House of Lords written question – answered at on 15 January 2009.
Lord Avebury
Spokesperson for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Spokesperson for the Home Office
To ask Her Majesty's Government in respect of sections 132 to 138 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, how many (a) persons were arrested in each year since 2005, including 2008 to date; (b) persons in each of those groups were sent to trial; (c) persons in each of those groups were found guilty; and (d) persons in each of those groups were given a custodial sentence.
Lord West of Spithead
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Security and Counter-terrorism), Home Office, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office) (Security and Counter-terrorism)
The Home Office does not hold this arrest data centrally. I shall write to the noble Lord once I have received that information from the Metropolitan Police.
Data showing the number of persons proceeded against, committed for trial, found guilty and given a custodial sentence under selected sections of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act from 2005 to 2007 (the latest available) are in the attached table.
The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
| Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts, committed for trial, found guilty and given immediate custody for selected offences relating to the 2005 Serious Organised Crime and Police Act, 2005(1) to 2007(2)(3) | ||||
| Year | Proceeded against | Committed for trial | Found guilty | Given immediate custody |
| 2005 | 7 | - | 1 | - |
| 2006 | 25 | - | 19 | - |
| 2007 | 73 | - | 22 | - |
(1) The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act came into force on
(2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
(3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Source: E&A Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
Ref: IOS 619-08.
Yes0 people think so
No0 people think not
Would you like to ask a question like this yourself? Use our Freedom of Information site.
