The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts under section 5 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, from 2005 to 2007, the latest available, are given in the following table.
The statistics relate to persons 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 the principal offence 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.
2005 2006 2007 Prosecuted Guilty Prosecuted Guilty Prosecuted Guilty Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person 2 — 3 2 9 6 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. Source: Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit