Burglary

(asked on 24th October 2014) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, at which courts people with 15 or more previous convictions were not sent to prison on conviction for burglary in the latest period for which figures are available.


Answered by
Mike Penning Portrait
Mike Penning
This question was answered on 23rd March 2015

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. But when sentencing an offender the courts must treat recent and relevant previous convictions as an aggravating factor. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment for a third conviction for domestic burglary. The sentencing guideline for burglary aims to ensure that the effect on victims is at the centre of considerations about what sentence each offender should receive. The average custodial sentence length for domestic burglary has increased from 21.4 months in 2009 to 23.6 months in 2013.

This Government is committed to strengthening sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce re-offending.

During the 12 months ending June 2014, all local justice areas sentenced at least one offender with 15 or more previous convictions to a sentence that did not entail immediate custody for their latest conviction of a burglary offence.

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