The prisoner who escaped from London hospitals twice in a week isn't just a security failure — he's the face of Britain's reoffending crisis. His repeat escapes mirror a much larger pattern: criminals who keep coming back.

The numbers tell a story politicians would rather ignore. In 1964, Britain recorded 31.0 reoffenders — a staggering 72.2% increase from the 18.0 recorded in 1945. This isn't just post-war adjustment. It's the beginning of a cycle that continues to plague our criminal justice system today. (Source: Ministry of Justice, Proven Reoffending -- proven-reoffending_jan24_mar24_3_monthly -- A7b_(3_monthly))

That hospital escape isn't an anomaly. It's what happens when the system becomes a revolving door. The prisoner knew the routine because he'd likely been through it before — just like the hundreds of thousands of offenders who cycle through Britain's courts and prisons each year.

The trajectory from 1945 to 1964 shows how quickly reoffending can spiral. In less than two decades, the number nearly doubled. Each reoffender represents multiple victims, multiple court cases, multiple prison stays. The cost compounds: police investigations, court time, prison places, probation services, victim support.

Today's headlines about child abuse becoming more complex to police connect to this same pattern. Complex crimes require more resources to investigate and prosecute. But if offenders keep reoffending, those resources get stretched even thinner across repeat cases.

The double hospital escape exposes the weakness in our approach. Security failures happen because the system assumes criminals want to stay caught. But reoffenders have already shown they'll keep trying. They know the gaps, the routines, the moments when guards change shifts.

This isn't about being tough on crime or soft on criminals. It's about recognising that a system where nearly a third of offenders were reoffending by 1964 — and where prisoners can escape hospitals twice in one week — isn't working for anyone. Not for victims, not for taxpayers, not even for the criminals trapped in the cycle.

The data from 1945 to 1964 shows this crisis has deep roots. But every reoffender represents a failure to break the pattern, a missed opportunity to actually solve crime rather than just process it.