Information on the numbers of prisoners received into all prison establishments in England and Wales between 1996 and 2005 can be found in the following table:
Receptions under immediate custodial sentence1 1997 80,832 1998 85,908 1999 90,238 2000 91,195 2001 90,523 2002 93,615 2003 92,245 2004 93,326 2005 90,414 2006 87,996 1 Total sentenced receptions, excluding fine defaulters (taken from table 7.2 of the Offender Management Caseload Statistics) Figures 1997-2005 have been published in Offender Management Caseload Statistics; 2006 figure is soon to be published
For each week in 2006, the number of sentenced receptions ranges between 1,200 and 1,900. The average number of sentenced receptions per day in 2006 was around 300. For each week in 2007 between January and July, the number of sentenced receptions ranges between 1,300 and 1,900.
There are quality problems with the data on sentenced prisoners finally released from prison which mean that we do not have a consistent series to compare with receptions. We expect to have reliable data for 2007 in early 2008. In general, weekly discharges were around 1,400 to 2,400 in 2006 and 1,200 to 2,000 between January and July 2007.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.