NCJ Number
163703
Date Published
1996
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This bulletin provides estimated figures for cautioning, court proceedings, and sentencing in 1995 for England and Wales, together with similar information for the previous 5 years.
Abstract
There were 1,940,000 completed prosecutions at magistrates' courts in 1995, 1 percent lower than in 1994. There were decreases for both indictable and summary motoring offenses and an increase for summary non-motoring offenses. A total of 92,000 defendants were tried at the Crown Court, 3 percent higher than in 1994, reflecting the increase in the number of Crown Court sitting days. There were 80,000 known offenders found guilty or cautioned for drug offenses in 1995, 11 percent higher than in 1994. Two-thirds of these were for possession of cannabis. The average sentence length for males aged 21 and over sentenced at the Crown Court increased for all indictable offense groups in 1995, increasing on average by 0.5 months to 22.1 months. The number of offenders given immediate custody for all offenses was 79,200, the highest figure since 1985. A total of 293,000 offenders were cautioned for all offenses in 1995, 5 percent less than in 1994. Most offense groups showed decreases in cautioning in 1995, in particular sex offenses (down 24 percent) and burglary (down 9 percent), although cautioning for drug offenses continued to increase (up 9 percent). For those pleading not guilty at the Crown Court, 64 percent were given a custodial sentence; for those sentenced to custody, the average sentence length was 33 months. The corresponding figures for guilty pleas are 56 percent and 18 months. 14 tables, 6 figures, and 4 references