NCJ Number
176411
Date Published
1998
Length
30 pages
Annotation
Statistics on cautioning, court proceedings, and sentencing in England during 1997 indicate there were 1,855,000 completed proceedings in magistrate courts in 1997, 4 percent less than in 1996.
Abstract
The decrease in completed proceedings was mainly due to a sharp drop in the number of proceedings for summary non-motoring offenses, down 13 percent to 531,000. About 97,000 defendants were proceeded against in the Crown Court in 1997, 8 percent more than in 1996. The introduction of plea before venue in October 1997 led to a 34-percent increase in the number of defendants committed for sentence in the Crown Court following summary conviction in magistrate courts. Approximately 282,000 offenders were cautioned for all offenses in 1997, 1 percent fewer than in 1996. The cautioning rate for indictable offenses fell to 37 percent in 1997, from 39 to 41 percent in each of the years between 1992 and 1996. The number of offenders given immediate custody for all offenses totaled 93,100 in 1997, an increase of 10 percent over 1996. The proportionate use of immediate custody for indictable offenses in all courts increased from 21.9 percent in 1996 to 22.6 percent in 1997, the highest annual figure for at least 40 years. The average sentence length for males aged 21 years or over sentenced in the Crown Court increased for most indictable offense groups in 1997, rising on average by 0.6 to 24.2 months. The average length for males under 21 years of age also increased by 0.2 to 17.7 months. For those pleading not guilty and convicted in the Crown Court, 69 percent were given a custodial sentence with an average sentence length of 36.5 months. Corresponding figures for guilty pleas were 58 percent and 19.7 months. 25 notes, 13 tables, and 5 figures