The information requested is shown in the following table.
Number of convictions Of which: Convictions for offences relating to child abuse1,2,3 Number of convictions where the offender had one or more previous convictions for offences of any kind 2000 617 362 2001 554 306 2002 616 340 2003 701 383 2004 808 437 2005 1,012 536 2006 1,143 628 2007 1,175 639 1 Figures are counts of primary offences only. 2 An offender convicted on several occasions will appear in the table more than once. 3 Includes cruelty or neglect of a child; abandoning a child under two years; rape or sexual assault of a child or sexual activity involving a child, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (which came into effect on 1 May 2004); causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person (introduced on 21 March 2005).
These figures have been drawn from the police’s administrative IT system, the police national computer (PNC), which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. PNC data has been used here rather than court proceedings data, which is the usual source of published conviction statistics, as the PNC provides information on the criminal history of offenders. Figures before 2000 have not been provided as the extract of PNC data held by the Ministry of Justice is incomplete before that date.
Equivalent figures for offenders who have been prosecuted are not available.
The requested information is shown in the table, the proportion of those given various disposals is shown as a percentage of those sentenced. Lags in time between conviction and sentencing may mean that the total numbers convicted and sentenced in a year may not match. Data held by the Ministry of Justice record the age of the offender at the time of sentencing, the figures show all offenders aged over 21 and over at that point.
There is no specific offence of ‘child abuse’. The term ‘child abuse’ describes harm caused to a child arising from emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect caused by a parent or carer.
The statistics provided in this answer are for those offences currently identified as such, including causing or allowing the death of a child, sexual assaults against under 16s, and cruelty or neglect of a child. Not included are other forms of abuse for which there is no separate legal category, offences where the victim cannot be identified as a child from the type of offence, and cases of abuse which cannot be identified because they were proceeded against under more general offences such as physical assault.
These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one 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.
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Abandoning child under 2 years Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — — 50.0 — Offences against the Person Act 1861 Sec 27 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence 100.0 — — — 100.0 — — — — 50.0 — Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Immediate custody — 100.0 — — — — 100.0 — — — — Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — — — — Total number sentenced 1 1 — — 1 — 1 — — 2 — Abuse of a position of trust: Sexual activity with children2 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — 7.1 — — Sexual Offences Act 2003 S16(1ei,2-5). S16(1eii,2-5), S17(1ei,2-5). S18(1fi,2-5), S19(1ei,2-5), S17(1eii,2-5) Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — 40.0 14.3 31.3 26.7 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — 14.3 12.5 20.0 Immediate custody — — — — — — — 60.0 64.3 56.3 53.3 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — — — — Total number sentenced — — — — — — — 5 14 16 15 Causing or allowing death of a child or vulnerable person Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — — — — Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 S.5 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Immediate custody — — — — — — — — — 100.0 100.0 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — — 0.0 0.0 Total number sentenced — — — — — — — — — 2 6 Cruelty or neglect of children Absolute or conditional Discharge 16.0 14.4 10.0 13.2 9.6 10.6 13.4 12.1 11.3 11.0 8.6 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Sec 1 Fine 1.7 1.1 2.0 0.5 1.6 0.5 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.1 1.6 Community sentence 45.7 52.1 54.1 51.4 53.1 53.1 53.9 55.3 53.0 45.6 40.0 Suspended Sentence 5.4 3.4 5.9 5.3 4.3 5.5 3.7 4.9 10.6 17.1 30.1 Immediate custody 30.0 28.9 27.0 28.8 30.4 30.0 27.4 25.3 22.8 24.3 18.8 Otherwise dealt with 1.1 0.0 0.9 0.7 1.1 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.9 Total number sentenced 350 353 440 416 375 397 456 486 434 445 432 Rape of a female under 13 by a male2 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — — — — Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.5 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — — — 3.9 3.6 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — 3.1 — 3.6 Immediate custody — — — — — — — 100.0 93.8 96.1 92.7 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — 3.1 — — Total number sentenced — — — — — — — 3 32 51 55 Rape of a female under 16 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — 0.4 — — — Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 also Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.1 Fine — — — 0.5 — — — — — — — Community sentence 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.5 — 1.0 — 0.4 1.0 — 0.9 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — 0.4 — — — — Immediate custody 98.8 99.0 99.5 98.4 99.4 99.0 99.1 98.8 98.1 99.5 98.2 Otherwise dealt with 0.6 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.6 0.0 0.4 0.4 1.0 0.5 0.9 Total number sentenced 162 199 219 186 160 196 225 252 206 191 217 Rape of a male under 13 by a male2 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — — — — Sexual Offences Act 2003 S. 5 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — — — 18.2 9.1 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Immediate custody — — — — — — — — 100.0 72.7 90.9 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — 0.0 9.1 — Total number sentenced — — — — — — — — 3 11 11 Rape of a male under 16 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — — — — Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.1 also Sexual Offences Act 1956 S.1 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — — — — — Immediate custody 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 95.5 100.0 100.0 100.0 94.7 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — 4.5 — — — 5.3 Total number sentenced 15 12 20 13 17 25 22 20 20 11 19 Sexual activity involving a child2 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — — 2.9 0.7 1.3 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.8(1)(2)(1)(3), S.10(1a,b,ci)(3), S.9(1a,b,cii)(2), S.9(1a,b,cii)(3), S. l0(1a,b,c(ii)) (2), S.10 (1a,b,c(ii))(3) Fine — — — — — — — — 1.0 — — Community sentence — — — — — — — 47.4 37.5 20.5 22.3 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — 0.0 3.8 7.5 7.0 Immediate custody — — — — — — — 52.6 54.8 68.5 68.2 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — — — 2.7 1.3 Total number sentenced — — — — — — — 19 104 146 157 Sexual assault of a female child under 132 Absolute or conditional Discharge — — — — — — — 5.6 0.8 — 2.1 Sexual Offences Act 2003 S.7 Fine — — — — — — — — — — — Community sentence — — — — — — — 33.3 33.6 20.4 16.5 Suspended Sentence — — — — — — — 11.1 2.5 8.8 11.7 Immediate custody — — — — — — — 44.4 62.3 66.3 69.1 Otherwise dealt with — — — — — — — 5.6 0.8 4.4 0.5 Total number sentenced — — — — — — — 18 122 181 188 1 The figures used are shown as a percentage of those sentenced. Lags in time between sentencing and conviction may mean the numbers sentenced and convicted in a year may not match. 2 These were enacted as distinct offences by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Notes: 1. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 2. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Source: OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice