Justice written question – answered at on 7 September 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice
(1) how many and what proportion of those sentenced in magistrates courts in the latest year for which figures are available were given a period of (a) immediate and (b) suspended custody;
(2) how many people have been given community sentences in each of the last three years.
The number of offenders and proportion of total offenders sentenced to immediate custody or suspended sentence at magistrates courts in England and Wales for 2008 are shown in table 1.
The number of offenders sentenced to a community sentence at magistrates courts in England and Wales 2006 to 2008 are shown in table 2.
This information is taken from chapter 1 (table 1.5) and chapter 3 (table 3.3) of Sentencing Statistics 2008, available at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm
Court proceedings data for 2009 are due to be published on
Table 1: Number and percentage of immediate and suspended custodial sentences given in magistrates courts, 2008 | ||
Number | Proportion of the total sentenced (percentage) | |
Total sentenced | 1,265,287 | 100 |
Immediate custody | 50,348 | 4.0 |
Suspended custody | 23,705 | 1.9 |
Other sentences | ||
Fine | 880,353 | 69.6 |
Community sentence | 174,832 | 13.8 |
Otherwise dealt with | 85,075 | 6.7 |
Conditional discharge | 41,363 | 3.3 |
Absolute discharge | 9,611 | 0.8 |
Table 2: Number of community sentences handed down at all courts, by year, 2006-08 | |
Number | |
2006 | 190,837 |
2007 | 196,424 |
2008 | 190,171 |
Notes: 1. The category 'other' includes: one day in police cells, disqualification order, restraining order, confiscation order, travel restriction order, disqualification from driving, and recommendation for deportation and other miscellaneous disposals. 2. 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. 3. These data have been taken from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database. These data are presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed. Where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe. 4. Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates' court for April, July, and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics-Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice |
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