The following table shows figures for how many people were detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales aged (a) under 16 (b) 16 or 17 and (c) between 18 and 21-years-old who were serving custodial sentences of (i) less than or equal to three months and (ii) between three and six months as at 30 June in each year since 1997:
Less than or equal to three months Greater than three less than or equal to six months 2008 Female 16-17 2 19 18-21 30 59 Male Under 16 9 70 16-17 45 342 18-21 369 695 2007 Female 16-17 1 19 18-21 45 48 Male Under 16 6 52 16-17 50 348 18-21 404 656 2006 Female 16-17 0 13 18-21 31 39 Male Under 16 6 83 16-17 35 342 18-21 370 666 2005 Female 16-17 2 19 18-21 24 42 Male Under 16 4 71 16-17 35 370 18-21 332 674 2004 Female 16-17 2 17 18-21 43 47 Male Under 16 5 76 16-17 24 311 18-21 330 710 2003 Female 16-17 0 11 18-21 37 46 Male Under 16 3 64 16-17 19 315 18-21 368 785 2002 Female Under 16 0 2 16-17 1 19 18-21 36 49 Male Under 16 6 73 16-17 14 320 18-21 354 723 2001 Female Under 16 0 2 16-17 0 14 18-21 38 53 Male Under 16 2 90 16-17 8 442 18-21 434 926 2000 Female Under 16 0 2 16-17 1 18 18-21 34 45 Male Under 16 6 72 16-17 14 313 18-21 356 709 1999 Female Under 16 4 1 16-17 6 17 18-21 30 36 Male Under 16 26 41 16-17 111 240 18-21 382 707 1998 Female Under 16 4 1 16-17 8 11 18-21 27 41 Male Under 16 20 48 16-17 92 241 18-21 371 750 1997 Female Under 16 3 0 16-17 4 7 18-21 17 28 Male Under 16 20 40 16-17 81 220 18-21 322 758
The sentence lengths given in the table are in accordance with normal practice. The figures are a re-working of material published in the Prison Statistics of England and Wales, 1997-2002 and Offender Management Caseload Statistics, 2003-07, copies of which are available in the House of Commons Library.
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.