New national reoffending measures - a guide / Ministry of Justice, 7 May 2008http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement070508b.htm
"An explanation of changes to the way the government is measuring reoffending rates.
Up to now, the statistics have shown how many offenders commit further offences following commencement of a community sentence, or release from prison for adults. For juveniles it includes offenders commencing pre-court disposals, non-custodial court disposals or release from custody."