One of the core objectives of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is the reduction of reoffending. Baseline data on the rate of adult reconviction was set in 2000; the current report charts the 2-year reconviction rate for adults in 2001 compared to the 2000 baseline data. Baseline 2000 data indicated an adult 2-year reconviction rate of 53.9 percent; during the same period in 2001, the adult 2-year reconviction rate was 53.7 percent, a 0.2-percent decrease. The 2001 reconviction rate also represents a 1-percent decrease in the predicted rate of adult 2-year reconviction, based on calculations derived from the baseline data. During 2001, the reconviction rate for those discharged from custody was 58.2 percent, representing a 1.9-percent drop from the predicted rate of 60.1 percent. The 2-year reconviction rate for those commencing community penalties in 2001 was 51.2 percent while the predicted rate of reconviction for this group was 51.7 percent. Both males and females enjoyed statistically significant reductions in 2-year reconviction rates, as did offenders aged 25 years and older and first-time offenders. Thus, the findings indicated that for the 2001 cohort, the 2-year reconviction rate for adults was 1.8-percent lower than the predicted rate, which was calculated from the 2000 baseline data. Footnotes, tables, annex, references