Home Department written question – answered at on 13 September 2006.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of people charged with drink driving had not gone to trial within (a) three months, (b) six months and (c) 12 months of being charged in the last year for which figures are available.
I have been asked to reply.
During 2005, the estimated proportion of drink -driving cases which had not been listed for trial in the magistrates courts within three months of charge (in charged cases) or laying of information (in summonsed cases) is less than 0.3 per cent.
The following table shows the estimated proportion of drink driving cases which had not been completed in the magistrates courts within three, six and twelve months of charge or laying of information.
These figures are estimates taken from the Time Intervals Survey for criminal cases in the magistrates courts. The survey covers all adult and youth cases completed during two one-week sample periods in March and September 2005. The figures shown are for all cases where the most serious offence was either driving after consuming alcohol or drugs, or being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
Initial plea | Percentage of cases not complete | Margin of error( 1) | Number of cases in sample |
Within three months of charge or laying of information | |||
Guilty | 5.0 | +/- 0.9 | 2249 |
Not guilty or no plea entered(2) | 68.3 | +/- 5.0 | 328 |
All cases | 13.1 | +/- 1.3 | 2577 |
Within six months of charge or laying of information | |||
Guilty | 2.3 | +/- 0.6 | 2249 |
Not guilty or no plea entered(2) | 29.9 | +/- 5.0 | 328 |
All cases | 5.8 | +/- 0.9 | 2577 |
Within 12 months of charge or laying of information | |||
Guilty | 0.6 | +/- 0.3 | 2249 |
Not guilty or no plea entered(2) | 5.8 | +/- 2.5 | 328 |
All cases | 1.3 | +/- 0.4 | 2577 |
(1) 95 per cent. confidence limits for the overall percentage of cases not complete during the year, expressed in percentage points. (2) Includes cases subsequently withdrawn. |
Yes1 person thinks so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.