Prison Sentences

(asked on 23rd March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were sentenced to custody for 20 years or more, who were not subject to a life sentence, in each of the last 10 years.


This question was answered on 8th April 2021

Figures covering the period 2009 to 2019 for the number of individuals sentenced to custody for 20 years or more who were not subject to a life sentence can be found in the table below.

Number of individuals sentenced to custody at all courts, 2009 to 2019(1)(2)

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Total sentenced to custody

100,231

101,513

106,170

98,044

92,966

91,313

90,348

89,862

86,354

78,876

75,971

Less than 20 years

98,778

100,073

104,907

96,848

92,491

90,807

89,888

89,376

85,874

78,291

75,391

20 years or more and less than life

31

37

49

37

71

64

91

79

118

153

124

Imprisonment for Public Protection(3)

1,001

1,019

819

747

9

-

-

-

-

-

-

Life sentence

421

384

395

412

395

442

369

407

362

432

456

Source: MoJ court proceedings database

Notes

1. The figures given in the table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

3. Sentences of imprisonment for public protection were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and abolished by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

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