The number of persons issued with a fine at all courts for offences of criminal damage in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in table 1.
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.
Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Under the Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND) Scheme, the police can issue a fixed penalty notice of £80 for the offence of destroying or damaging property (Section 1 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act 1971) where the value of damage caused is under £500. The number of PNDs issued in England and Wales for the years 2004-07 (latest available) can be viewed in table 2: the offence was added to the Scheme in November 2004.
The PND scheme was made available to all 43 forces in England and Wales from April 2004.
PND data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Statute Offence description 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Criminal Damage Act 1971 Sec. 1(2) and (3). Arson endangering life 1 — — — — Criminal Damage Act 1971 Sec.1(1) and 3 Arson not endangering life 36 25 22 22 21 Criminal Damage Act 19/1 Sec. 1(2). Explosive Substances Act 1883 Sec 2, Sec 3(l)(a). Malicious Damage Act 1861 Secs 35, 36, 47 Other criminal damage endangering life excluding arson 6 17 18 4 8 Criminal Damage Act 1971 Sec 1(1) as added by Crime and Disorder Act 1998 S.30 (1) and (2) Racially aggravated other criminal damage 21 22 21 18 17 Criminal Damage Act 1971 Sec. 1(1) as added by Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Sec30(l) and (2). Religiously aggravated other criminal damage — 2 — — 3 Criminal Damage Act 1971 Sec. 1(1) as added by Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Sec30(l) and (2) Racially or religiously aggravated other criminal damage (any amount) 3 7 4 2 3 Criminal Damage Act 19/1 Sec. 1(1). Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 S.22 as amended by Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Criminal damage, value £5,000 or less 7,370 7,129 6,519 5,655 5,634 1 The figures given in the table on court proceedings 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 it 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. 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: Evidence and Analysis Unit
Offence 2004 2005 2006 2007 Criminal Damage (under £500) 1,190 12,168 20,620 19,946 1 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 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. 2 The Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme commenced in 2004. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit - Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice