Sentencing
(asked on 23rd June 2015) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of previous convictions or cautions was of an offender who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for the latest offence in each year since 2011; and what offences were committed by that offender.
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. A court may only impose a community order or a custodial sentence where the offence is imprisonable.
The highest number of previous convictions or cautions of an offender who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for the latest offence, 2011 to 2014 is shown in the table below. It is the same offender in each year and the latest offence committed by that offender in each year was: in 2011, being drunk and disorderly in a public place, for which the maximum penalty is a fine; in 2012, failure to surrender to bail; in 2013, behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, for which the maximum penalty is a fine; and in 2014 being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Table 1: The highest number of previous convictions or cautions1,2 of an offender who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for the latest offence, 2011 to 2014 | ||||
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Year | Highest number of previous convictions or cautions |
| Previous offence types | |
| Offence type | Number of previous convictions or cautions | ||
2011 | 477 |
| Violence against the person | 1 |
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| Theft offences | 1 |
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| Criminal damage and arson | 5 |
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| Possession of weapons | 1 |
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| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 13 |
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| Summary non-motoring | 456 |
2012 | 487 |
| Violence against the person | 1 |
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| Theft offences | 1 |
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| Criminal damage and arson | 5 |
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| Possession of weapons | 1 |
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| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 14 |
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| Summary non-motoring | 465 |
2013 | 502 |
| Violence against the person | 1 |
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| Theft offences | 1 |
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| Criminal damage and arson | 5 |
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| Possession of weapons | 1 |
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| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 20 |
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| Summary non-motoring | 474 |
2014 | 506 |
| Violence against the person | 1 |
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| Theft offences | 1 |
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| Criminal damage and arson | 5 |
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| Possession of weapons | 1 |
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| Miscellaneous crimes against society | 22 |
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| Summary non-motoring | 476 |
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Data Source: Ministry of Justice copy of the Police National Computer |
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1. Previous convictions include those which have resulted in immediate custody. |
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2. Figures are based on counting the number of occasions on which offenders have previously received a conviction recorded on the Police National Computer, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occassion, only the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted. |
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