2.4% this was lower than that across the pilot areas suggesting that ECO was impacting on prison numbers although further work is required to see if this trend continues.
This reduction in custodial sentences with the resultant decrease in tax payer costs was identified as a major benefit of the pilot. The indicative costs of ECOs has been estimated at £9k per annum, which on top of the clearly beneficial social impact, the reduced re-offending rate and focus on victim issues, indicates a sentence which provides excellent value for money and better outcomes in comparison to short prison sentences. In addition there are positive and encouraging indications regarding impact on reoffending.
The offending rate for a cohort of 52 ECO participants in the six months prior to being sentenced to an ECO was 57.7%. In the six months post sentencing, the re-offending rate at 17.3% was significantly lower.