Statistics on Persistent Young Offenders (PYOs) are available from 1997 to 2007. These figures are derived from police national computer data, and monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with PYOs in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.
The following table shows the number of PYOs in England and Wales in each year since 1997. It also shows the number of cases involving such offenders and the average time from arrest to sentence for dealing with them. Data in this table are published as national statistics by the Ministry of Justice.
Number of PYOs Number of PYO convictions Arrest to sentence interval (days) 1997 9,868 16,010 141 1998 11,079 18,605 125 1999 12,014 21,151 108 2000 13,094 23,130 93 2001 13,854 25,393 76 2002 14,244 26,116 68 2003 14,242 26,083 66 2004 14,403 26,363 69 2005 14,725 27,037 68 2006 15,528 28,252 72 2007 16,512 30,683 65
It should be noted that the increase in the number of people who meet the definition of a PYO is partly a consequence of the large improvements in the timeliness of dealing with such offenders. The definition of a PYO relies on counting successive sentencing occasions for a single offender during a limited time period. Speedier operation of the youth justice system has markedly reduced the average time taken from arrest to sentence, and as a result the number of young offenders who fall within the scope of this definition has increased. This was a particular issue from 1997 to 2002, the period during which these timeliness improvements were taking effect.
Information is not available on the total number offences committed by PYOs. However, information is available on the number of convictions handed down to these offenders, and the following table therefore shows the proportion of total notifiable offences brought to justice that is attributable to court convictions of PYOs. Please note that data on the numbers of offences brought to justice are only currently available for the years 2000 to 2006 inclusive.
Court convictions of PYOs Offences brought to justice Number Percentage 2000 1,012.722 23,130 2.28 2001 1,001.301 25,393 2.54 2002 1,031.214 26,116 2.53 2003 1,059.663 26,083 2.46 2004 1,124.574 26,363 2.34 2005 1,276.969 27,037 2.12 2006 1,408.547 28,252 2.01
The Criminal Justice System area breakdowns are in the following table.
Number of convictions of persistent young offenders CJS area name 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 0 England and Wales1 23,130 25,393 26,116 26,083 26,363 27,037 28,252 1 Metropolitan 2,009 2,291 2,236 2,069 2,205 2,133 2,549 3 Cumbria 305 300 318 337 321 352 415 4 Lancashire 830 843 1,089 1,035 945 1,078 1,216 5 Merseyside 820 966 999 1,015 1,042 835 797 6 Greater Manchester 1,875 2,290 2,165 1,866 1,885 2,101 2,251 7 Cheshire 378 389 449 438 495 530 483 10 Northumbria 1,539 1,612 1,498 1,620 1,518 1,619 1,730 11 Durham 545 464 506 414 328 382 457 12 North Yorkshire 282 280 282 305 333 333 380 13 West Yorkshire 1,367 1,327 1,309 1,432 1,623 1,676 1,575 14 South Yorkshire 696 645 717 713 738 701 646 16 Humberside 412 494 419 501 626 647 653 17 Cleveland 496 506 557 389 396 382 419 20 West Midlands 1,663 1,839 1,759 1,807 1,743 1,456 1,401 21 Staffordshire 400 464 419 516 511 517 515 22 West Mercia 392 414 458 446 501 508 628 23 Warwickshire 145 193 172 145 142 177 225 30 Derbyshire 322 411 403 392 414 416 433 31 Nottinghamshire 669 689 687 671 581 703 709 32 Lincolnshire 228 242 229 260 221 171 199 33 Leicestershire 374 421 459 448 315 466 439 34 Northamptonshire 298 288 282 254 239 243 235 35 Cambridgeshire 267 245 283 342 273 315 310 36 Norfolk 268 278 256 294 258 220 271 37 Suffolk 213 285 363 390 446 491 423 40 Bedfordshire 160 142 127 160 225 189 172 41 Hertfordshire 199 209 246 276 339 362 356 42 Essex 455 479 470 451 514 654 736 43 Thames Valley 455 559 659 561 500 636 721 44 Hampshire 1,079 1,052 1,236 1,184 1,207 1,128 1,116 45 Surrey 175 235 219 194 239 249 258 46 Kent 480 614 619 715 654 673 686 47 Sussex 242 335 414 465 615 762 828 50 Devon and Cornwall 299 418 434 504 576 518 485 52 Avon and Somerset 314 449 496 482 456 564 612 53 Gloucestershire 135 183 188 194 199 215 285 54 Wiltshire 151 166 192 203 222 206 202 55 Dorset 109 141 183 219 215 243 274 60 North Wales 273 346 426 451 438 386 402 61 Gwent 341 336 325 372 420 396 409 62 South Wales 1,082 1,111 1,100 1,018 900 869 719 63 Dyfed Powys 158 212 225 242 199 228 264
Proportion of convictions of persistent young offenders from all notifiable offences brought to justice CJS area name 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 0 England and Wales1 2.28 2.54 2.53 2.46 2.34 2.12 2.01 1 Metropolitan 1.60 1.92 1.70 1.60 1.61 1.27 1.26 3 Cumbria 2.99 3.15 3.15 3.11 2.73 2.79 3.23 4 Lancashire 2.76 2.82 3.47 3.32 2.74 2.75 2.48 5 Merseyside 2.70 3.31 3.45 3.19 3.08 2.02 1.82 6 Greater Manchester 3.12 4.00 3.86 3.25 2.79 2.89 2.73 7 Cheshire 2.23 2.58 2.86 2.64 2.89 2.36 1.94 10 Northumbria 3.81 3.97 3.68 3.80 3.94 3.96 3.57 11 Durham 4.28 3.56 3.70 3.24 2.71 2.84 2.94 12 North Yorkshire 2.25 2.32 2.32 2.32 2.23 2.14 2.51 13 West Yorkshire 2.61 2.83 2.76 2.98 2.63 2.33 2.38 14 South Yorkshire 2.68 2.62 2.92 2.60 2.52 1.93 1.56 16 Humberside 2.23 2.82 2.47 2.66 2.87 2.69 2.51 17 Cleveland 3.39 3.45 3.67 2.61 2.67 2.32 2.03 20 West Midlands 2.31 2.43 2.21 2.25 2.48 2.06 1.84 21 Staffordshire 1.78 2.23 1.80 2.21 2.23 2.00 1.84 22 West Mercia 1.91 1.91 2.08 2.01 2.08 1.84 2.13 23 Warwickshire 2.10 2.38 2.23 1.68 1.55 1.69 1.82 30 Derbyshire 2.00 2.40 2.19 2.19 2.23 1.97 2.04 31 Nottinghamshire 2.54 2.76 2.97 2.72 2.35 2.56 2.36 32 Lincolnshire 2.63 2.35 2.11 2.44 1.97 1.19 1.31 33 Leicestershire 2.11 2.21 2.56 2.33 1.43 1.86 1.61 34 Northamptonshire 2.13 2.18 2.25 1.97 1.78 2.00 1.57 35 Cambridgeshire 2.24 2.25 2.32 2.64 2.20 2.02 1.77 36 Norfolk 1.93 2.19 1.95 2.15 1.70 1.38 1.46 37 Suffolk 1.82 2.47 3.03 2.93 2.97 3.21 2.44 40 Bedfordshire 1.55 1.24 1.10 1.45 1.89 1.43 1.26 41 Hertfordshire 1.49 1.53 1.65 1.70 1.76 1.93 1.32 42 Essex 2.28 2.27 2.14 1.92 2.03 1.97 1.95 43 Thames Valley 1.50 1.81 1.93 1.73 1.38 1.18 1.40 44 Hampshire 3.34 3.32 3.85 3.58 3.23 2.95 2.90 45 Surrey 1.67 1.93 1.91 1.51 1.35 1.58 1.47 46 Kent 1.80 2.44 2.53 2.53 2.24 1.99 1.87 47 Sussex 1.21 1.53 1.83 1.97 2.26 2.37 2.44 50 Devon and Cornwall 1.18 1.67 1.60 1.84 2.06 1.68 1.47 52 Avon and Somerset 1.21 1.73 1.83 1.80 1.74 1.64 1.60 53 Gloucestershire 1.06 1.40 1.43 1.46 1.65 1.51 1.76 54 Wiltshire 1.42 1.53 1.92 1.80 1.93 1.70 1.67 55 Dorset 0.97 1.26 1.63 2.02 1.37 1.50 1.63 60 North Wales 2.08 2.75 3.22 3.34 2.97 2.45 2.19 61 Gwent 2.00 1.92 2.00 2.21 2.65 2.64 2.30 62 South Wales 3.56 3.76 3.61 3.22 2.87 2.88 2.43 63 Dyfed Powys 1.44 1.87 1.91 1.93 1.83 1.75 1.92 1 The England and Wales totals include cases dealt with by the British Transport Police or else are not assigned to a local constabulary.
Further information on persistent young offenders can be found on the dedicated page of the Ministry of Justice website:
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm