The number of persons issued with a fine at all courts for the offence of causing wasteful use of police time, wasting police time, and giving false report etc under Section 5 (2) of the Criminal Law Act 1967 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown 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.
In addition, the offence can attract a penalty notice for disorder (PND). The number of persons issued with a PND in England and Wales for the years 2004 to 2007 (latest available) can be viewed in table 2.
The Penalty Notice for Disorder Scheme was made available to all forces in England and Wales from April 2004.
PND data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
Fine 2003 22 2004 32 2005 34 2006 32 2007 37 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. 3 Includes the following statute and corresponding offence description: Criminal Law Act 1967 Sec 5(2). Causing wasteful employment of the police etc. Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit - Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Ministry of Justice
Offence 2004 2005 2006 2007 Wasting police time 1,171 2,525 3,933 3,966 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