In 1996, the average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders was 142 days. The Government pledged to halve the time to 71 days by March 2002 (changed to May 2002 by the 2001 manifesto). The pledge is a target that applies jointly to all Criminal Justice Agencies.
The average number of days from arrest to sentence (three month rolling average) for persistent young offenders in England and Wales for July to September 2007 was 62 days. The monthly performance for September 2007 was 60 days. Therefore the performance is better than the Government’s pledge.
The information contained in the following table details the most recent arrest to sentence details for each Local Criminal Justice Board (LCJB). LCJBs are coterminous with police force areas with the exception of Metropolitan which cover both the Metropolitan and City of London forces.
Area February to April 2007 March to May 2007 April to June 2007 May to July 2007 June to August 2007 July to September 2007 Avon and Somerset 72 72 72 74 71 66 Bedfordshire 81 75 80 82 73 74 Cambridgeshire 71 64 60 58 60 53 Cheshire 62 58 56 54 54 47 Cleveland 69 62 63 64 67 57 Cumbria 83 64 60 56 55 64 Derbyshire 55 55 55 59 62 58 Devon and Cornwall 72 78 79 72 66 59 Dorset 77 79 90 80 61 59 Durham 67 63 58 54 49 47 Dyfed-Powys 48 46 48 44 46 42 Essex 58 63 62 60 54 56 Gloucestershire 68 63 55 55 70 82 Greater Manchester 77 74 73 70 69 65 Gwent 94 83 77 67 72 72 Hampshire 66 66 62 61 55 53 Hertfordshire 69 70 66 68 71 74 Humberside 75 73 73 69 69 58 Kent 90 85 75 63 63 69 Lancashire 64 59 57 51 52 51 Leicestershire 90 82 71 65 67 66 Lincolnshire 58 50 65 70 64 59 Merseyside 65 64 61 58 56 57 Metropolitan 72 72 70 72 71 66 Norfolk 79 59 50 44 48 47 North Wales 85 74 56 51 53 49 North Yorkshire 56 58 54 54 55 63 Northamptonshire 87 78 61 47 49 59 Northumbria 74 77 74 72 68 76 Nottinghamshire 68 68 63 64 63 66 South Wales 76 75 73 83 85 82 South Yorkshire 68 69 65 62 60 64 Staffordshire 69 69 72 66 60 52 Suffolk 53 53 51 52 57 60 Surrey 75 80 66 63 51 43 Sussex 70 74 63 67 66 63 Thames Valley 80 75 73 72 67 60 Warwickshire 57 67 70 68 62 56 West Mercia 66 63 56 50 65 69 West Midlands 72 73 63 55 54 56 West Yorkshire 59 64 68 66 59 57 Wiltshire 77 63 77 84 81 72 British Transport Police 110 113 97 92 79 71 England and Wales 72 70 67 65 63 62