Prison Sentences Chris Huhne To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were sentenced to a prison term in each year since 1997; and how many of those people received sentences of (a) less than three months, (b) three to six months, (c) six to 12 months and (d) over one year. Claire Ward The requested information is shown in the tables. The information is taken from Sentencing Statistics 2008, table 2.3, available via the following link: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Number and percentage of persons given immediate custody and sentence length| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |All offences |1997|1998|1999|2000|2001|2002| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Total persons sentenced |1,373,378|1,456,776|1,397,786|1,414,188|1,338,522|1,410,504| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Number given immediate custody |93,841|100,566|105,323|106,187|106,273|111,607| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Percentage given immediate custody |6.8|6.9|7.5|7.5|7.9|7.9| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Up to and including three months |35,054|39,427|43,059|41,585|40,884|42,542| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Over three months and up to and including six months |22,217|24,314|26,203|28,514|29,030|29,419| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Over six months and less than 12 months |5,808|5,963|5,573|6,419|6,337|6,590| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |12 months |5,641|5,837|5,677|5,316|5,019|5,130| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |Over 12 months1 |25,121|25,025|24,811|24,353|25,003|27,926| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |All offences |2003 |2004 |2005 |2006 |2007 |2008 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Total persons sentenced |1,479,812|1,536,826|1,473,275|1,412,940|1,406,788|1,353,937| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Number given immediate custody |107,670 |106,322 |101,236 |96,017 |95,206 |99,525 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Percentage given immediate custody |7.3 |6.9 |6.9 |6.8 |6.8 |7.4 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Up to and including three months |40,754 |39,707 |37,100 |34,712 |34,427 |35,747 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Over three months and up to and including six months |29,498 |28,492 |26,756 |24,422 |23,109 |22,329 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Over six months and less than 12 months |6,038 |6,346 |6,462 |6,401 |6,779 |6,920 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |12 months |4,800 |4,811 |5,001 |4,775 |5,059 |5,652 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Over 12 months1 |26,580 |26,966 |25,917 |25,707 |25,832 |28,877 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1 Includes life and indeterminate sentences.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.3. This data has been taken from the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings database.4. This data is presented on the principal offence basis. Where an offender has been sentenced for more than one offence the principal offence is the one for which the heaviest sentence was imposed.5. 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.Source:Justice Statistics Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice| | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------