Young Offenders
Justice
Written answers and statements, 5 November 2009
David Howarth (Cambridge, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many disposals of each type were given to 10 to 12 year-olds convicted of (a) a violent criminal offence and (b) a non-violent criminal offence in England and Wales in each year since 1997.
Maria Eagle (Minister of State (also in the Government Equalities Office), Ministry of Justice; Liverpool, Garston, Labour)
The following table shows the disposals given to those between the ages of 10 and 12 years-old at the point of sentence, from 1997-2007. The data is presented on the principal offence basis: where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty was imposed; where the same sentence has been imposed for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.
| Number of disposals of each type given to 10 to 12 year-olds, for violent and non- violent indictable offences, from 1997 to 2007 | ||||||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | ||
| Absolute discharge | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 6 | |
| Conditional discharge | 59 | 61 | 89 | 42 | 47 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| Fine | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Community sentence | 89 | 100 | 112 | 161 | 209 | 274 | 270 | 285 | 255 | 254 | 290 | |
| Immediate custody | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 12 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 6 | |
| Violent offences(1) | Otherwise dealt with | 2 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Total | 157 | 171 | 212 | 217 | 301 | 317 | 302 | 316 | 260 | 274 | 310 | |
| Absolute discharge | 9 | 15 | 11 | 15 | 18 | 55 | 78 | 69 | 61 | 43 | 53 | |
| Conditional discharge | 519 | 798 | 809 | 574 | 317 | 113 | 80 | 71 | 60 | 56 | 59 | |
| Fine | 40 | 54 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 34 | 11 | 18 | 14 | 10 | 10 | |
| Community sentence | 364 | 452 | 642 | 794 | 1,027 | 1.199 | 1,099 | 1.130 | 1,142 | 1,010 | 1,108 | |
| Immediate custody | 6 | 8 | 14 | 38 | 38 | 21 | 13 | 18 | 15 | 8 | 10 | |
| Non-violent offences | Otherwise dealt with | 11 | 22 | 75 | 63 | 108 | 43 | 37 | 12 | 14 | 19 | 8 |
| Total | 949 | 1,349 | 1,630 | 1,560 | 1,584 | 1,465 | 1,318 | 1,318 | 1,306 | 1,146 | 1,248 | |
| (1) Included within Violent offences are: Violence against the person, Sexual offences and Robbery. Included in non violent offences are all other indictable offences. Summary offences are not included as they comprise both violent and non-violent offences that cannot be separated. Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice | ||||||||||||