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Young Offenders: Crimes of Violence

Volume 494: debated on Thursday 25 June 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the average sentence for a (a) section 18 and (b) section 20 grievous bodily harm offence for those aged (i) 21 years and over and (ii) under 21 years old was in 2007-08; (281309)

(2) what the average sentence for those over the age of 21 years convicted of a section 47 offence was in 2007-08.

The available data are shown in the following table. Data for 2008 will not be available until Sentencing Statistics 2008 is published later in the year.

Offenders aged over 21 and under 21 sentenced under sections 18,20 and 47 of Offences Against the Persons Act 1861,2007

Offender aged 21 and over

Offender aged under 21

Section 181

Total number sentenced

1,107

627

Absolute discharge

1

2

Conditional discharge

0

0

Fine

2

2

Community sentence

20

65

Fully suspended sentence

18

18

Immediate custody

1,024

524

Otherwise dealt with

42

16

Number of indeterminate sentences

304

95

ACSL (months) for determinate sentences

47.3

37.7

Section 202

Total number sentenced

2,955

1.592

Absolute discharge

2

2

Conditional discharge

20

14

Fine

19

14

Community sentence

372

622

Fully suspended sentence

975

218

Immediate custody

1492

692

Otherwise dealt with

75

30

ACSL (months)

20.1

16.1

Section 473

Total number sentenced

10,118

Absolute discharge

16

Conditional discharge

413

Fine

359

Community sentence

3,068

Fully suspended sentence

3,086

Immediate custody

2,821

Otherwise dealt with

355

ACSL (months)

11.5

1 Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm

2 Malicious wounding, racially aggravated malicious wounding, religiously aggravated malicious wounding, racially or religiously aggravated malicious wounding

3 Assault occasioning actual bodily harm, racially aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm, racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm,

Notes:

ACSL excludes indeterminate sentences.

These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems.

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

The table shows the sentences handed down to and the average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for determinate sentences for those aged 21 and over under sections 18, section 20 and 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for 2007. The table also shows the sentences handed down to, and the ACSL for, offenders aged under 21, sentenced under sections 18 and 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for 2007. Also included is the number of indeterminate sentences for the section 18 offences. These data are based on the offences under section 18, section 20 and section 47, where such offences were the principal offences for which the offender was sentenced. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed, where the same sentence has been imposed for two or more offences the principal offence is the one for which the statutory maximum is most severe.