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Rape: Convictions

Volume 473: debated on Thursday 13 March 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many people (a) were convicted of rape and not given a custodial sentence between 1992 and April 1997 and (b) have been so convicted and not given a custodial sentence since May 1997; (188499)

(2) how many people convicted of rape in the last three years were (a) under 18, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 35, (d) 36 to 45, (e) 46 to 55, (f) 56 to 65 and (g) 66 years and over;

(3) how many convictions for rape there were in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007; and how many charges of rape were brought in each year;

(4) what percentage of people prosecuted for rape were convicted of that offence in (a) 2005, (b) 2006 and (c) 2007.

The information requested is in the following table. The number of offenders convicted of rape who can be detained indefinitely more than tripled between 2004 and 2006. The figures include those convicted of an offence of rape, under section 1 of the sexual offences Act 2003, and those convicted of an offence of rape of a child under 13, under section 5 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

Charging information is not held by my Department.

Court proceedings data for 2007 will be available in the autumn of 2008.

Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts, convicted at all courts for rape offences, broken down by age group, and the percentage of persons prosecuted who were found guilty of rape in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 20061,2,3,4

Proceeded against

Found guilty

Percentage prosecuted who were found guilty

Age group

2004

2005

2006

2004

2005

2006

2004

2005

2006

10-17

254

305

229

30

73

71

12

24

31

18

98

100

101

8

18

23

8

18

23

19-25

567

534

532

148

127

142

26

24

27

26-35

591

648

556

141

144

167

24

22

30

36-45

512

553

486

148

171

188

29

31

39

46-55

233

247

235

96

75

90

41

30

38

56-65

146

112

129

45

59

55

31

53

43

66 and over

52

59

67

28

27

18

54

46

27

Total

2,453

2,558

2,335

644

694

754

26

27

32

1 These data are on the principal offence basis.

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 and police forces. 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 Includes the following statute: The Sexual Offences Act 2003, Sections 1 and 5.

4 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into force on 1 May 2004.

Source:

Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Our ref: PQ 188570, 188607 and 188608 (table 1)

Number of persons convicted of rape and not given a custodial sentence in England and Wales for the years 1992 to 20061,2,3

Found guilty

1992

33

1993

23

1994

16

1995

26

1996

15

1997

12

1998

14

1999

16

2000

17

2001

14

2002

11

2003

15

2004

20

2005

40

2006

44

1 These data are on the principal offence basis.

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 and police forces. 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 Staffordshire police force were only able to submit sample data for persons proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table.

Source:

Court proceedings database held by RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform—Ministry of Justice

Our ref: PQ 188499 (table 2)