# Average Time From Arrest To Sentence For Persistent Young Offenders: January - December 2008

Ministry of Justice Statistics bulletin
 
Published: 12 March 2008

## Executive Summary Background

This Bulletin presents the latest figures on the average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders.

These figures are used to monitor the pledge to halve the average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders in England and Wales from 142 days in 1996 to 71 days.

## Main Points

- The average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders
(PYOs) in England and Wales was 57 days in 2008, down 8 days from 2007.
- The overall average time from arrest to sentence for cases sentenced in
magistrates' courts was 47 days in 2008 - down 10 days from the
previous year.  Cases sentenced in the Crown Court took an average of 206 days from arrest to sentence in 2008, down 1 days from 2007.
- 41 of the 42 Criminal Justice areas had achieved the target of 71 days or
less for 2008 as a whole.  For the fourth quarter of 2007, 39 of the areas had an average of 71 days or less. 

## Conclusion Of The Persistent Young Offenders Pledge

On 10 December 2008, the Secretary of State for Justice announced to Parliament that the Persistent Young Offenders pledge would be discontinued with effect from the end of the 2008 calendar year.  The full text of his statement can be seen on the UK Parliament website at the following link: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200809/cmhansrd/cm081210/w mstext/81210m0002.htm#08121029000071 This monthly bulletin, whose purpose is to monitor the pledge, will therefore cease with effect after this edition covering January - December 2008.

## Arrest-To-Charge Survey

In previous years, the figures presented in this bulletin have been updated retrospectively to take account of results from the annual 'Arrest to Charge'
survey.  This exercise generates estimates (at police force area level) of the average time interval between arrest and charge, for the minority of cases where this information is not recorded on the Police National Computer. This annual survey is normally carried shortly after the completion of a calendar year.  However, in the light of the announced discontinuation of the Persistent Young Offenders pledge, we will not be running an 'Arrest to Charge' survey covering 2008, and we will instead be rolling forward the most recent pre-existing survey results for the year 2007.

During 2008, some 89% of cases had full information on the arrest to charge interval recorded on the Police National Computer.  The survey results are therefore only applied to the remaining 11%.  For this reason, and based on recent years' experience of applying these retrospective updates, we expect the absence of a 2008 survey to have a minimal effect on reported 'pledge' statistics.

## Average Interval From Arrest To Sentence The Bulletin

This bulletin contains statistics on the average time from arrest to sentence for persistent young offenders in England and Wales.

This bulletin presents figures for January - December 2008.  In-year figures for 2008 will be revised as more data is entered onto the Police National Computer –
please see the Notes section for further details.  
The main body of the bulletin is organised in three parts.  This first part contains commentary on the latest figures, the second has detailed tables of results, and the final part comprises of notes on the pledge and methodology used and also includes contact points for enquires.

## England And Wales

The average time between arrest and sentence for persistent young offenders in
2008 was 57 days, down 8 days from 2007.

The average during October-December 2007 was 57 days, 2 days higher than in the previous quarter.  The monthly figure for December 2007 was 58 days, equalling the figure for November. Further figures can be found in table 1 (page 7).  A graph showing monthly progress from January 1997 is shown in figure 1 below

s) bet rrest  ntence ersist oung o rs - E
 and W

$\frac{\phi}{\frac{\pi}{2}}$
 to De
 2008

e (day ween a and se  for p ent
y ffende ngland
ales, y 1997
cember

## Cases Sentenced At Magistrates' Courts

For the year 2008, cases sentenced at magistrates' courts represented 93 per cent of all PYO cases.  As table 2 (page 8) shows, the overall average time from arrest to sentence for these cases was 47 days, down 10 days from 2007. The average for October-December 2008 was 46 days, 1 day higher than in the previous quarter.  The monthly figure for December 2008 was 44 days, down 2
days from November.

## Cases Sentenced At The Crown Court

The average time from arrest to sentence for cases sentenced at the Crown Court in 2008 was 206 days, down 1 day from 2007.  
The average for October-December 2007 was 212 days, 11 days higher than in the previous quarter.  The monthly figure for December 2007 was 236 days, up 14
days from November. Further figures can be found in table 3 (page 9). Cases sentenced at the Crown Court include both time spent in magistrates' courts before committal to the Crown Court and time spent in Crown Court proceedings after committal.  However, it is not possible to provide a breakdown of these periods separately. The average arrest to sentence times for cases sentenced at the Crown Court and magistrates' courts between January 1999 and December 2008 are shown separately in figure 2 below.

days)  rrest  tence  rsiste ng off  by se ng cou ngland ales,  y 1999 time ( from a to sen for pe nt you enders ntenci rt - E  and W Januar

## Criminal Justice System Areas

Figures by criminal justice area are shown in tables 4 and 5 (pages 10 to 13) - the latter for magistrates' court cases only.  
For the year 2008, 41 of the 42 criminal justice areas had an average arrest to sentence time of 71 days or less, compared to 35 areas in 2007.  For the October- December quarter of 2007, 39 areas had an average of 71 days or less, equalling the figure for the previous quarter. The number of areas achieving the 71-day target, on a three-month rolling average basis is shown in figures 3 and 4 below.

young offenders in England and Wales
| Period               | Days        | Number of cases   |
|----------------------|-------------|-------------------|
| 1996                 | 142         | -                 |
| 1997                 | 141         | 16,010            |
| 1998                 | 125         | 18,605            |
| 1999                 | 108         | 21,151            |
| 2000                 |             |                   |
| (1)                  |             |                   |
| 95                   | 23,131      |                   |
| 2001                 | 76          | 25,393            |
| 2002                 | 68          | 26,116            |
| 2003                 |             |                   |
| (1)                  |             |                   |
| 66                   | 26,086      |                   |
| 2004                 | 69          | 26,363            |
| 2005                 | 68          | 27,037            |
| 2006                 | 72          | 28,252            |
| 2007                 | 65          | 30,683            |
| 2008                 | 57          | 28,834            |
| 2008                 |             |                   |
| January - March (r)  |             |                   |
| 61                   | 7,317 (+5)  |                   |
| April - June (r)     |             |                   |
| 57                   | 7,517 (+10) |                   |
| July - September (r) |             |                   |
| 55                   | 7,215 (+10) |                   |
| October - December   |             |                   |
| 57                   | 6,785       |                   |
| 2008                 |             |                   |
| January (r)          |             |                   |
| 62                   | 2,652 (+1)  |                   |
| February (r)         | 63          | 2,445 (+3)        |
| March (r)            |             |                   |
| 57                   | 2,220 (+1)  |                   |
| April  (r)           |             |                   |
| 57                   | 2,675 (+1)  |                   |
| May (r)              | 57          | 2,445 (+5)        |
| June (r)             | 56          | 2,397 (+4)        |
| July (r)             |             |                   |
| 54                   | 2,715 (+4)  |                   |
| August (r)           |             |                   |
| 53                   | 2,199 (+2)  |                   |
| September (r)        |             |                   |
| 59                   | 2,301 (+4)  |                   |
| October (r)          |             |                   |
| 57 (+1)              | 2,570 (+6)  |                   |
| November (r)         |             |                   |
| 58                   | 2,169 (+24) |                   |
| December (r)         |             |                   |
| 58                   | 2,046 (+51) |                   |

Notes: All period figures denoted by - are not applicable. All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. All period figures denoted by (p) are based on provisional data.

(1) Full application of the new methodology (to remove double counting of Arrest to Charge survey time) required the recalculating of time-series figures.  This has resulted in the substantive changes on the previously published numbers.

 

young offenders sentenced at Magistrates' Courts in England and Wales
| Period               | Days                | Number of cases   |
|----------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| 1999                 | 96                  | 18,851            |
| 2000                 |                     |                   |
| (1)                  |                     |                   |
| 83                   | 21,146              |                   |
| 2001                 | 68                  | 23,752            |
| 2002                 |                     |                   |
| (1)                  |                     |                   |
| 63                   | 24,280              |                   |
| 2003                 |                     |                   |
| (1)                  |                     |                   |
| 58                   | 24,481              |                   |
| 2004                 | 61                  | 24,698            |
| 2005                 |                     |                   |
| (1)                  |                     |                   |
| 61                   | 25,498              |                   |
| 2006                 | 63                  | 26,529            |
| 2007                 | 57                  | 28,904            |
| 2008                 | 47                  | 26,900            |
| 2008                 | January - March (r) |                   |
| 50                   | 6,843 (+4)          |                   |
| April - June (r)     |                     |                   |
| 46                   | 7,001 (+10)         |                   |
| July - September (r) |                     |                   |
| 45                   | 6,744 (+10)         |                   |
| October - December   |                     |                   |
| 46                   | 6,312               |                   |
| 2008                 |                     |                   |
| January (r)          |                     |                   |
| 52                   | 2,497 (+1)          |                   |
| February (r)         | 51                  | 2,265 (+2)        |
| March (r)            |                     |                   |
| 47                   | 2,081 (+1)          |                   |
| April (r)            |                     |                   |
| 48                   | 2,510 (+1)          |                   |
| May (r)              | 45                  | 2,264 (+5)        |
| June (r)             | 45                  | 2,227 (+4)        |
| July (r)             |                     |                   |
| 45                   | 2,539 (+4)          |                   |
| August (r)           |                     |                   |
| 43                   | 2,066 (+2)          |                   |
| September (r)        |                     |                   |
| 47 (-1)              | 2,139 (+4)          |                   |
| October (r)          |                     |                   |
| 47                   | 2,393 (+5)          |                   |
| November (r)         |                     |                   |
| 46 (+1)              | 2,017 (+23)         |                   |
| December (r)         |                     |                   |
| 44 (-1)              | 1,902 (+48)         |                   |

Notes: All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. All period figures denoted by (p) are based on provisional data. (1) Full application of the new methodology (to remove double counting of Arrest to Charge survey time) required the recalculating of time-series figures.  This has resulted in the substantive changes on the previously published numbers.

young offenders sentenced at the Crown Court in England and Wales
| Period               | Days     | Number of cases   |
|----------------------|----------|-------------------|
| 1999                 | 212      | 2,271             |
| 2000                 | 218      | 1,976             |
| 2001                 | 196      | 1,632             |
| 2002                 |          |                   |
| (1)                  |          |                   |
| 178                  | 1,829    |                   |
| 2003                 |          |                   |
| (1)                  |          |                   |
| 188                  | 1,590    |                   |
| 2004                 | 186      | 1,653             |
| 2005                 |          |                   |
| (1)                  |          |                   |
| 192                  | 1,526    |                   |
| 2006                 | 214      | 1,704             |
| 2007                 | 206      | 1,769             |
| 2008                 | 206      | 1,904             |
| 2008                 |          |                   |
| January - March (r)  |          |                   |
| 210 (+1)             | 458 (+1) |                   |
| April - June (r)     |          |                   |
| 200                  | 507      |                   |
| July - September (r) |          |                   |
| 201                  | 469      |                   |
| October - December   |          |                   |
| 212                  | 470      |                   |
| 2008                 |          |                   |
| January (r)          |          |                   |
| 222                  | 147      |                   |
| February (r)         | 205      | 177 (+1)          |
| March (r)            |          |                   |
| 202                  | 134      |                   |
| April (r)            |          |                   |
| 201                  | 164      |                   |
| May (r)              | 203      | 178               |
| June (r)             | 196      | 165               |
| July (r)             | 187      | 176               |
| August (r)           |          |                   |
| 208                  | 133      |                   |
| September (r)        |          |                   |
| 210                  | 160      |                   |
| October (r)          |          |                   |
| 185 (+1)             | 176 (+1) |                   |
| November (r)         |          |                   |
| 222                  | 152 (+1) |                   |
| December             |          |                   |
| 236                  | 142      |                   |

Notes: All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. All period figures denoted by (p) are based on provisional data. (1) Full application of the new methodology (to remove double counting of Arrest to Charge survey time) required the recalculating of time-series figures.  This has resulted in the substantive changes on the previously published numbers.

 

Area (1)
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Avon and Somerset
76
70
71
69
72
69
69
Bedfordshire
58
51
69
81
70
75
67
Cambridgeshire
66
52
55
59
74
63
58
Cheshire
58
58
63
72
69
50
43
Cleveland
58
61
67
61
68
65
57
Cumbria
64
57
60
58
54
63
52
Derbyshire
85
68
70
71
73
56
50
Devon and Cornwall
55
52
51
56
74
66
57
Dorset
78
70
53
68
74
69
53
Durham
52
57
67
76
69
58
48
Dyfed-Powys
50
40
37
44
49
46
52
Essex
67
72
58
56
60
52
55
Gloucestershire
56
52
57
64
68
65
66
Greater Manchester
71
74
72
78
74
68
54
Gwent
62
64
67
70
85
74
53
Hampshire
73
64
60
66
59
64
62
Hertfordshire
63
59
71
67
84
66
62
Humberside
85
78
67
55
67
65
54
Kent
64
70
71
70
82
71
64
Lancashire
84
60
68
72
65
62
54
Leicestershire
69
65
66
72
102
76
62
Lincolnshire 
74
70
77
70
92
56
72
Merseyside
65
81
82
75
65
63
53
Metropolitan 
83
77
85
86
85
70
68
Norfolk
72
74
58
59
85
58
47
North Wales
55
53
65
73
67
59
53
North Yorkshire
57
58
66
58
54
59
54
Northamptonshire
80
71
71
93
101
68
55
Northumbria 
63
72
70
66
79
72
47
Nottinghamshire
66
61
81
69
52
65
62
South Wales
66
54
55
55
67
75
54
South Yorkshire
70
67
58
59
65
64
63
Staffordshire
51
51
58
69
80
59
53
Suffolk
74
40
35
39
54
50
45
Surrey
64
78
86
52
73
58
63
Sussex
65
56
67
69
64
63
53
Thames Valley
67
66
73
66
92
72
63
Warwickshire
57
61
66
57
55
55
46
West Mercia
63
57
73
85
75
61
56
West Midlands
65
59
72
64
81
60
53
West Yorkshire
64
75
78
55
58
62
67
Wiltshire
48
62
64
59
78
76
63
British Transport Police
90
106
106
110
114
89
58
England and Wales
68
66
69
68
72
65
57

Note: All Figures denoted by * are based on 40 or fewer cases and should be interpreted with particular care. All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. (1) The area classification is based on the Police Force that investigated the offence and entered the charge or summons details on the Police National Computer.  In a small proportion of cases, prosecution and court proceedings may have been handled in different areas to that which first recorded the cases.

Jul 08 to
Sep 08
Oct 08 to
Dec 08
Area (1)
May 08 to
Jul 08
Jun 08 to
Aug 08
Aug 08 to
Oct 08
Sep 08 to
Nov 08
Avon and Somerset
75
73
69
70
66
63
Bedfordshire
57
51
67
79
87
73
Cambridgeshire
67
58
52
44
50
52
Cheshire
44
38
42
42
49
47
Cleveland
50
55
54
61
58
61
Cumbria
51
51
51
48
55
54
Derbyshire
48
49
49
58
52
54
Devon and Cornwall
45
46
47
54
65
71
Dorset
45
41
48
51
58
49
Durham
42
50
49
54
59
54
Dyfed-Powys
39
49
52
57
71
64
Essex
53
55
59
55
55
55
Gloucestershire
72
65
66
52
56
69
Greater Manchester
51
50
51
53
56
57
Gwent
64
53
52
39
45
36
Hampshire
63
62
63
63
62
59
Hertfordshire
60
57
60
50
54
54
Humberside
48
50
48
51
57
56
Kent
66
61
52
56
60
60
Lancashire
52
52
52
56
58
58
Leicestershire
65
51
50
54
51
50
Lincolnshire 
87
67
74
59
70
62
Merseyside
54
49
47
41
44
46
Metropolitan 
65
63
66
68
64
64
Norfolk
52
41
41
43
45
45
North Wales
51
44
47
53
54
53
North Yorkshire
44
47
56
60
56
56
Northamptonshire
63
57
53
50
51
50
Northumbria 
42
37
42
43
44
42
Nottinghamshire
59
62
60
57
55
54
South Wales
51
51
48
53
49
54
South Yorkshire
52
60
67
67
69
64
Staffordshire
49
52
50
48
48
51
Suffolk
47
43
44
44
45
45
Surrey
48
65
74
78
65
63
Sussex
51
54
59
51
52
44
Thames Valley
61
64
71
67
58
64
Warwickshire
38
42
37
39
44
53
West Mercia
51
53
60
72
78
67
West Midlands
56
52
46
48
56
56
West Yorkshire
64
63
62
66
74
76
Wiltshire
61
63
43
58
59
77
British Transport Police
62
55
50
52
71
63
England and Wales
55
54
55
56
58
57

Note: All Figures denoted by * are based on 40 or fewer cases and should be interpreted with particular care. All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. (1) The area classification is based on the Police Force that investigated the offence and entered the charge or

Area (1)
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Avon and Somerset
68
57
65
62
66
63
61
Bedfordshire
54
47
59
67
58
64
53
Cambridgeshire
53
42
44
49
66
54
46
Cheshire
49
53
58
68
64
43
36
Cleveland
51
53
61
55
61
59
47
Cumbria
55
51
54
53
50
57
48
Derbyshire
78
60
61
63
62
47
42
Devon and Cornwall
50
45
45
49
66
63
47
Dorset
70
64
52
67
69
64
41
Durham
47
51
59
71
61
52
39
Dyfed-Powys
49
38
35
42
44
45
41
Essex
57
64
51
49
51
45
46
Gloucestershire
52
48
52
55
62
62
50
Greater Manchester
59
61
61
69
62
56
44
Gwent
54
60
62
66
80
65
40
Hampshire
68
60
54
61
52
57
53
Hertfordshire
55
52
62
62
79
56
52
Humberside
79
68
60
49
58
56
46
Kent
58
64
63
64
74
63
59
Lancashire
72
53
63
63
56
56
45
Leicestershire
58
55
56
67
99
71
51
Lincolnshire 
69
66
71
67
86
54
58
Merseyside
60
73
78
68
57
53
45
Metropolitan 
73
65
73
74
69
57
52
Norfolk
63
63
52
56
81
50
36
North Wales
53
51
62
72
61
55
46
North Yorkshire
53
54
61
50
51
52
46
Northamptonshire
69
65
68
87
98
60
51
Northumbria 
59
68
66
63
72
68
40
Nottinghamshire
60
54
74
61
46
56
55
South Wales
62
50
50
50
62
66
45
South Yorkshire
63
58
50
53
58
57
51
Staffordshire
47
46
51
58
74
56
44
Suffolk
63
35
30
35
50
41
37
Surrey
57
70
77
46
64
49
49
Sussex
60
50
62
66
59
54
42
Thames Valley
58
56
63
60
80
58
46
Warwickshire
51
57
56
50
49
52
36
West Mercia
57
50
67
79
67
52
49
West Midlands
58
51
61
55
65
47
39
West Yorkshire
57
67
70
48
53
55
53
Wiltshire
43
60
60
54
75
67
56
British Transport Police
73
86
85
98
88
74
46
England and Wales
61
58
61
60
63
56
47

Note: All Figures denoted by * are based on 40 or fewer cases and should be interpreted with particular care. All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. (1) The area classification is based on the Police Force that investigated the offence and entered the charge or summons details on the Police National Computer.  In a small proportion of cases, prosecution and court proceedings may have been handled in different areas to that which first recorded the cases.

Jul 08 to
Sep 08
Oct 08 to
Dec 08
Area (1)
May 08 to
Jul 08
Jun 08 to
Aug 08
Aug 08 to
Oct 08
Sep 08 to
Nov 08
Avon and Somerset
69
66
61
61
59
53
Bedfordshire
43
41
48
57
61
58
Cambridgeshire
57
50
40
33
33
40
Cheshire
38
33
36
35
38
34
Cleveland
42
47
49
52
50
45
Cumbria
48
48
48
42
45
43
Derbyshire
38
41
44
48
44
44
Devon and Cornwall
42
43
45
49
49
50
Dorset
33
33
35
40
44
42
Durham
33
39
45
44
49
42
Dyfed-Powys
39
42
45
46
42
36
Essex
44
49
51
48
46
45
Gloucestershire
50
43
45
45
49
54
Greater Manchester
44
44
44
42
44
43
Gwent
51
43
43
33
36
27
Hampshire
51
52
51
53
54
50
Hertfordshire
54
51
57
49
52
46
Humberside
41
41
41
47
51
50
Kent
57
52
46
52
56
55
Lancashire
43
41
42
47
48
49
Leicestershire
56
43
39
38
39
39
Lincolnshire 
57
55
68
59
70
61
Merseyside
45
44
42
39
39
41
Metropolitan 
48
47
49
51
50
48
Norfolk
32
33
36
38
37
36
North Wales
45
38
42
47
46
47
North Yorkshire
40
39
43
44
43
42
Northamptonshire
61
57
51
46
48
48
Northumbria 
35
34
37
38
37
37
Nottinghamshire
52
54
51
48
48
47
South Wales
42
40
39
43
42
45
South Yorkshire
45
46
49
52
51
47
Staffordshire
49
51
48
42
38
38
Suffolk
35
32
34
40
38
34
Surrey
40
46
54
53
52
52
Sussex
41
41
43
38
40
33
Thames Valley
44
40
43
43
44
44
Warwickshire
34
37
32
37
42
44
West Mercia
49
49
47
50
56
56
West Midlands
39
36
37
37
39
40
West Yorkshire
45
45
47
55
63
64
Wiltshire
61
63
43
53
54
70
British Transport Police
47
47
41
44
51
48
England and Wales
45
44
45
46
47
46

Note: All Figures denoted by * are based on 40 or fewer cases and should be interpreted with particular care. All period figures denoted by (r) are based on revised data and replace those provided in the last bulletin in the series. (1) The area classification is based on the Police Force that investigated the offence and entered the charge or summons details on the Police National Computer.  In a small proportion of cases, prosecution and court proceedings may have been handled in different areas to that which first recorded the cases.

## Notes To The Pledge The Pledge

1. The original Government pledge was to halve the time it takes to deal with
persistent young offenders from arrest to sentence in England and Wales from
142 days in 1996 to 71 days by 2002.  The timely process of these offenders at the target level remains an ongoing commitment.  
2. Overall responsibility for the pledge is shared jointly by all Criminal Justice
System departments and agencies.  However, the agency with the lead
responsibility for overseeing delivery nationally is the Office for Criminal
Justice Reform.   
3. From 2005, the pledge has been applied to all Criminal Justice System areas,
who are required to achieve the compliance target on a consistent basis.  The Local Criminal Justice Boards are responsible for delivery in the local areas.  
4. Since 1997, this National Statistics bulletin published by the Ministry of Justice
has presented national and local performance against the target.   

## Notes To The Data And Methodology Data Sources

5. The raw data used to identify persistent young offenders, and to calculate the
average time interval from arrest to sentence across relevant cases are:  
- the Police National Computer, which is the police's central management
information database.  The source provides a full collection of cases, and
all the variables needed to determine the offenders classification and to contribute to the calculation of performance against the target; and  
- the annual Arrest to Charge survey, which is an annual sample survey
designed to enable the calculation of robust representative estimates of subsidiary time from the initial to the process stage.  
Please see the definitional and calculation rules for details on data usage.  

## Paths Through The System

6. Offenders can take two paths through the Criminal Justice System:
- one where they are arrested and subsequently processed by the police,
then listed to appear in court for however many hearings are necessary
until the session where the sentence is passed on them; and  
- another where they are reported and information is laid against them by the
police, then they are summoned to appear in court for however many
hearings until the final session where the sentence is passed on them.  

## Definitional Rules

7. The data used to identify whether a defendant found guilty of an offence is a
persistent young offender comes from the Police National Computer.  Under
the counting rules such an offender is: - a young person who is aged 10 to 17 at the point of process, and 18 or
under at the start of the calendar year in which they are sentenced guilty of
an offence;  
- who has been sentenced guilty of offences by any criminal court in the
United Kingdom on three or more separate occasions in the past for one or more recordable offences on each of the occasions; and  
- within 3 years of the last of these sentencing occasion is subsequently
arrested and then found guilty of at least one more recordable offence.  
Under this definition, it is possible for young adults aged 18 and 19 years at sentence, but not those aged 20 years or over, to fall in the category.  

## Calculation Rules

8. The full data used to calculate the overall interval between the initial stage
(arrest or reporting / information laid) and the sentence stage for the cases of persistent young offenders comes from the Police National Computer in the
main.   
9. However, some additional data from the annual Arrest to Charge survey is
used in the calculations for an ever-decreasing number of cases.  For this
minority of cases, survey results are used as proxy for time from the initial to process (charge or summons) stage, where that time is not recorded on the main data source.  This time is then added to the usually larger interval from process to sentence stage derived from the aforementioned source.  
10. The overall interval is commonly known as the average time from arrest to
sentence, owing to the fact the vast majority of cases pass through that path. It can essentially be a national, sentencing court type jurisdiction or local area average of the intervals of all relevant cases in a given period.   

## Additional Notes National Statistics

11. 
This is a National Statistics publication produced by the Ministry of Justice.
National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the
National Statistics Code of Practice.  They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs.  They are produced free from any political interference.

## The Bulletin

12. 
The Ministry of Justice has produced the figures in this bulletin with assistance
from the data source owner in the National Policing Improvement Agency.  
13. 
The figures presented in this bulletin are obtained from separate monitoring exercises run on successive monthly data extractions from the Police National
Computer from 1997. 
14. 
In accordance with the counting rules, the bulletin covers all cases sentenced
in magistrates' courts and the Crown Court in England and Wales that are recorded on the Police National Computer.

## The Definition

15. 
A persistent young offender was first defined in the inter-departmental circular
'Tackling delays in the Youth Justice System' issued on 15 October 1997:
"A persistent young offender is a young person aged 10-17 who has been sentenced by any criminal court in the UK on three or more separate occasions for one or more recordable offence, and within three years of the last sentencing occasion is subsequently arrested or has an information laid against them for a further recordable offence."

16. 
Individuals can fall within this definition at the date of sentence.  This happens
where offenders are brought into the group by virtue of one or more offences committed after but dealt with before the fourth sentencing occasion. Essentially, this rearranges the usual order of counting occasions, so that offences which would not be expected to fall on the final occasion do so; with the longest lasting case then contributing to the arrest to sentence averages.

## The Calculations

17. 
In the instance where an offender is sentenced for more than one offence on
the fourth sentencing occasion, only the longest running of these cases will contribute to the arrest to sentence averages.

## The Extraction

18. 
All cases in the consecutive counting of sentencing occasions are extracted
from the source.  However, some of them are then excluded from the monitoring exercise because the offences were:
- committed outside the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and the Isle of
Man;  
- handled by a police force outside England and Wales, other than cases
handled by the British Transport Police;  
- proceeded with in courts outside England and Wales;  
- resulted in no convictions being brought against the offender, for example
where individuals were acquitted or cases against them discounted; and 
- breaches of previous sentence order, for example probation orders.  
However, from 1 January 2005 breaches of anti-social behaviour orders have been included in the exercise.  

## The Amended Methodology

19. 
From May 2006, all arrest to sentence figures have been calculated using an
amended methodology.  This new approach has been applied to remove the
double counting of Arrest to Charge time for offences processed at arrest, or else that where overall time is recorded on the Police National Computer.  
20. 
The new methodology has been retrospectively applied to backdated periods,
so that all time-series are consistent within this bulletin and others released
since the change.  However, changes to statistics published prior to May 2006 may be partly or wholly due to this amendment and are not comparable.  

## The Provisional Statistics

21. 
From April 2007, more up to date statistics have been made available in this
bulletin.  The introduction of 2 months in arrears statistics has augmented the headline 3 month in arrears figures.
22. 
These provisional statistics were introduced after a longitudinal study of data
collections from the Police National Computer, which revealed that from January 2005 around 95% of records are consistently inputted 2 months in arrears in England and Wales.  
23. 
The collection of more data earlier has meant that 2 months in arrears
statistics have become closer to the published National Statistics for England
and Wales and for cases heard in magistrates' courts.  These provisional statistics are adjusted in the order reflect observed historical and seasonal fluctuations.  

## The Survey

24. 
The Arrest to Charge survey collects arrest or information laid dates in March
for a representative sample of cases for the previous calendar year. 
25. 
Respondents in each of the police constabularies and the British Transport
Police complete the survey forms sent by the Ministry of Justice.  Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary champions the survey, and helps to ensure its prompt completion.  
26. 
In the instance where survey forms contain offenders with more than one
offence sentenced on a single occasion, only the longest running of these
cases will contribute to the survey results.
27. 
The previous year's survey estimates are used to calculate in-year arrest to sentence figures until the current survey results are available.  

## Symbols And Conventions

The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin:

-
Not applicable
0
Nil
..
Not available
(r)
Revised data
(p)
Provisional data

## Contact Points For Further Information

Current and previous editions of this publication are available for download at: www.justice.gov.uk/publications/averagetimearresttosentencepyo.htm This bulletin, together with other information about delay in persistent young offender cases can also be found on the Youth Justice Board's reducing delays internet site at: www.yjb.gov.uk/en-gb/practitioners/MonitoringPerformance/ReducingDelays Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:
Press Office Ministry of Justice 10th Floor 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ Tel: 020 3334 3536 Email: press.office@justice.gsi.gov.uk Other enquires about the statistics and requests for additional copies of this bulletin should be directed to:
Trushar Pandya Economics and Statistics Division Ministry of Justice 8.02, 8th Floor 102 Petty France London SW1H 9AJ
Tel: 020 3334 3095 Email: trushar.pandya@justice.gsi.gov.uk General enquires about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be emailed to: statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk Other National Statistics publications and general information about the official statistics system in the UK are available from: www.statistics.gov.uk statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk