Nearly 1,000 recalled offenders remain at large

LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly 1,000 offenders let out early from prison are still at large despite being recalled for breaching the terms of their release, the Ministry of Justice said on Monday.

It said an audit had found that 954 offenders released on licence since 1984 in England and Wales and then ordered to return to jail had yet to be tracked down.

The list included 19 murderers, 26 sex offenders and 60 burglars.

The majority had gone missing in the past 18 months and the ministry said experience suggested that most of them would be returned to prison in due course.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said prison, parole and police forces had become better at tracking down absconded offenders since new performance goals were introduced in 2007.

He said that in the six months to March this year, some 70 percent of offenders were returned within the targeted timescale, compared to 60 percent in the same period a year earlier.

(Reporting by Tim Castle; Editing by Steve Addison)