Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 2011
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Women and the Criminal Justice System. Statistics produced by a range of agencies relating to the experience of women within the criminal justice system.

Statistics on Women and the 
Criminal Justice System 2011 
A Ministry of Justice publication under 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 
 
 
 
November 2012 
 
 

 
 
 

Statist 
 
 
Statistics on Women and 
the Criminal Justice System 2011 
A Ministry of Justice publication under 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 
 


Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Contents 
Acknowledgements 
3 
Criminal Justice Act 1991 – Section 95 
4 
List of tables and figures in the publication 
5 
Summary 
8 
Chapter 1 – Introduction 
15 
Chapter 2 – Women as victims of crime 
18 
Chapter 3 – Women as suspects 
32 
Chapter 4 – Women as defendants 
43 
Chapter 5 – Women as offenders: under supervision or in custody 
77 
Chapter 6 – Women as staff and practitioners in the  
                    Criminal Justice System 
101 
Bibliography 
116 
Appendix A – Glossary 
121 
Appendix B – Data sources 
134 
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Acknowledgements 
Acknowledgement is made of the contributions from Louise Moore, Miguel 
Marques dos Santos, Catherine Piper, David Ryan Mills, Mandeep Samra and 
Jenny Cann. We are also grateful for the input received from colleagues in the 
Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and agencies across the Criminal Justice 
System. 
The authors would like to express their thanks to members of the Women’s 
Independent Advisory Group for their advice during the preparation of this 
report. 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Criminal Justice Act 1991 – Section 95 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 states that: 
“The Secretary of State shall in each year publish such information as he 
considers expedient for the purpose… of facilitating the performance of 
those engaged in the administration of justice to avoid discriminating 
against any persons on the ground of race or sex or any other improper 
ground.” 
This report brings together statistical information on the representation of 
males and females as victims, suspects, defendants, and offenders within the 
Criminal Justice System and as practitioners/staff within criminal justice 
agencies. 
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and 
complete. However, these data have been extracted from large administrative 
data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. As a 
consequence, care should be taken to ensure the limitations of these data are 
taken into account. 
The basic statistical information in this document should be considered in 
conjunction with the parent statistical publications and research reports that 
are now available on related issues. Most of these reports are now published 
on websites such as the Home Office website (www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-
us/), the Office for National Statistics website 
(www.statistics.gov.uk/hub/crime-justice/index.html), and the Ministry of 
Justice website (www.justice.gov.uk). 
The data presented is largely from published government reports, but on 
occasion has been supplied by criminal justice agency colleagues. It is 
presented either in terms of calendar years, financial years or other relevant 
time periods, reflecting the reporting cycles and data collection of the agencies 
contributing information for this publication. For further technical data and 
quality statements see appendices here and in the parent publications. 
If you have any feedback, questions or requests for further information 
about this statistical bulletin, please direct them to the appropriate 
contact given at the end of this report. 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
List of tables and figures in the publication 
Figure A: 
Females and males administered with out of court disposals 
and dealt with at magistrates’ court (MC) and the Crown Court 
(CC), for all offences, England and Wales 2011 
Table 2.01: 
Percentage of interviewed adults aged 16 and over 
experiencing victimisation, by gender and crime type, 2011/12 
CSEW 
Figure 2.01: 
Prevalence of intimate violence in the last year among adults 
aged 16 to 59, 2011/12 CSEW 
Figure 2.02: 
Percentage of interviewed children aged 10-15 experiencing 
victimisation by gender and crime type, 2011/12 CSEW 
Table 2.02: 
Percentage of principal suspects known and unknown to the 
victim, by gender of victim, 2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 2.03:  
Relationship of victim to principal suspect (for cases where the 
principal suspect was known to the victim), 2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 2.04: 
Factors associated and not associated with being a victim of 
violence for men and women, 2011/12 CSEW 
Table 3.01: 
Number of arrests of juveniles and adults by gender,  
2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 3.02: 
Percentage of overall arrests by offence group and gender, 
2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 3.03: 
Percentage of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence group, 
by gender, 2010/11 
Table 4.01: 
Numbers of out of court disposals and court proceedings by 
gender, 2007-2011 
Table 4.02: 
Out of court disposals issued to males and females, 2007-2011 
Table 4.03: 
Percentage of final outcomes for proceedings of individuals 
tried at the Crown Court and held on remand in custody, by 
gender, 2007-2011 
Figure 4.01: 
Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, 2011 
Table 4.04a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, by gender, 2007-2011 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 4.04b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
indictable offences, by gender, 2007-2011 
Figure 4.02: 
Percentage of defendants sentenced for indictable offences at 
all courts, by gender and offence group, 2011 
Table 4.04c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary offences (excluding motoring), by gender, 2007-2011 
Table 4.04d: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary motoring, by gender, 2007-2011 
Table 4.05a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
shoplifting, by gender, 2011 
Table 4.05b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for ABH, by 
gender, 2011 
Table 4.05c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
possession of a Class A drug, by gender, 2011 
Table 4.06: 
Concordance between sentences proposed and given where a 
Pre-sentence report (PSR) was written, by gender, 2011 
Table 4.07: 
Average Custodial Sentence Length in months by offence 
group (indictable offences), 2007-2011 
Table 4.08: 
Custodial sentence length for females and males found guilty of 
a criminal offence, 2007-2011 
Table 5.01: 
Persons supervised by Probation Service under community 
orders and Suspended Sentence Orders by length of order and 
gender, 31 December 2007-2011 
Figure 5.01: 
Offenders supervised under community orders and Suspended 
Sentence Orders by known supervision tier and gender, 31 
December 2011 
Table 5.02: 
Total prison population by nationality and gender, as at 30 June 
2007-2011 
Table 5.03: 
Population in prison establishments under immediate custodial 
sentence by gender, as at 30 June 2007-2011 
Table 5.04: 
Population in prison under immediate custody by sentence 
length and gender, as at 30 June 2007-2011 
Table 5.05: 
Population in prison under immediate custody by offence type 
and gender, as at 30 June 2007-2011 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 5.06: 
Proportion of offenders who re-offend by gender, re-offending 
cohorts 2006-2010 
Table 5.07: 
Offences punished per 100 prisoners in prison establishments 
by type of offence and gender, 2007-2011 
Table 5.08: 
Self-harm in prison establishments, 2007-2011 
Table 5.09: 
Assaults in prison establishments, summary statistics, 2007-
2011 
Table 6.01: 
Police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by gender, as at 31 
March 2008-2012 
Table 6.02: 
Senior police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by gender, 
as at 31 March 2008-2012 
Table 6.03: 
Crown Prosecution Service Staff by gender, as at 31 December 
2007-2011 
Table 6.04: 
Crown Prosecution Service Senior Civil Servants (or 
equivalent) by gender, as at 31 December 2007-2011 
Table 6.05: 
Magistracy by gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
Table 6.06: 
Ministry of Justice Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
Table 6.07: 
Senior Civil Servants working at the Ministry of Justice by 
gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
Table 6.08: 
NOMS HQ and HMPS Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2008-
2012 
Table 6.09:  
NOMS Senior Civil Servants by gender, as at 31 March 2008-
2012 
Table 6.10: 
Probation Service Staff by gender, as at 31 December 2009-
2011 
Table 6.11:  
Senior Probation Service Staff by gender, as at 31 December 
2009-2011 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Summary 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 requires the Government to 
publish statistical data to assess whether any discrimination exists in how the 
Criminal Justice System (CJS) treats people based on their gender. 
Consequently, this report provides information about how women and men 
were represented in the CJS in England and Wales in the most recent year for 
which data were available, and, wherever possible, in the preceding four 
years. 
The contents of the report will be of interest to government policy makers, the 
agencies that comprise the CJS, and others who want to understand better 
whether and how experiences of the CJS differ by gender. The data presented 
highlight areas where there are differences and where practitioners and others 
may wish to undertake more in-depth analysis. The identification of differences 
should not be equated with discrimination, however, as there are many 
reasons why apparent disparities may exist. 
The most recent mid-year population estimates for 2011 showed that, of the 
total 49,509,747 population of England and Wales aged over 10 years, 
females comprised 51 per cent and males 49 per cent.1 
Figure A below shows flows through the CJS for all males and females 
administered out of court disposals and dealt with at magistrates’ and Crown 
Court in 2011. These figures exclude those cases where gender was not 
stated. 
 
 
                                                
1 These proportions are based on the 2011 Annual Mid-year Population Estimates for England 
and Wales (available: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-
england-and-wales/mid-2011--2011-census-based-/stb---mid-2011-census-based-population-
estimates-for-england-and-wales.html) 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Figure A: Females and males administered with out of court disposals 
and dealt with at magistrates' court (MC) and the Crown Court (CC), for 
all offences, England and Wales, 2011(1) 
Females
Males
Females
Males
54,809
176,674
30,272
97,258
Females
Males
351,150
1,139,135
Females
Males
Females
Males
289,093
876,663
11,232
85,859
Males
Females
Males
19,278
8,962
72,476
Females
Males
Females
Males
286,953
857,385
10,985
90,997
Fined
Community 
sentence
Custody
Other 
disposal
Fined
Community 
sentence
Suspended 
sentence
Other 
disposal
Females:
Females:
Females:
Females:
Females:
Females:
Females:
Females:
228,027
25,788
4,319
24,974
173
2,688
3,507
890
Males:
Males:
Males:
Males:
Males:
Males:
Males:
Males:
572,672
129,189
41,390
91,974
1,683
14,402
18,062
3,914
Females
Males
Females
Males
8,046
94,326
10,985
90,997
Females
Males
Females
Males
2.3
2.6
19.9
25.1
(4) Average custodial sentence length is presented in months. It excludes life and indeterminate custodial sentences.
Source: Ministry of Justice - Justice Statistics Analytical Services
Committed for sentence to CC
Found guilty at CC
Out of 
court 
disposals
Cautioned(2)(3)
Penalty Notices for Disorder
Defendants proceeded against at MC
Court proceedings
(1) These figures are based on known 'females' and 'males'.  Following the introduction of the Libra case management system during 2008, offenders at 
magistrates' courts can now be recorded as sex 'Not Stated'.  These figures have been excluded from this table.
2,140
Females
Males:
Females:
3,845
Found guilty at MC
Committed for trial to CC
Sentenced by CC
Suspended 
sentence
Average custodial sentence length at 
magistrates' courts(4)
Average custodial sentence length at the 
Crown Court(4)
Sentenced by magistrates
Custody
Females:
3,727
(2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of cautions for persons under 18 and replaced 
them with reprimands and warnings.  These figures are included in the totals.
(3) From 2011 all cautions data are sourced centrally from the Police National Computer, previously a separate return from each police force was 
collected monthly.
Males:
52,936
Total sentenced to custodial sentences
Total sentenced to community sentences
22,160
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Specific findings 
Women as victims of crime (Chapter 2) 
The most recent data show differences in the level and types of victimisation 
between females and males and, for homicides, in the relationship between 
victims and offenders.  
Risks of violence 
The 2011/12 CSEW estimated three in every 100 adults were a victim of 
violent crime. A smaller proportion of women than men interviewed reported 
being victims of violence (two per cent versus four per cent).   
Women completing the main CSEW who reported being a victim of violence 
were most commonly victimised by an acquaintance (0.8 per cent of those 
interviewed in 2011/12), while men most commonly experienced stranger 
violence (1.8 per cent of those interviewed in 2011/12). 
The CSEW self-completion module showed that a greater proportion of 
women (seven per cent) interviewed in 2011/12 reported being victims of 
intimate violence (partner or family non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual 
assault or stalking) than men (five per cent). 
Findings from the child component of the 2011/12 CSEW showed that, in the 
12 months prior to interview, eight per cent of respondents had been victims of 
violence. As for adults, a smaller proportion of girls reported being victims of 
violence than boys (five per cent versus 11 per cent).  
Homicides 
Data from the Homicide Index showed that fewer females (201) than males 
(435) were victims of homicide in 2010/11. As in the previous four years, a 
greater proportion of female victims than male victims knew the principal 
suspect (78 per cent and 57 per cent respectively in 2010/11). 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Women as suspects (Chapter 3) 
Between 2006/07 and 2010/11, there was an eight per cent reduction in the 
number of arrests by police forces in England and Wales (from 1,482,156 to 
1,360,451). This comprised of a 13 per cent decrease in arrests of females 
and a seven per cent decrease in arrests of males. Overall, fewer than one in 
five arrests recorded by the police in 2010/11 and in the preceding four years 
involved females.  
The most common offence group for which both all males and all females 
were arrested during the five year period was violence against the person (34 
per cent of females and 31 per cent of males arrested in 2010/11).  
Women as defendants (Chapter 4) 
Data on out of court disposals and court proceedings showed some 
differences in the types of disposals issued to males and females, and also in 
sentence lengths. These differences may relate to a range of factors including 
variations in the types of offences committed and the plea entered. 
Out of court disposals 
In 2011, females accounted for 24 per cent of the 127,530 PNDs and 24 per 
cent of the 231,483 cautions administered to individuals of known gender. 
These proportions showed a slight change over the five year period, with 
females accounting for a slightly lower proportion of all PNDs (22 per cent), 
and a slightly higher proportion of all cautions (26 per cent) in 2007. 
There were differences in the most common offence types for which males 
and females were issued out of court disposals. In 2011, Retail theft (under 
£200) was the most common reason for which females were issued a PND 
(54 per cent of PNDs issued to females), while drunk and disorderly was the 
most common reason for males (31 per cent of PNDs issued to males). Theft 
and handling stolen goods was the most common indictable offence group for 
which females were issued a caution in 2011 (28 per cent of all females 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
cautioned); while, for males, it was drug offences (21 per cent of all males 
cautioned). 
Sentencing 
Overall, 1,246,320 persons of known gender who were previously found guilty 
were sentenced at all courts in 2011. As for out of court disposals, 24 per cent 
of those sentenced were females and 76 per cent were males. Theft and 
handling stolen goods (which includes shoplifting) was the most common 
indictable offence group for which both females and males were sentenced at 
all courts between 2007 and 2011 (52 per cent of females and 33 per cent of 
males sentenced for indictable offences in 2011). 
Overall, a higher proportion of males than females were sentenced to 
immediate custody in 2011 (10 per cent versus three per cent), and females 
more commonly received a fine (77 per cent of all females sentenced versus 
61 per cent of all males). These patterns were also consistent in each of the 
four preceding years. 
The average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for all indictable offences was 
consistently higher for males than for females between 2007 and 2011. In 
2011, the ACSL for indictable offences was 17.7 months for males compared 
to 11.6 months for females.  
The only indictable offence group for which females consistently received a 
higher ACSL than males between 2007 and 2011 was criminal damage (in 
2011, 25.8 months for females versus 18.2 months for males). 
In 2011, a greater proportion of females sentenced for an indictable offence 
had no previous cautions or convictions than males (15 per cent compared 
with nine per cent), and a greater proportion of males sentenced for an 
indictable offence in 2011 had 15 or more previous convictions or cautions 
than females (32 per cent compared with 25 per cent). Between 2007 and 
2011, greater percentages of both male offenders sentenced for the first time 
for indictable offences and male offenders with 15 or more previous 
convictions received immediate custody (27 per cent and 39 per cent in 2011 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
respectively) than females (17 per cent of females sentenced for the first time 
for indictable offences received immediate custody and 29 per cent of those 
with 15 or more previous offences). 
Women as offenders (Chapter 5) 
Across the five year period, there were substantially fewer women than men 
both under supervision and in prison custody. A greater proportion of women 
were also serving shorter sentences than men both in the community and in 
prison. Again, this is likely to be attributable to a range of factors including 
differences in the offence types committed by men and women.  
A higher proportion of women in custody self-harmed than men, while the 
proportion of men and women amongst deaths in custody was equivalent to 
that in the prison population as a whole.  
Under supervision 
Women accounted for 15 per cent of the 125,934 offenders under supervision 
in the community as a result of community and Suspended Sentence Orders 
(the two most common types of community sentence) in 2011, and between 
14-15 per cent in each of the preceding four years. Overall, 14 per cent of the 
total 12,925 women supervised under a community order in 2011 were 
supervised for less than one year compared to seven per cent of men. 
In prison 
Women accounted for five per cent of the 85,374 offenders comprising the 
total prison population on 30 June 2011, which is consistent with the four 
preceding years. A greater proportion of women in prison under immediate 
custodial sentence were serving sentences of twelve months or less (21 per 
cent compared to 10 per cent of men) or six months or less than men (15 per 
cent compared to seven per cent).   
In 2011, there were 24,648 incidents of self-harm in prisons. While the 2011 
rate of 2,104 incidents per 1,000 female prisoners is the lowest in the five year 
reporting period, it remains over 10 times higher than that for men (194 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
incidents per 1,000 male prisoners). Repetitive self-harmers impact upon this 
comparison, as women who self-harmed in 2011 did so more often than men 
(an average of 7.1 incidents compared to 2.8 incidents for each individual self-
harming). 
In 2011, there were 57 self-inflicted deaths in prison custody, comprising 55 
men and 2 women. Across the five-year period, the proportion of deaths in 
custody involving men and women reflected the representation of men and 
women in the prison population (of the 329 self-inflicted deaths in prison 
custody between 2007 and 2011, 95 per cent involved men and five per cent 
(or 15) involved women).  
Women as staff and practitioners in the CJS (Chapter 6) 
The representation of women varied substantially across CJS agencies. Of 
those agencies compared, the Ministry of Justice (68 per cent of staff), and the 
Probation Service (71 per cent) had the greatest proportions of female staff, 
while the Police Service (27 per cent) and the Judiciary had the lowest (23 per 
cent). 
Women were less well represented in senior positions within CJS agencies 
than overall. In the latest year for which data were available, women 
represented 15 per cent of senior police officers and 27 per cent of all officers; 
41 per cent of senior CPS staff compared to 66 per cent of all CPS staff; 43 
per cent of senior civil servants in the Ministry of Justice and 68 per cent of all 
Ministry of Justice Staff; and 18 per cent of senior civil servants in the National 
Offender Management Service (NOMS) versus 36 per cent of all NOMS staff. 
In the last five years, there have been slight increases in the proportion of 
police officer posts occupied by women, and the proportion of women in the 
judiciary.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Chapter 1 – Introduction 
Following further validation, some corrections have been made to the Judges 
section of Chapter 6. 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 states that: 
‘The Secretary of State shall in each year publish such information as he 
considers expedient for the purpose… of facilitating the performance of those 
engaged in the administration of justice to avoid discriminating against any 
persons on the ground of race or sex or any other improper ground…’ 
Documents specifically fulfilling this requirement have been published since 
1992, in the form of statistical information as detailed below. Other 
government papers containing information on women in the justice system 
have also been published this year including: several Ministry of Justice 
research reports outlining a range of findings from a survey of prisoners 
(undertaken as part of a survey of adult prisoners sentenced to between one 
month and four years in prison in England and Wales in 2005 and 2006),2 and 
the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Equalities report.3 The 
Home Office has also published an updated version of the violence against 
women and girls action plan (first published in 2011).4 
This current report, as with previous editions, brings together statistical 
information on the representation of men and women as victims, suspects, 
defendants and offenders within the Criminal Justice System. It also provides 
details of employees within the criminal justice agencies. The publication aims 
to help practitioners, policy makers, academics and members of the public 
                                                
2 See Ministry of Justice (2012). Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) 
Survey. http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/results-from-the-
surveying-prisoner-crime-reduction-spcr-survey 
3 See National Offender Management Service (2012). Equalities Annual Report 2011/12. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/noms/2012/noms-equalities-annual-report-11-
12.pdf?type=Finjan-Download&slot=00000129&id=00000928&location=0A640212 
4 Home Office (2011). Call to End Violence Against Women and Girls: Action Plan. 
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/crime/call-end-violence-women-girls/vawg-action-
plan 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
understand trends in the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales, how 
these vary between men and women, and over time. 
The age groups covered by data sources drawn on in this report vary, which is 
reflected in the terminology employed.  Where statistics relate to all ages (i.e. 
juveniles and adults), the terms ‘females’ and ‘males’ have been employed. 
Where data sources cover those aged over 15 (e.g. those in prison), 16 (e.g. 
the Crime Survey for England and Wales) or 18 years only (e.g. those under 
probation supervision), ‘women’ and ‘men’ have been used.  
Following the consultation in 2010 on improvements to the range of statistics 
published by the Ministry of Justice, the Chief Statistician announced that, in 
future, this publication would focus on drawing together a compendium of 
previously published statistics, and would be produced biennially.5 This 
development complements arrangements made at the same time for all 
Ministry of Justice and relevant Home Office publications to release annual 
data on gender. This is the first biennial compendium of Statistics on Women 
and the Criminal Justice System and will be followed next year by its sister 
publication Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System. 
Those familiar with previous editions of this publication will find several 
additions presented in this most recent report. Chapter 4 presents a range of 
analysis on sentencing, examining differences between all males and females, 
and males and females in different age groups. 
Chapter 5 draws on the new measure of re-offending, developed following 
feedback received in response to the 2010 consultation on improving Ministry 
of Justice statistics.  
Included for the first time in the staff and practitioners chapter (Chapter 6) are 
data on leavers and joiners for some of the agencies. 
                                                
5 See Ministry of Justice (2011). Consultation on improvements to Ministry of Justice Statistics: 
Response to Consultation CP(R), 15/10, 17 March 2011, Ministry of Justice. 
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20111121205348/http://www.justice.gov.uk/consultati
ons/565.htm 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Two items of data have been excluded from Statistics on Women and the 
Criminal Justice System for the first time. Firstly, information in relation to the 
experience of victims is no longer included in Chapter 2, as the survey from 
which this data was drawn has been discontinued (the Witness and Victim 
Survey, or WAVES). Secondly, data on prison receptions has been excluded 
as a result of data collection issues following the roll-out of a new case 
management system for prisons (Prison-NOMIS) in May 2009.  
Raw data on the issues covered in this report are available for the two most 
recent years in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany the volume. 
Occasional papers 
In addition to this report, the Ministry of Justice is looking at introducing 
occasional papers to explore in more depth those areas where differences 
have been identified by gender.  
The Ministry of Justice would welcome feedback on whether these papers 
would be valuable and on any topics of interest to users of this report (email: 
xxx@xxx.xx). 
Revisions 
Data included in this report have been extracted from large administrative data 
systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. Such 
statistics are by their nature subject to error and uncertainty. Initial estimates 
are often systematically amended to reflect more accurate and complete 
information provided by data suppliers at some later point. As a consequence, 
care must be taken when using the statistics presented in this report to ensure 
the inevitable limitations of these data are taken into account.  
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Chapter 2 – Women as victims of crime 
This chapter explores the nature, extent and risks of victimisation as reported 
in the 2011/12 Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW),6 and police 
recorded crime statistics on homicide (murder, manslaughter or infanticide) 
based on the 2010/11 Homicide Index (the latest available).7 Where possible, 
trends are also considered for the preceding four years or longer. 
Data on the gender of victims were complete for both the CSEW and the 
Homicide Index (i.e. gender was known in 100 per cent of cases). 
The key findings were as follows: 
 
Overall, a slightly smaller proportion of all women interviewed for the 
main CSEW in 2011/12 reported that they were victims of violence 
than men (two per cent and four per cent respectively).  
 
Similarly, a smaller proportion of girls than boys (aged 10 to 15) 
completing the children’s CSEW in 2011/12 reported that they were 
victims of violence (five per cent and 11 per cent respectively), and of 
theft (seven per cent and nine per cent respectively). 
 
As in previous years, there were differences in the nature of violence 
reported by adult men and women. Women completing the 2011/12 
CSEW were most commonly victimised by an acquaintance (0.8 per 
cent of those interviewed), while men most commonly experienced 
stranger violence (1.8 per cent of those interviewed). 
                                                
6 See Office for National Statistics (2012). Crime in England and Wales, Quarterly First Release 
to March 2012. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-march-
2012/stb-crime-stats-end-march-2012.html 
7 See Smith, K; Osborne, S., Lau, I. and Britton, A (2012). Homicides, Firearm Offences and 
Intimate Violence 2010/11: Supplementary Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2010/11. 
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/hosb0212/ 
 
18 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
Many of the risk factors for violence identified in the 2011/12 CSEW 
applied to both men and women (for example, being aged 16 to 24, 
having a limiting illness or disability and being single or 
separated/divorced). 
 
The  self-completion module on intimate violence included in the main 
CSEW showed that, in the 12 months prior to interview, a higher 
proportion of women (seven per cent) were victims of intimate violence 
(partner or family non-physical abuse, threats, force, sexual assault or 
stalking) than men (five per cent). Analysis showed an overall 
decrease in self-reported domestic abuse (non-physical abuse, threats, 
force or sexual assault) for both men and women since 2004/05. 
 
Data from the Homicide Index showed that fewer females (201) than 
males (435) were victims of homicide in 2010/11. As in the previous 
four years, a greater proportion of female victims than male victims 
knew the principal suspect (78 per cent and 57 per cent respectively in 
2010/11). In cases where the principal suspect was known to the 
victim, females were most commonly killed by a partner or ex-partner 
(60 per cent of female victims compared with eight per cent of male 
victims), while males were most commonly killed by a friend or 
acquaintance (73 per cent of male victims compared with 16 per cent 
of female victims). 
 
What is the nature and extent of victimisation for women and 
men? 
 
As not all crimes are reported to the police and the police recorded crime data 
held centrally does not include information about victim gender, the Crime 
Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), formerly known as the British Crime 
Survey (BCS), provides the main source of information on the incidence and 
risks of victimisation. The CSEW is a large nationally representative survey 
that asks people about their victimisation (including crimes not reported to the 
police) in the last 12 months.  
 
19

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Adult victimisation 
The latest figures providing demographic breakdowns for the main CSEW are 
based on interviews in the year 2011/12.8 The findings described here come 
from two components of the survey: a core face-to-face interview, and a 
separate self-completion module for adults aged 16–59 only. Due to the 
sensitive nature of questions on rape and sexual assault, these are not asked 
in the core interview but are covered in the self-completion module.  
Findings from the core interview, completed by 46,031 adults aged 16 and 
over (25,008 women and 21,023 men9), were as follows:  
 
Overall, six per cent of all adults reported being a victim of a personal 
crime (five per cent of women and six per cent of men) in the 12 
months before interview (see Table 2.01). 
 
The 2011/12 CSEW estimated three in every 100 adults were a victim 
of violent crime. As in previous years, a smaller proportion of women 
were victims of violence (wounding, assault with minor injury, assault 
without injury and robbery) than men (two per cent and four per cent 
respectively). The same proportions also reported being victims of 
violence in each of the preceding four years. 
 
Of all incidents of violence reported in the 2011/12 CSEW, 62 per cent 
of victims were male and 38 per cent were female. Of those who 
experienced violence perpetrated by a stranger, three-quarters (75 per 
cent) were male, and one-quarter (25 per cent) were female. In 
contrast, a third (33 per cent) of all victims of domestic violence were 
male, and two-thirds (67 per cent) were female. 
                                                
8 The publication and accompanying data tables for the CSEW (Quarterly First Release to 
March 2012) can be found at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-
ending-march-2012/stb-crime-stats-end-march-2012.html 
9 Estimates presented here and in the CSEW publication are based on weighted data, to reflect 
the actual distribution of gender in the population in England and Wales.  
 
20 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
As in previous years, there were differences in the types of violence 
reported by men and women completing the CSEW. Violence by a 
stranger was most commonly reported by men (1.8 per cent of men 
interviewed in 2011/12); violence involving an acquaintance was most 
commonly reported by women (0.8 per cent of women interviewed in 
2011/12).  
 
Previous differences in the proportion of men and women completing 
the CSEW who were victims of theft from the person had narrowed 
(from 0.9 percentage points in the 2008/09 CSEW10 to 0.2 percentage 
points in the 2011/12 CSEW), and, in the 2011/12 CSEW, there was 
little difference between the proportion of men and women (1.2 per 
cent and 1.4 per cent respectively) who were victims of this offence.  
Table 2.01: Percentage of interviewed adults aged 16 and over 
experiencing victimisation, by gender and crime type, 2011/12 CSEW 
  
All Personal Crime
All Violence
Theft from Person 
Total
Women 
5.4%
2.1%
1.4% 
25,008
Men 
6.4%
3.8%
1.2% 
21,023
All Adults 
5.9%
3.0%
1.3% 
46,031
Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales 2011/12 
Note: 
(1) “All Violence” and “Theft from Person” are sub-categories of “All Personal Crime”. 
 
The CSEW self-completion module on intimate violence measures the 
prevalence of domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking (full definitions of 
these offence types can be found in Appendix B).  The 2011/12 CSEW 
module (see Figure 2.01) was completed by 5,991 women and over 5,129 
men. It showed that: 
 
A higher proportion of women than men aged 16 to 59 reported having 
been victims of intimate violence (across all categories of abuse) once 
                                                
10 Data taken from Walker, Flatley and Kershaw (2009). Crime in England and Wales 2008/09 
Volume 1: Findings from the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime. Home Office 
Statistical Bulletin 11/09 Volume 1. Available: 
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdf
s09/hosb1109chap4new.xls, Table 4.05. 
 
21

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
or more in the last year (seven per cent and five per cent) and since 
age 16 (31 per cent and 18 per cent). 
 
Analysis of trends since 2004/05 (when the questions on intimate 
violence were introduced) showed a statistically significant decrease in 
any self-reported domestic abuse for both men (from six per cent in 
2004/05 to four per cent in 2011/12), and women (from eight per cent 
in 2004/05 to six per cent in 2011/12) aged 16 to 59.11 
 
A greater proportion of women reported having been sexually 
assaulted than men. In 2011/12, three per cent of women and 0.3 per 
cent of men aged 16-59 years reported having experienced at least 
one or more sexual assaults (including attempts) in the previous year. 
Serious sexual assaults (including attempts) were experienced by 0.6 
per cent of women (aged 16-59) surveyed, and fewer than 0.1 per cent 
of men surveyed.  
 
In 2011/12, the majority of self-reported incidents of intimate violence 
against women involved a male offender (83 per cent). The offender 
was female in 15 per cent of incidents, and two per cent of incidents 
involved both female and male offenders. These proportions have 
remained relatively consistent since 2007/08. 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                
11 The trend measure for domestic abuse does not include stalking, and differs for that shown 
for 2011/12 in the above paragraph which does include stalking. 
 
22 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Figure 2.01: Prevalence of intimate violence in the last year among adults 
aged 16 to 59, 2011/12 CESW  
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Any domestic abuse 
Any partner abuse 
(non-sexual)
Any family abuse   
(non-sexual)
Sexual assault
(including attempts)
Stalking
Percentage of respondents who were victimised once or more
Women
Men 
All
 
Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales 2011/12 
Notes: 
(1) “Any domestic abuse” measure includes stalking. 
(2) Figure based on respondents who completed the CSEW self-completion module on intimate 
violence in 2011/12. 
 
Reporting sexual assault 
The CSEW provides information on who victims of serious sexual assault 
report incidents to, and why some victims choose not to report incidents of 
sexual assault to the police. Due to the small number of sexual assaults self-
reported by men interviewed for the survey, findings in this section refer to 
females only. Overall, 820 female victims completed these questions in 
2011/12. 
Responses to the 2011/12 CSEW showed that: 
 
Of female victims aged 16 to 59 who reported having experienced 
serious sexual assaults, 38 per cent had told no one about the incident. 
Of those who did tell someone about the incident, 50 per cent told 
 
23

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
friends, relatives or neighbours, and 13 per cent reported the incident 
to the police. The proportion of incidents reported to the police has 
remained stable since 2005/06, when the relevant question was first 
included in the survey. 
 
The most common reasons female victims of serious sexual assault 
aged 16 to 59 gave for not reporting the incident to the police were 
embarrassment (32 per cent) and concerns that the police could not do 
much to help (31 per cent). 
Other government reports which have recently been published on sexual 
violence and may also be of interest include the Crown Prosecution Service 
(CPS) statistics on violence against women crime, which include charging 
decisions and prosecution outcomes in cases brought to the CPS.12   
Child victimisation 
Since January 2009, the CSEW has been extended to children aged 10 to 15 
in households in England and Wales. In 2011/12, 3,930 children aged 10 to 15 
completed the CSEW. Of these, 1,909 (49 per cent) were girls and 2,021 (51 
per cent) were boys.13  
Findings from the child component of the 2011/12 CSEW showed that, in the 
12 months prior to interview:14 
 
Overall, 15 per cent of children had been a victim of any crime covered 
by the CSEW; eight per cent had been victims of violence, and eight 
per cent victims of thefts.  
 
Boys were more likely than girls to report having been a victim of any 
crime measured by the CSEW (19 per cent compared to 11 per cent) 
                                                
12 See http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/docs/cps_vawg_report_2012_statistics.pdf 
13 Estimates presented here and in the CSEW publication are based on weighted data, to reflect 
the actual distribution of gender in the population in England and Wales. 
14 These estimates are based on the “preferred measure” of child victimisation. Details on this 
measure and others can be found in the data quality appendix accompanying this report. 
 
24 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
and were more than twice as likely as girls to report having been a 
victim of violence (11 per cent and five per cent respectively). 
 
A higher proportion of boys reported being a victim of theft than girls 
(nine per cent versus seven per cent). 
Unlike the main CSEW, the child component does not contain a self-
completion module on intimate violence.  
Figure 2.02: Percentage of interviewed children aged 10-15 experiencing 
victimisation, by gender and crime type, 2011/12 CSEW 
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
All CSEW Crime
All Violence
All Thefts
Percentage of respondents who were victimised once or more 
Girls
Boys
All
 
Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales 2011/12 
 
 
 
 
 
 
25

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Homicide 
Information on the gender of victims and suspects of homicide are available 
from the Homicide Index. Data for 2010/1115 showed: 
 
There were fewer female victims (201) of homicide than males (435). 
Women accounted for between 27 per cent and 32 per cent of all 
recorded homicide victims between 2006/07 and 2010/11; men for 
between 68 per cent and 73 per cent. 
 
In 2011/12, a greater proportion of female than male homicide victims 
were acquainted with the principal suspect (78 per cent of female 
victims compared with 57 per cent for males). Male homicide victims 
were more often killed by an unknown suspect than female homicide 
victims (43 per cent and 22 per cent respectively). This pattern was 
consistent in each of the previous four years (see Table 2.02). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                
15 See Smith et al (2012). Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2010/11: 
Supplementary Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2010/11 (Available: 
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/hosb0212/) 
 
26 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 2.02 Percentage of principal suspects known and unknown to the 
victim, by gender of victim, 2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Female Victims 
  
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Suspect known 
71.4%
77.6%
77.8%
76.9% 
78.1%
Suspect not known(1) 
28.6%
22.4%
22.2%
23.1% 
21.9%
All female victims 
196
201
194
195 
201
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Male Victims 
  
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Suspect known 
49.6%
51.4%
53.4%
53.3% 
57.2%
Suspect not known(1) 
50.4%
48.6%
46.6%
46.7% 
42.8%
All male victims 
516
533
446
413 
435
Source: Homicide Index 
Note: 
(1) Includes cases where the victim was not acquainted with the suspect, where the victim 
relationship to the suspect was not known, and cases where a suspect was not identified. 
(2) This table is based on data taken from Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 
2010/11 Table 1.05 and reflects offences recorded as at 18 October 2011; figures are subject to 
revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts; or as further information 
becomes available. The figures presented here may differ from those published due to 
rounding. 
 
 
As shown in Table 2.03, the type of relationship between the victim 
and principal suspect also differed for male and female victims. In 
cases where the principal suspect was known to the victim, females 
were most commonly killed by a partner/ex-partner (in 2010/11, 60 per 
cent of female homicide victims who knew the suspect compared to 
eight per cent for male homicide victims), while males who were 
acquainted with the principal suspect were most commonly killed by a 
friend or acquaintance (73 per cent compared with 16 per cent of 
female homicide victims who knew the principal suspect). These 
findings were relatively consistent across the latest five year period.  
 
27

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 2.03: Relationship of victim to principal suspect (for cases where 
the principal suspect was known to the victim), 2006/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Female Victims 
Victim relationship 
to suspect 
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Son or daughter 
12.9%
12.8%
8.6%
15.3% 
10.2% 
Parent 
2.1%
7.7%
8.6%
7.3% 
9.6% 
Partner/ex-partner 
65.0%
51.3%
66.9%
63.3% 
59.9% 
Other family   
3.6%
10.3%
3.3%
4.7% 
4.5% 
Friend/acquaintance 
16.4%
17.9%
12.6%
9.3% 
15.9% 
Total suspect 
known 
140
156
151
150 
157 
  
  
  
  
  
  
Male Victims 
Victim relationship 
to suspect 
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Son or daughter 
8.6%
10.2%
8.4%
9.1% 
9.6% 
Parent 
2.7%
5.1%
3.8%
4.5% 
3.6% 
Partner/ex-partner 
11.3%
11.3%
13.0%
9.5% 
8.4% 
Other family   
5.5%
5.8%
3.8%
8.6% 
4.8% 
Friend/acquaintance 
71.9%
67.5%
71.0%
68.2% 
73.5% 
Total suspect 
known 
256
274
238
220 
249 
Source: Homicide Index 
Note: 
(1) This table is based on data taken from Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 
2010/11 Table 1.05 and reflects offences recorded as at 18 October 2011; figures are subject to 
revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts; or as further information 
becomes available. 
 
What are the risk factors for victimisation for women and men? 
Logistic regression analysis16 of 2011/12 CSEW data was conducted by the 
Office for National Statistics to identify the risks factors independently 
                                                
16 Logistic regression is a multivariate statistical technique that predicts the outcome of a 
dependent variable (such as being a victim of crime), from a set of independent variables (such 
as personal characteristics). The technique allows the assessment of which of the independent 
variables are statistically related to the dependent variable when the influence of all other 
variables in the model is taken into account. The approach using CSEW data is based on an 
iterative process, which relies on a theoretical rationale of how the independent variables might 
affect the outcome. This process enables evaluation of the impact of certain types of variables 
on the outcome, for example, if the risk of being a victim of crime is due to personal 
characteristics rather than area-based factors.  Each of the iterations is based on logistic 
regressions using the ‘Enter’ method, whereby all variables are entered into the model in one 
single step, as opposed to sequentially. 
 
 
28 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
associated with being a victim of violence for men and women (see Table 
2.04).  
The analysis found that the characteristics most associated with being a victim 
of violence for both genders were age, disability, marital status and tenure. 
 
Men and women aged 16 to 24 were more likely to be a victim of 
violence than those in other age groups.  
 
Individuals with a limiting illness or disability were more likely to be 
victims of violence than those without an illness or disability. 
 
Men and women who were single, separated or divorced were more at 
risk of being a victim of violence than those who were married or 
cohabiting. 
 
Men and women living in socially rented accommodation were more at 
risk than those living in privately rented or owned accommodation, 
although the risks associated with this factor were less than those for 
age, disability and marital status.  
As shown in Table 2.04, some characteristics were associated with being a 
victim of violence for one gender but not the other. For example: 
 
In addition to those with a limiting illness or disability, women with non-
limiting illnesses or disabilities were more likely to be a victim of 
violence than those with no disability. Only men with a limiting illness 
or disability were more at risk of being victimised. 
 
Living in an urban area, compared to a rural area, was a risk factor for 
men but not for women. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 2.04: Factors associated and not associated with being a victim of 
violence for men and women, 2011/12 CSEW 
  
Risk Factor 
Variable 
Women 
Men 
Age 


Ethnic group 

  
Long-standing illness or disability 


Respondent's marital status 


Respondent's employment status 
  

Respondent's occupation 
  
  
Highest qualification 


Total household income 


Tenure 


Accommodation type 
  
  
Area type 
  

Output Area Classification 
  
  
Level of physical disorder 

  
Hours out of home on an average weekday 
  
  
Number of evening visits to bar in last month 

  
Number of visits to a nightclub in last month 
  

Source: Crime Survey for England and Wales 2011/12 
Notes: 
(1) “" indicates a significant association between the variable and violent victimisation. 
(2) See supplementary tables S2.07 and S2.08 of this report for full variable breakdown by gender. 
(3) See Section 7 of User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales for definitions of 
personal, household and area characteristics (www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-
quality/specific/crime-statistics-methodology/user-guide-to-crime-statistics.pdf). 
 
 
30 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Further data on male and female victims, including the full regression analysis, 
can be found in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report.17 
 
                                                
17 See supplementary tables S2.07 and S2.08. 
 
 
31

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Chapter 3 – Women as suspects 
This chapter focuses on individuals who are suspected of committing an 
offence. The only data available by gender are statistics provided to the Home 
Office on arrests made by police in relation to notifiable offences.18 Headline 
arrests data by gender are released annually, with the latest figures published 
in the Home Office’s online statistics release, Police Powers and Procedures 
England and Wales 2010/11.19 Additional information has been provided for 
analysis in this chapter, and is presented in the accompanying supplementary 
Excel tables. Data on those who are convicted of crimes are presented in the 
next chapter. 
This chapter explores patterns in overall arrests between 2006/07 and 
2010/11 (i.e. arrests of those aged 10 and over), and for adults (i.e. arrests of 
those aged 18 and over) and juveniles (i.e. arrests of those aged 10-17 years). 
Key points are: 
 
There was a reduction of eight per cent in the number of arrests between 
2006/07 and 2010/11 (from 1,482,156 to 1,360,451), with a decrease of 13 
per cent for all females and seven per cent for all males. This is consistent 
with trends in police recorded crime over the same period, which showed a 
24 per cent reduction.20  
 
Between 2006/07 and 2010/11, juvenile arrests decreased for both males 
and females (by 46 per cent for juvenile females and 39 per cent for 
juvenile males). Adult arrests were relatively stable for both males and 
females (increases of two per cent and under one per cent respectively). 
                                                
18 Data on the gender of those who are stopped and searched are not reported centrally. 
19 Available at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-
statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/. The 2011/12 edition of this report 
is due for release in the spring of 2013. 
20 Comparisons with recorded crime are limited here to trends over time. As arrests relate to 
persons and recorded crime to offences, it is not appropriate to compare actual numbers. Data 
are available in the reference table ‘Recorded crime data at police force area level from 
2002/03’ from ONS (2012). Crime in England and Wales, period ending June 2012. Available: 
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-274949 
 
32 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
In 2010/11, the most common offence group for which females and males 
were arrested was violence against the person (34 per cent of females and 
31 per cent of males arrested), which is consistent with trends since 
2006/07. 
 
Violence against the person was the most common offence group for 
which juvenile males were arrested between 2007/08 and 2010/11. In 
2006/07, the most common offence group for which juvenile males were 
arrested was theft and handling stolen goods. 
 
Between 2006/07 and 2009/10, theft and handling stolen goods was the 
offence group which accounted for the largest proportion of arrests of 
juvenile females. In 2010/11, violence against the person became the most 
common offence group for which juvenile females were arrested. 
 
Between 2006/07 and 2010/11, the numbers of both juvenile females and 
males arrested for violence against the person decreased by 40 per cent.   
 
From 2006/07 to 2010/11, violence against the person was also the most 
common offence group that both adult females and adult males were 
arrested for. However, the number of adult females arrested for this 
offence group decreased by four per cent, and the number of adult males 
decreased by five per cent between 2006/07 and 2010/11.  
 
How has the number of arrests of males and females changed over 
time? 
Arrests refer to the power of police officers to deprive a person of their liberty 
for the purpose of the investigation and prevention of crime. Police officers 
have the power to arrest anyone aged 10 or over who has committed an 
offence, is about to commit an offence, or is in the act of committing an 
offence. They also have the power of arrest when a person is suspected of 
 
33

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
involvement in an offence. Arrests data do not offer a full picture of offending 
behaviour, as they only reflect those offences identified by the police.21  
Data on the gender of those arrested between 2006/07 and 2010/11 were 
complete (i.e. gender was known for 100 per cent of arrests), and information 
on the age of those arrested was nearly complete, with age unknown for less 
than 0.1 per cent of those arrested in 2010/11 and less than 0.3 per cent in the 
previous four years. The age unknown category is presented separately for 
the first time in this report and, as a result, figures for adults may differ from 
those previously published.22   
Table 3.01 shows the number of arrests of males and females recorded by 
police forces between 2006/0723 and 2010/11. Key findings are:  
 
In 2010/11, 16 per cent of the total 1,360,451 arrests recorded in England 
and Wales were of females; the remaining 84 per cent were of males. 
Between 2006/07 and 2009/10, the proportion of all arrests accounted for 
by females was stable at 17 per cent.  
 
 
 
 
                                                
21 Self report data from the longitudinal analysis of the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 
2003–06 (Hales et al., 2009) suggested that females (aged 10 to 25 years) were significantly 
less likely to have been offenders than males. 
22 In previous editions of the report, the adult category included all arrests of those aged 18 or 
over together with those for whom age was unknown. 
23  Since the release of Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2010, the Home 
Office has revised some arrest figures for 2006/07. Data included in this chapter and 
accompanying supplementary tables are based upon the most recently published data, which 
were presented in the Home Office’s statistical online release, Police Powers and Procedures 
2010/11. Available:  http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-
statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/ 
 
 
34 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
35
                                                
 
Overall, there was a reduction of eight per cent in the number of arrests 
between 2006/07 and 2010/11 (from 1,482,156 to 1,360,451). Arrests of 
females decreased by 13 per cent during this period (from 251,569 to 
219,954) compared to seven per cent for males (from 1,230,587 to 
1,140,497). This is consistent with trends in police recorded crimes over 
the same period (where there was a 24 per cent reduction).24 
 
In 2010/11, females accounted for 16 per cent (181,043) of adult arrests 
and 18 per cent of juvenile arrests (38,647) in England and Wales, 
compared to 16 per cent and 20 per cent respectively in 2006/07.  
 
Juvenile arrests (i.e. arrests of those aged between 10 and 17) decreased 
for both genders between 2006/07 and 2010/11, (a reduction of 46 per 
cent for juvenile females and 39 per cent for juvenile males), while arrests 
were relatively stable for adult males and females (i.e. those aged 18 and 
over) with increases of two per cent and under one per cent respectively.  
 
 
 
24 Comparisons with recorded crime are limited here to trends over time. As arrests relate to 
persons and recorded crime to offences, it is not appropriate to compare actual numbers. Data 
are available in the reference table ‘Recorded crime data at police force area level from 
2002/03’ from ONS (2012). Crime in England and Wales, period ending June 2012. Available: 
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-274949 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 3.01: Number of arrests of juveniles and adults by gender, 2006/07–2010/11(1) (2) 
 
Females 
 
Males 
 
All 
  
Juveniles 
Adults 
Age 
Unknown
Total 
 
Juveniles 
Adults 
Age 
Unknown
Total 
 
Juveniles 
Adults 
Age 
Unknown 
Total 
2006/07 
71,285 
179,760 
524
251,569
 
282,531
945,378
2,678
1,230,587
 
353,816
1,125,138
3,202 
1,482,156 
2007/08 
64,824 
186,135 
950
251,909
 
250,742
969,136
3,479
1,223,357
 
315,566
1,155,271
4,429 
1,475,266 
2008/09 
55,142 
191,187 
798
247,127
 
218,210
993,780
3,022
1,215,012
 
273,352
1,184,967
3,820 
1,462,139 
2009/10 
47,906 
183,637 
306
231,849
 
193,591
958,638
1,244
1,153,473
 
241,497
1,142,275
1,550 
1,385,322 
2010/11 
38,647 
181,043 
264
219,954
 
172,036
967,456
1,005
1,140,497
 
210,683
1,148,499
1,269 
1,360,451 
Source: Home Office 
Notes: 
(1) In January 2011, Dyfed-Powys police brought in a new system for recording arrests and found that the previous system was under-reporting arrests figures for the first three 
quarters of 2010/11. The new system also currently has some outstanding issues with the mapping of some miscellaneous offence codes. Figures for Dyfed-Powys for 2010/11 
are, therefore, based on data from the original system for quarters one to three (1 April to 31 December 2010), and the best available estimates from the new system for 
quarter four (1 January 2011 to 31 March 2011). 
(2) All data published in the Home Office statistical release, ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ are correct at the time of publication and may include 
revisions for any of the years covered. The latest release, relating to the years up to and including 2010/11, can be viewed at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-
research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/ 
 
 
 
36 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
A number of factors might have contributed to the fall in the number of 
juveniles arrested, including:   
 
the natural demographic effect of a declining population of 10 to 17 
year olds in England and Wales, which is predicted to continue until 
2016;25 
 
the change in the offences brought to justice target in 2008 to focus on 
serious offences and the removal of this target in 2010;26 and 
 
the increase in Restorative Justice programmes and Triage27 keeping 
young people out of the system.28  
 
In 2010/11, juveniles accounted for 18 per cent of all females arrested and 
15 per cent of all males arrested compared to 28 per cent and 23 per cent, 
respectively, in 2006/07. 
Trends by police force area 
Due to the small numbers, data on adult arrests by police force area (PFA) 
includes arrests with ‘age unknown’. As a result, the juvenile/adult breakdown 
in this section is not directly comparable with that presented elsewhere in the 
chapter.  
The most recent population data suggests that, in 2011, females accounted 
for a relatively stable proportion of the population aged 10 or over (between 50 
per cent and 52 per cent) across all PFAs, except for in the City of London 
                                                
25 Office for National Statistics (2011). National Population Projections, 2010-based extra 
variants, available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/npp/national-population-projections/2010-
based-extra-variants/index.html 
26 See Ministry of Justice (2012). Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly Update to December 
2011, p4. 
27 Triage schemes are based in police stations and aim to identify the needs of young people as 
they enter the youth justice system. A key objective of the schemes is to divert young people 
who have committed less serious crimes away from the formal youth justice system. 
28 Home Office (2012). Assessing young people in police custody: An examination of the 
operation of Triage schemes, available at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-
research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/occ106?view=Binary?type=Finjan-
Download&slot=00000134&id=00000133&location=0A640210 
 
37

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
(where females accounted for 44 per cent).29  Variations in arrests between 
forces are therefore unlikely to reflect differences in the gender composition of 
these areas.  
 
In 2010/11, females (adults and juveniles) accounted for between 13 per 
cent and 19 per cent of all those arrested in each of the 43 PFAs in 
England and Wales (overall, females represented 16 per cent of arrests in 
2010/11), which is consistent with the previous four years. 
 
Juvenile arrests for both genders decreased in each PFA between 
2006/07 and 2010/11. However, no consistent trend was discernible for 
adults.  
 
Overall, females accounted for between 13 per cent and 18 per cent of 
adult arrests (including age unknown) in each of the 43 PFAs. These 
proportions are consistent with the previous four years.  
 
Females accounted for between 14 per cent and 25 per cent of all 
juveniles arrested across the 43 PFAs in England and Wales in 2010/11 
(compared to 18 per cent in the general population of England and Wales). 
While these proportions are roughly similar to those recorded in 2006/07 
(when juvenile females represented between 15 per cent and 27 per cent 
of all juvenile arrests), there was some variation in the intervening years.  
 
 
 
 
                                                
29 These proportions are based on the 2011 Annual Mid-year Population Estimates for England 
and Wales (available: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/population-estimates-for-
england-and-wales/mid-2011--2011-census-based-/stb---mid-2011-census-based-population-
estimates-for-england-and-wales.html). 
 
 
38 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
What offences are males and females arrested for? 
This section looks at the offences that males and females were arrested for 
over the five-year period; and how this compared for adults and juveniles. 
Overall arrests 
Table 3.02 shows the breakdown of arrests by offence group for males and 
females between 2006/07 and 2010/11. It shows that: 
 
In each year between 2006/07 and 2010/11, the most common offence 
group for which females and males were arrested was violence against the 
person. In 2010/11, this offence group accounted for 34 per cent of 
females and 31 per cent of males arrested. These percentages were 
broadly consistent in the previous four years. 
 
The number of arrests for violence against the person has decreased 
every year since 2006/07 for males and since 2007/08 for females. In 
2010/11, 75,605 females and 355,695 males were arrested for such 
offences, compared to 87,140 and 400,429 in 2006/07 (a reduction of 13 
per cent for females and 11 per cent for males). The patterns in arrests for 
violence against the person were consistent with those for police recorded 
crime, which also showed a decrease in violence against the person over 
the same period.30 
                                                
30 See reference table ‘Recorded crime data at police force area level from 2002/03’ from ONS 
(2012). Crime in England and Wales, period ending June 2012: 
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-274949 
  
 
39

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Table 3.02: Percentage of overall arrests by offence group and 
gender, 2006/07-2010/11(1)  
 
All Females 
  
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Violence against the 
person 
34.6%
35.0%
33.6%
35.1% 
34.4%
Sexual offences 
0.3%
0.3%
0.4%
0.4% 
0.5%
Robbery 
1.7%
1.6%
1.4%
1.3% 
1.4%
Burglary 
3.5%
3.2%
3.2%
3.0% 
3.2%
Theft and handling 
31.9%
30.7%
31.4%
30.8% 
29.8%
Fraud and forgery 
3.1%
3.3%
3.5%
3.6% 
3.5%
Criminal damage 
8.8%
8.0%
7.4%
7.0% 
6.7%
Drug offences 
4.8%
5.4%
6.0%
6.2% 
6.7%
Other offences 
11.2%
12.5%
13.1%
12.5% 
13.8%
Total 
251,569
251,909
247,127
231,849 
219,954
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
All Males 
  
2006/07 
2007/08 
2008/09 
2009/10 
2010/11 
Violence against the 
person 
32.5%
31.8%
31.4%
32.5% 
31.2%
Sexual offences 
2.5%
2.5%
2.7%
3.1% 
3.2%
Robbery 
3.0%
2.6%
2.6%
2.6% 
2.7%
Burglary 
7.5%
7.1%
7.3%
7.3% 
7.6%
Theft and handling 
21.4%
20.5%
20.6%
19.4% 
19.8%
Fraud and forgery 
1.8%
1.9%
2.1%
2.1% 
2.0%
Criminal damage 
11.8%
10.8%
10.0%
9.3% 
8.6%
Drug offences 
6.3%
7.4%
8.3%
9.2% 
9.7%
Other offences 
13.2%
15.2%
15.1%
14.3% 
15.3%
Total 
1,230,587
1,223,357
1,215,012
1,153,473 1,140,497
Source: Home Office 
Notes: 
(1) Columns may not always sum to 100 per cent due to rounding. 
 
Juvenile arrests 
 
In 2006/07, theft and handling stolen goods was the most common offence 
group for which juvenile males were arrested. From 2007/08 to 2010/11, it 
was violence against the person, which accounted for 23 per cent of 
juvenile male arrests in 2010/11 (see Table 3.03).  
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the offence group for which juvenile 
females were most frequently arrested between 2006/07 and 2009/10. In 
 
40 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
41
2010/11, the most common offence for which juvenile females were 
arrested was violence against the person, which accounted for 36 per cent 
of arrests of juvenile females. 
 
In 2010/11, arrests of juveniles (both female and male) for violence against 
the person were at their lowest for five years (13,803 for female juveniles 
and 40,187 for male juveniles). In both cases, there was a decrease of 40 
per cent compared to 2006/07. 
Adult arrests 
 
From 2006/07 to 2010/11, violence against the person was the most 
common offence group that adult females and adult males were arrested 
for (accounting for 34 per cent and 33 per cent of arrests in 2010/11 
respectively). 
 
The number of adult females arrested for violence against the person fell 
by four per cent between 2006/07 and 2010/11 from 63,992 to 61,702, and 
the number of adult males by five per cent from 332,609 in 2006/07 to 
315,174 in 2010/11. 
 
The second most common offence group for which both adult females and 
males were arrested between 2006/07 and 2010/11 was theft and handling 
stolen goods. In 2010/11, 29 per cent of adult females were arrested for 
this offence group compared to 19 per cent of adult males (see Table 
3.03), which is consistent with the previous four years. 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 3.03: Percentage of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence group, by gender, 2010/11(1) (2) 
 
Females 
 
Males 
 
All 
  
Juveniles 
Adults 
Age  
unknown
Total 
 
Juveniles
Adults 
Age 
unknown
Total 
 
Juveniles
Adults 
Age  
unknown 
Total 
Violence against the 
person 
35.7% 
34.1% 
37.9%
34.4%
 
23.4%
32.6%
33.2%
31.2%
 
25.6%
32.8%
34.2% 
31.7% 
Sexual offences 
0.3% 
0.5% 
0.0%
0.5%
 
2.6%
3.3%
3.3%
3.2%
 
2.2%
2.9%
2.6% 
2.8% 
Robbery 
3.5% 
1.0% 
0.0%
1.4%
 
7.4%
1.9%
1.0%
2.7%
 
6.7%
1.7%
0.8% 
2.5% 
Burglary 
4.3% 
3.0% 
3.0%
3.2%
 
12.2%
6.8%
3.4%
7.6%
 
10.7%
6.2%
3.3% 
6.9% 
Theft and handling 
31.4% 
29.5% 
18.9%
29.8%
 
21.7%
19.4%
16.8%
19.8%
 
23.5%
21.0%
17.3% 
21.4% 
Fraud and forgery 
0.9% 
4.1% 
1.9%
3.5%
 
0.5%
2.3%
0.9%
2.0%
 
0.6%
2.6%
1.1% 
2.3% 
Criminal damage 
10.7% 
5.9% 
6.4%
6.7%
 
13.3%
7.8%
9.6%
8.6%
 
12.8%
7.5%
8.9% 
8.3% 
Drug offences 
3.1% 
7.4% 
2.7%
6.7%
 
7.8%
10.0%
4.1%
9.7%
 
6.9%
9.6%
3.8% 
9.2% 
Other offences(3) 
10.0% 
14.6% 
29.2%
13.8%
 
11.2%
16.0%
27.8%
15.3%
 
11.0%
15.8%
28.1% 
15.1% 
Total 
38,647 181,043 
264
219,954
 
172,036
967,456
1,005
1,140,497
 
210,683
1,148,499
1,269 1,360,451 
Source: Home Office 
Notes:  
(1) In January 2011, Dyfed-Powys police brought in a new system for recording arrests and found that the previous system was under-reporting arrests figures for 
the first three quarters of 2010/11. The new system also currently has some outstanding issues with the mapping of some miscellaneous offence codes. Figures 
for Dyfed-Powys for 2010/11 are, therefore, based on data from the original system for quarters one to three (1 April to 31 December 2010), and the best 
available estimates from the new system for quarter four (1 January 2011 to 31 March 2011). 
(2) Columns may not always sum to 100 per cent due to rounding. 
(3) The 'other offences' grouping includes (but is not restricted to) public order offences, immigration offences, public health offences and perverting the course of 
justice.
42 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 4 – Women as defendants 
This chapter looks at outcomes for defendants in the CJS between 2007 and 
201131 drawing on data from the MoJ publications Criminal Justice Statistics 
and Offender Management Statistics. It contains information on out of court 
and court disposals including the lengths and types of custodial sentences 
received by those who had been convicted at court. Data on cautions and 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) are reported centrally by the police, while 
court data are provided by the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court. It 
should be noted that data on out of court disposals and court proceedings are 
not strictly comparable with those on arrests presented in the previous chapter 
due to differences in the time periods covered and because the aggregated 
offence categories for these sources do not directly compare.  
The information presented in this chapter represent the sum of all males and 
females aged 10 or over (unless otherwise stated), and exclude figures where 
gender was not stated.32 The totals may therefore differ from those published 
elsewhere. The available court data showed that in 2011: 
 
There were 351,150 court proceedings involving females and 
1,139,135 involving males. There were also an additional 9,500 court 
proceedings where gender was recorded as ‘other’ and 59,180 where 
gender was ‘not stated’ (four per cent of all proceedings). 
 
Gender was known for 1,246,320 persons sentenced. ‘Other’ gender 
was recorded for an additional 6,949; and ‘not stated’ for 45,982 (four 
per cent of all those sentenced). 
                                                
31 As it is possible for an individual to receive more than one disposal/sentence in a year, the 
figures reflect the number of disposals/sentences in these years. 
32 Following the introduction of the LIBRA case management system during 2008, offenders at 
magistrates’ courts can now be recorded as sex ‘Not Stated’. These figures have been excluded 
from this report. 
 
43

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
While court data are presented for offence groups,33 these each include a 
range of offences that differ in seriousness and defendants’ who may differ in 
terms of their previous criminal history, which may impact on the final 
outcome. This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about potential differences 
in patterns of sentencing for males and females. To further explore this issue, 
analyses are presented in this chapter for three specific offence types 
(shoplifting, actual bodily harm and possession of Class A drugs). Where 
possible, analysis has also been presented for different age groups by gender.  
Key findings were as follows: 
 
In 2011, there were 1,849,298 out of court disposals and criminal court 
proceedings (excluding those where gender was not stated). Females 
accounted for 24 per cent and males for 76 per cent. There has been a 
slight increase in the proportion of out of court disposals and court 
proceedings accounted for by females since 2007 (when it was 21 per 
cent).  
 
In 2011, a lower proportion of females (20 per cent) than males (37 per 
cent) tried at the Crown Court were remanded in custody. While the 
proportion for males was broadly consistent with that for the previous four 
years, there was a decrease in the proportion of females remanded in 
custody (from 23 per cent in 2007). The same proportion of males and 
females remanded in custody (12 per cent) were acquitted or not 
proceeded against in 2011. The proportion of acquittals of those remanded 
in custody has been broadly similar for both genders since 2007. 
 
In 2011, there were 1,246,320 persons of known gender sentenced at 
court. Of these, 24 per cent were female and 76 per cent male. The 
proportion of females sentenced at court had increased steadily year on 
year since 2007, when they accounted for 21 per cent of all 1,406,788 
persons sentenced. 
                                                
33 These include: violence against the person; sexual offences; burglary; robbery; theft and 
handling stolen goods; fraud and forgery; criminal damage; drug offences; other indictable 
offences; and summary offences. 
 
44 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, females who were sentenced were proportionally more likely than 
males to be fined (77 per cent compared to 61 per cent), and a greater 
proportion of males than females who were sentenced received 
community sentences (15 per cent compared to 10 per cent), suspended 
sentences (four per cent compared to two per cent), and immediate 
custodial sentences (10 per cent compared to three per cent). These 
proportions have been relatively stable since 2007. 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods (which includes shoplifting) was the most 
common indictable offence for which both females and males were 
sentenced at all courts between 2007 and 2011. In 2011, 52 per cent of 
females and 33 per cent of males sentenced for indictable offences were 
sentenced for theft and handling stolen goods. 
 
Of those with 15 or more cautions or convictions, 39 per cent of males and 
29 per cent of females were sentenced to immediate custody in 2011. 
Among first time offenders, 27 per cent of males and 17 per cent of 
females were sentenced to immediate custody. 
 
In 2011, a lower proportion of women whose pre-sentence report 
recommended immediate custody went on to receive this sentence than 
men (84 per cent of women compared to 90 per cent of men).  
 
In 2011, the average length of an immediate custodial sentence34 for 
indictable offences was lower for females than for males at 11.6 and 17.7 
months respectively. These differences in sentence length were also 
evident in each of the last five years and may be attributable to a range of 
factors including differences between the offences committed by females 
and males. 
 
                                                
34 Excludes life and indeterminate custodial sentences. 
 
45

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Are there gender differences in proceedings and disposals within 
the CJS? 
This section explores differences in the disposals received by male and 
female defendants in the Criminal Justice System in 2011. It looks separately 
at disposals issued out of court (PNDs and cautions) and at court 
proceedings. Further data on criminal justice outcomes by gender can also be 
found in the supplementary Excel tables that accompany this report. 
Table 4.01: Number of out of court disposals and court proceedings by 
gender, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
 
Males 
 
Out of 
court(1) 
Court 
Proceedings(2)
Total 
system 
 
Out of 
court(1) 
Court 
Proceedings(2) 
Total 
system 
2007 
28.8%
71.2%
484,891
23.8%
76.2% 1,807,037
2008 
26.7%
73.3%
463,442
23.1%
76.9% 1,644,142
2009 
24.0%
76.0%
487,853
21.4%
78.6% 1,610,029
2010 
20.7%
79.3%
458,832
19.0%
81.0% 1,518,022
2011 
19.5%
80.5%
436,231
 
19.4%
80.6% 1,413,067
Source: Police Returns and Court Proceedings database 
Notes: 
 
(1) This includes PNDs and cautions, but excludes cannabis warnings, which cannot be broken 
down by gender. 
(2) This includes those who were prosecuted. 
 
Table 4.01 presents the number of out of court disposals35 and court 
proceedings by gender between 2007 and 2011. It shows that: 
 
In 2011, there were 1,849,298 out of court disposals and criminal court 
proceedings where the gender of defendants was known. Females 
accounted for 24 per cent (males for 76 per cent), which represents a 
slight increase in the percentage of out of court disposals and court 
proceedings involving females since 2007 (when it was 21 per cent).  
 
There was also an increase in the proportion of court proceedings (relative 
to out of court disposals) for females and males between 2007 and 2011 
(a nine percentage point increase for females and a four percentage point 
                                                
35 Out of court disposals exclude cannabis warnings, as it is not possible to break down the 
information by gender. 
 
46 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
increase for males). Overall, the number of out of court disposals and court 
proceedings has decreased by 19 per cent since 2007 (when there was a 
total of 2,291,928). There was a reduction of 10 per cent for females and 
22 per cent for males. 
 
Out of court disposals 
PNDs and cautions are both types of out of court disposals that are available 
for use by the police. PNDs (also commonly known as ‘on the spot fines’) are 
used to deal with low-level criminal behaviour, although no criminal conviction 
or admission of guilt is associated with payment of the penalty. Cautions36 are 
formal warnings given by senior police officers to a person who admits to 
having committed a criminal offence which could have led to a prosecution, 
and cover a wider range of offences than PNDs. Data for PNDs relate to those 
aged 16 or over and cautions to those aged 10 or over.  
Table 4.02: Out of court disposals issued to males and females, 2007-
2011 
 
PNDs 
 
Cautions 
  
Females 
Males 
Total 
  
Females 
Males  
Total 
2007 
21.9% 
78.1%
207,544
 
26.0%
74.0% 
362,889
2008 
23.7% 
76.3%
176,164
 
25.1%
74.9% 
327,888
2009 
24.6% 
75.4%
170,393
 
25.8%
74.2% 
290,645
2010 
24.5% 
75.5%
140,769
 
24.9%
75.1% 
242,831
2011 
23.7% 
76.3%
127,530
  
23.7%
76.3% 
231,483
Source: Police returns 
Data on PNDs and cautions for the period 2007-2011 by gender (see Table 
4.02) showed that:  
 
 
 
                                                
36 The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences 
for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more offences 
at the same time, the principal offence is the more serious offence. 
 
47

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
All out of court disposals 
 
Overall, 24 per cent of out of court disposals were issued to females and 
76 per cent to males in 2011. These proportions have been relatively 
stable since 2007 (at around 24-25 per cent for females and 75-76 per 
cent for males). 
 
There was a 37 per cent reduction in the total number of out of court 
disposals for which the gender of defendants was known between 2007 
and 2011, with a 39 per cent decrease for females and a 36 per cent 
reduction for males.  
 
Of the 85,081 out of court disposals issued to females, 36 per cent were 
PNDs and 64 per cent were cautions in 2011.  These proportions have 
been relatively stable since 2009. PNDs and cautions also accounted for 
the same proportions of the 273,932 out of court disposals issued to males 
in 2011. 
PNDs 
 
A total of 127,530 PNDs were issued in 2011. Of these, 30,272 (24 per 
cent) were issued to females and 97,258 (76 per cent) to males. There has 
been a slight increase in the proportion of PNDs issued to females since 
2007, when they accounted for 22 per cent. 
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the number of PNDs issued to females 
decreased by 34 per cent (from 45,545 to 30,272), while those issued to 
males decreased by 40 per cent (from 161,999 to 97,258).  
 
In 2011, the most common outcomes37 for PNDs for both females and 
males were ‘Paid in full within 21 days’ (45 per cent and 40 per cent, 
respectively), followed by ‘Fine registered’ (36 per cent and 38 per cent, 
respectively).  
                                                
37 Please refer to the data sources appendix for more details on PND outcomes. 
 
48 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
PNDs can be issued for Higher Tier Offences (covering, for example, theft 
and being drunk and disorderly) and Lower Tier Offences (including, for 
example, trespassing on a railway and consumption of alcohol in a 
designated public place).38 In 2011, the majority of PNDs issued to both 
genders were for Higher Tier Offences (98 per cent for females; 96 per 
cent for males).  This is consistent with the previous four years. 
 
Overall, retail theft (under £200) was the most common offence for which 
females were issued a PND between 2007 and 2011 (in 2011, 54 per cent 
of PNDs issued to females were for this offence). For males, the most 
common reason since 2010 has been drunk and disorderly (31 per cent of 
PNDs issued to men in 2011). Prior to this in 2007 and 2009, it was 
causing harassment, alarm or distress.  
 
The above patterns by offence type are also replicated for juvenile females 
(those aged 16 and 17), adult females and adult males (those aged 18 or 
older). Causing harassment, alarm or distress was the most common 
reason for which juvenile males (those aged 16 and 17) were issued a 
PND in each year between 2007 and 2011.  
Cautions 
 
Females accounted for nearly 24 per cent (54,809) of those cautioned 
(231,483 excluding those whose gender was unknown) in 2011, compared 
to 26 per cent in 2007 (94,241 out of 362,889).  
 
There was a 36 per cent decrease in the total number of cautions 
administered between 2007 and 2011. Cautions administered to females 
and males reduced by 42 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, over the 
same period. 
                                                
38 PNDs are a fixed penalty of £50 (Lower Tier Offences) or £80 (Higher Tier Offences). 
 
49

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, summary offences39 – excluding motoring accounted for the 
largest proportion of cautions administered to females and males (46 per 
cent of all females and 47 per cent of all males receiving a caution 
respectively). This was followed by the indictable offence  (an indictable 
offence refers to more serious charges where the defendant has the right 
to trial by jury) of theft and handling stolen goods for females (28 per cent) 
and indictable drug offences for males (21 per cent). 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the most common indictable offence 
group for which females were administered a caution in each year 
between 2007 and 2011 (accounting for between 28 and 35 per cent of all 
females cautioned), although the number of cautions administered to 
females for this offence halved during the period (from 30,994 in 2007 to 
15,586 in 2011). This trend is similar to that for PNDs issued to females for 
retail theft (under £200), where there was a decrease of 16 per cent over 
the same period (from 19,655 in 2007 to 16,413 in 2011).  
 
For males cautioned, the most common indictable offence group changed 
from theft and handling stolen goods in 2007 (accounting for 16 per cent of 
all males cautioned) to drug offences between 2008 and 2011 (17 per cent 
of all males cautioned in 2008 and 21 per cent in 2011).  
 
In 2011, theft and handling stolen goods was also the most common 
indictable offence for which adult females (49 per cent of all cautions to 
adult females for indictable offences) and juveniles of both genders (65 per 
cent for females and 37 per cent for males) were cautioned. For adult 
males, it was 'drug offences' (43 per cent). 
 
The number of cautions administered to all males for drug offences was 
similar in 2007 (37,637) and 2011 (37,402), although those administered 
for theft and handling stolen goods decreased by approximately one third 
during the five year period (from 41,796 to 27,771). By comparison, the 
                                                
39 Often known as petty crimes, summary offences can be tried by magistrates’ courts without 
the right to a trial by jury. 
 
 
50 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
number of PNDs issued to males for possession of Cannabis40 increased 
by 41 per cent from 10,930 in 2009 (when they were first introduced) to 
15,424 in 2011, while the number of PNDs issued for retail theft (under 
£200) decreased by 28 per cent between 2007 and 2011 (from 25,491 to 
18,275). 
 
For both males and females, there was a reduction in the number of 
cautions for each offence group between 2007 and 2011. Cautions 
administered for violence against the person decreased substantially, with 
a 65 per cent reduction for females and a 71 per cent reduction for males.  
 
The decline in the use of out of court disposals in this period coincided with 
the replacement, in April 2008, of a target to increase offences brought to 
justice, with one placing more emphasis on bringing serious crime to 
justice.  The latter target was subsequently removed in May 2010. 
 
Remands data 
Remands data in this chapter reflect the court’s decision on whether a 
defendant charged with a criminal offence should be placed in custody or 
released on bail during the period up to and including the trial, or while 
awaiting sentence.41 The figures were compiled on the defendant's remand 
status at the trial or sentence at the Crown Court itself (the Crown Court 
decision).42 These data are rounded to the nearest hundred and may therefore 
not sum to totals presented. 
Data on remands at Crown Court were selected for analysis for the purposes 
of this report as they are deemed to be more reliable than those for the 
                                                
40 Possession of Cannabis is the only drug offence which is covered by a PND. 
41 The data in this section relates to persons remanded in each completed court case rather 
than to the number of remand decisions (a person may be remanded several times during a 
case). 
42 Please note that the figures presented differ from those in Statistics on Women and the 
Criminal Justice System 2009/10, which looked at the remand status of defendants at the point 
of committal from magistrates’ courts for trial or sentence at the Crown Court (i.e. Magistrates’ 
decisions). 
 
51

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
magistrates’ courts.43 Data on remand at magistrates’ court proceedings are, 
however, available in the supplementary tables that accompany this report.  
 
Of the 14,200 females and 111,400 males tried at the Crown Court in 
2011, 20 per cent and 37 per cent respectively were remanded in custody. 
For males, this was broadly consistent with the previous four years (when 
it was between 36-38 per cent), although, for females, there was a small 
decrease over this period (23 per cent in 2007).  
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the number of males tried at the Crown Court 
who were remanded in custody increased by 20 per cent, compared to five 
per cent for females.  
Table 4.03 presents the final outcomes for those individuals tried at Crown 
Court who were remanded in custody during the trial/while awaiting sentence. 
It shows that in 2011: 
 
Of all those tried at Crown Court and remanded in custody, 12 per cent of 
both males and females were acquitted or not proceeded against. This 
proportion has been similar for both genders since 2007. 
 
Of females, 62 per cent were sentenced to immediate custody, 10 per cent 
were given a community sentence, eight per cent a suspended sentence, 
and the remaining five per cent received a fine, were discharged44 or 
otherwise dealt with.  
                                                
43 The number of custodial remands at magistrates’ court proceedings has been over-reported 
in the data supplied to the Ministry of Justice, following the introduction of the LIBRA case 
management system in 2008. For further information, please see “A Guide to Criminal Justice 
Statistics” available at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-
statistics 
44 A court may discharge a person either absolutely or conditionally where the court takes the 
view that it is not necessary to impose punishment. An absolute discharge requires nothing from 
the offender and imposes no restrictions on future conduct. The majority of discharges are 
conditional discharges where the offender remains liable to punishment for the offence if he or 
she is convicted of a further offence within whatever period the court specifies (but not more 
than three years). 
 
52 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.03: Percentage of final outcome for proceedings of individuals 
tried at the Crown Court and held on remand in custody, by gender, 
2007-2011 
 
Females 
Final Outcome 
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Acquitted or not proceeded with 
12.2%
11.0%
11.0% 
11.8% 
11.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Convicted: 
 
 
Discharge 
1.3%
1.0%
1.2% 
1.5% 
1.0%
Fine 
0.4%
0.1%
0.2% 
0.3% 
0.3%
Community Sentence(1) 
9.1%
9.5%
10.0% 
10.4% 
9.8%
Suspended Sentence 
10.0%
8.7%
9.0% 
10.3% 
8.1%
Immediate Custody(2) 
61.0%
63.1%
62.2% 
59.6% 
62.0%
Otherwise dealt with(3) 
3.1%
3.0%
3.3% 
3.3% 
4.0%
Total sentenced 
84.8%
85.4%
85.9% 
85.5% 
85.0%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Failed to appear(4) 
3.0%
3.6%
3.1% 
2.8% 
3.4%
Total (in thousands) 
2.7
2.8
2.8 
2.8 
2.8
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Final Outcome 
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Acquitted or not proceeded with 
12.7%
11.3%
12.0% 
12.6% 
11.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Convicted: 
 
 
Discharge 
0.7%
0.6%
0.5% 
0.6% 
0.6%
Fine 
0.3%
0.3%
0.2% 
0.2% 
0.2%
Community Sentence(1) 
6.5%
5.7%
5.6% 
6.0% 
5.4%
Suspended Sentence 
6.1%
6.0%
5.8% 
5.6% 
5.0%
Immediate Custody(2) 
69.3%
72.5%
72.6% 
71.3% 
73.8%
Otherwise dealt with(3) 
2.4%
1.9%
1.7% 
2.2% 
1.9%
Total sentenced 
85.5%
87.1%
86.5% 
85.9% 
86.8%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Failed to appear(4) 
1.8%
1.6%
1.5% 
1.5% 
1.6%
Total (in thousands) 
34.1
36.4
37.3 
39.9 
40.8
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Notes: 
(1) This includes community rehabilitation orders, supervision orders, community punishment 
orders, attendance centre orders, community punishment and rehabilitation orders, curfew 
orders, reparation orders, action plan orders and drug treatment and testing orders. 
(2) Includes detention in a young offender institution, detention and training orders and 
unsuspended imprisonment. 
(3) Includes one day in police cells, disqualification order, restraining order, confiscation order, 
travel restriction order, disqualification from driving, recommendation for deportation and other 
miscellaneous disposals. 
(4) Defendants are classified as having failed to appear if they without reasonable cause do not 
turn up at court (either at magistrates' courts or the Crown Court) on a specified date, having 
either been summonsed or granted bail at an earlier stage of proceedings. 
 
 
53

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Of males tried at Crown Court and remanded in custody, 74 per cent were 
sentenced to immediate custody, five per cent were given a community 
sentence, five per cent a suspended sentence and the remaining three per 
cent received a fine, were discharged or otherwise dealt with. 
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the proportion of females tried at Crown Court 
and held on remand in custody who were later sentenced to immediate 
custody varied between 60-63 per cent. For males, the proportion 
increased from 69 per cent in 2007 to 74 per cent in 2011. 
 
Overall, 67 per cent of females and 48 per cent of males tried at the Crown 
Court were bailed in 2011 compared to 63 per cent and 48 per cent in 
2007. There was a peak in those bailed in 2010 ─ 70 per cent of females 
and 52 per cent of males tried at the Crown Court.  
 
Of those bailed in 2011, fewer females (14 per cent) than males (26 per 
cent) were sentenced to immediate custody; and fewer males received a 
community or suspended sentence (18 per cent and 24 per cent 
respectively, compared to 21 per cent and 28 per cent of females). These 
trends were relatively consistent from 2007 to 2011, although the 
percentage of male defendants who were given a suspended sentence 
after being remanded on bail increased from 19 per cent in 2007 to 24 per 
cent in 2011. 
 
Similar proportions of females and males (26 per cent and 24 per cent, 
respectively) were acquitted after being remanded on bail in 2011, and in 
each of the previous four years. 
Court disposals 
Once an individual is found guilty in a criminal court of law, they can receive 
one of six disposals: an absolute/conditional discharge; a fine; a community 
sentence; a suspended sentence; a sentence to immediate custody; or they 
are otherwise dealt with. 
 
54 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
This section focuses on the outcomes of all those sentenced who had been 
previously convicted at court and by those found guilty of committing indictable 
offences specifically (or more serious offences where the defendant has the 
right to trial by jury). 
All those sentenced 
 
In 2011, there were 351,150 females and 1,139,135 males proceeded 
against at magistrates’ courts in England and Wales. Females accounted 
for 24 per cent and males for 76 per cent. 
 
Overall, 1,246,320 persons were sentenced in 2011. As for court 
proceedings, 24 per cent were female and 76 per cent male. In 2007, 
1,406,788 persons were sentenced; 21 per cent were female and 79 per 
cent male.  
 
Overall, the number of females sentenced by the courts increased by three 
per cent between 2007 and 2011, while the number of males sentenced 
decreased by 15 per cent across the same period. 
Figure 4.01 presents the disposals by gender issued to those sentenced at 
court in 2011.  It shows: 
 
Overall, 77 per cent of all females sentenced at court received fines, 10 
per cent community sentences, two per cent suspended sentences, and 
three per cent immediate custody. In comparison, 61 per cent of all males 
dealt with at court received fines, 15 per cent community sentences, four 
per cent suspended sentences and 10 per cent immediate custody.  
 
These patterns in disposals by gender were broadly consistent in each of 
the last five years, although the proportion of male defendants who were 
fined decreased slightly from 64 per cent in 2007 to 61 per cent in 2011 
(see Table 4.04a for the percentage of disposals issued to those 
sentenced for all offences, by gender between 2007 to 2011). 
 
55

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 4.01: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, 2011 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Absolute or conditional
discharge
Otherwise dealt with
Fined
Community Sentence
Suspended Sentence
Immediate Custody 
Disposal
Percentage of Defendants 
Females
Males
 
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
 
Analysis of the different disposals by age group and gender showed that, 
in each year between 2007 and 2011, a fine was also the most common 
disposal for adults (i.e. those aged 18 or over) of both genders (79 and 64 
per cent for females and males respectively), while a community sentence 
was the most common disposal for juveniles (i.e. those aged under 18) 
during the same period (73 per cent of female and 65 per cent of male 
juveniles disposals).  
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the fine was the only disposal consistently 
received by a larger proportion of adult females than adult males.  For 
juveniles, the only disposal consistently received by a higher proportion of 
females than males was a community sentence.  
 
56 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.04a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, by gender, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional 
discharge 
7.8%
7.5%
6.8% 
7.5%
7.3%
Otherwise dealt with 
1.8%
3.0%
1.3% 
1.5%
1.4%
Fined 
75.2%
73.9%
76.9% 
75.8%
76.6%
Community Sentence 
10.6%
10.7%
10.3% 
10.2%
9.6%
Suspended Sentence 
1.9%
2.1%
2.1% 
2.3%
2.5%
Immediate Custody  
2.7%
2.9%
2.6% 
2.7%
2.7%
Total 
289,505
288,338
314,815 
305,094
297,938
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional 
discharge 
7.4%
7.2%
6.7% 
7.4%
7.4%
Otherwise dealt with 
2.7%
3.3%
2.1% 
2.8%
2.8%
Fined 
64.1%
62.4%
63.3% 
61.1%
60.6%
Community Sentence 
14.8%
15.1%
15.5% 
15.5%
15.1%
Suspended Sentence 
3.1%
3.4%
3.7% 
4.0%
4.2%
Immediate Custody  
7.8%
8.7%
8.8% 
9.2%
9.9%
Total 
1,117,283
1,045,223
1,047,038 1,013,770
948,382
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
Indictable offences 
 
Overall, 47,663 females (14 per cent) and 286,557 males (86 per cent) 
were sentenced for indictable offences in 2011.  
 
Table 4.04b shows the disposals issued to those sentenced for indictable 
offences. In 2011, proportionally more females than males were 
discharged (21 per cent of females and 11 per cent of males) or given a 
community sentence (34 and 29 per cent, respectively). A greater 
proportion of males received immediate custodial sentences (27 per cent 
compared to 15 per cent of females) or a fine (17 per cent compared to 14 
per cent of females).  
 
 
57

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.04b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
indictable offences, by gender, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
21.7%
20.7%
20.1% 
20.9% 
20.8%
Otherwise dealt with 
3.7%
4.7%
3.3% 
4.9% 
4.9%
Fined 
12.1%
11.9%
13.7% 
13.7% 
13.8%
Community Sentence 
38.3%
37.0%
37.8% 
35.8% 
33.9%
Suspended Sentence 
9.6%
10.1%
10.8% 
10.9% 
12.0%
Immediate Custody  
14.6%
15.6%
14.3% 
13.9% 
14.7%
Total 
45,350
46,332
48,874 
50,946 
47,663
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
12.9%
12.0%
11.1% 
11.5% 
11.3%
Otherwise dealt with 
4.0%
4.4%
3.5% 
5.1% 
5.4%
Fined 
16.2%
16.0%
17.4% 
17.6% 
17.5%
Community Sentence 
33.0%
31.9%
32.2% 
30.4% 
28.7%
Suspended Sentence 
8.6%
8.9%
9.3% 
9.7% 
9.9%
Immediate Custody  
25.4%
26.8%
26.5% 
25.7% 
27.2%
Total 
265,841
266,879
276,010 294,695 286,557
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
 
There was a small year-on-year decrease between 2009 and 2011 in the 
percentages of both genders given community sentences (from 38 to 34 
per cent for females and from 32 to 29 per cent for males). For other 
disposals, the proportions were relatively stable for indictable offences 
between 2007 and 2011.  
 
Between 2007 and 2011, patterns in sentencing for all males and all 
females sentenced for indictable offences were also replicated for 
juveniles and adults. Proportionally, more adult and juvenile females were 
discharged (either absolutely or conditionally) or given a community 
sentence than males. While the majority of juveniles (69 per cent of males 
and 78 per cent of females, in 2011) and adult females (29 per cent in 
2011) received a community sentence, immediate custody was the most 
common sentence for adult men (29 per cent in 2011).  
 
58 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The patterns identified in disposals for all indictable offences for all males 
and females (e.g. females more likely to receive community sentences) 
also applied for the following offence groups: violence against the person, 
burglary, robbery, fraud and forgery, criminal damage and drug offences. 
The percentages accounted for by each disposal varied by offence group, 
however. For example, for violence against the person, 36 per cent of all 
males were sentenced to immediate custody in 2011, 20 per cent received 
a suspended sentence, and 32 per cent a community sentence. In 
comparison, 18 per cent of females were sentenced to immediate custody, 
22 per cent received a suspended sentenced, and 43 per cent were given 
a community sentence. 
 
There were some differences in patterns of disposals by gender for other 
offence groups. In 2011, a similar proportion of the 5,874 males and 71 
females sentenced received immediate custody for sexual offences (58 
per cent and 56 per cent respectively), and a higher proportion of males 
received a community sentence (28 per cent versus 23 per cent of 
females).  
 
In 2011, the same proportion of males and females received community 
sentences for theft and handling stolen goods (35 per cent) and other 
indictable offences excluding motoring (17 per cent), which has been 
consistent since 2009. 
Figure 4.02 shows the percentage of offenders sentenced for indictable 
offences by gender and offence group in 2011. It shows that: 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods (which includes shoplifting) was the 
most common indictable offence for which both females and males 
were sentenced at all courts. This is consistent with the previous four 
years.  
 
Of those sentenced for indictable offences, 52 per cent of females and 
33 per cent of males were sentenced for theft and handling stolen 
goods in 2011, compared to 46 and 29 per cent in 2007.  
 
59

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 4.02: Percentage of defendants sentenced for indictable offences 
at all courts, by gender and offence group, 2011 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Violence
against the
person
Sexual
offences
Burglary
Robbery
Theft and
handling
stolen goods
Fraud and
forgery
Criminal
damage
Drug offences
Other
(excluding
motoring
offences)
Motoring
offences
Offence Group
Percentage of Defendants
Females
Males
 
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
In each year between 2007 and 2011, a higher proportion of females than 
males was sentenced for theft and handling stolen goods (in 2011, 52 per 
cent of females and 33 per cent of males sentenced for indictable 
offences) and fraud and forgery (12 per cent of females and five per cent 
of males sentenced for indictable offences in 2011).   
 
The proportion of both females and males sentenced for each indictable 
offence group was stable between 2007 and 2011, with the following 
exceptions: 
 
The proportion of both males and females sentenced for theft and 
handling stolen goods increased (from 46 per cent and 29 per cent in 
2007 to 52 per cent and 33 per cent in 2011), as did the proportion of 
males sentenced for drug offences (from 14 per cent to 19 per cent); 
and 
 
60 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The proportion of females sentenced for fraud and forgery decreased 
(from 15 to 12 per cent), as did the proportion of males sentenced for 
criminal damage (from four to two per cent). 
 
As for all females and males, theft and handling stolen goods was the 
most common indictable offence for which juveniles and adults were 
sentenced between 2007 and 2011. Of those sentenced for indictable 
offences in 2011, 52 per cent of adult females and 48 per cent of juvenile 
females were sentenced for theft and handling stolen goods (compared to 
33 per cent of adult males and 31 per cent of juvenile males).  
 
Higher proportions of juvenile females and adult females were sentenced 
for theft and handling stolen goods and fraud and forgery than juvenile and 
adult males. This was consistent across the five year period.  
Summary offences and summary motoring offences 
 
Tables 4.04c and 4.04d show the disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary offences (excluding motoring) and summary motoring offences. 
They show that, in 2011, 85 per cent of females and 62 per cent of males 
were fined for summary offences (excluding motoring). For summary 
motoring offences, the percentages were 95 per cent and 93 per cent 
respectively.  
 
61

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.04c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary offences (excluding motoring), by gender, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
7.2%
6.9%
6.1% 
6.8% 
6.5%
Otherwise dealt with 
1.2%
2.8%
0.8% 
1.1% 
0.9%
Fined 
83.5%
81.9%
85.2% 
84.2% 
85.2%
Community Sentence 
7.0%
7.2%
6.7% 
6.6% 
6.1%
Suspended Sentence 
0.5%
0.6%
0.6% 
0.7% 
0.7%
Immediate Custody  
0.6%
0.6%
0.6% 
0.6% 
0.6%
Total 
152,795
154,204
168,835 161,144 165,918
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
11.4%
10.9%
10.3% 
11.6% 
10.9%
Otherwise dealt with 
3.2%
3.5%
2.4% 
3.4% 
3.0%
Fined 
63.6%
62.9%
63.2% 
60.6% 
62.3%
Community Sentence 
16.2%
16.7%
17.5% 
17.3% 
16.6%
Suspended Sentence 
1.9%
2.1%
2.5% 
2.7% 
2.8%
Immediate Custody  
3.7%
4.0%
4.2% 
4.4% 
4.5%
Total 
337,087
324,834
321,703 309,186 295,321
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
 
62 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.04d: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary motoring, by gender, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
1.8%
1.5%
1.3% 
1.3%
1.3%
Otherwise dealt with 
1.9%
2.3%
1.1% 
0.4%
0.3%
Fined 
92.7%
92.5%
94.2% 
95.3%
95.2%
Community Sentence 
2.9%
3.0%
2.7% 
2.4%
2.5%
Suspended Sentence 
0.5%
0.5%
0.5% 
0.4%
0.6%
Immediate Custody  
0.2%
0.2%
0.2% 
0.1%
0.1%
Total 
91,360
87,802
97,106 
93,004
84,357
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Disposal 
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
1.9%
1.7%
1.5% 
1.4%
1.4%
Otherwise dealt with 
1.8%
2.4%
1.0% 
0.6%
0.5%
Fined 
89.2%
89.3%
91.6% 
92.7%
92.9%
Community Sentence 
4.6%
4.2%
3.9% 
3.4%
3.3%
Suspended Sentence 
1.1%
1.0%
1.0% 
1.0%
1.0%
Immediate Custody  
1.5%
1.4%
1.1% 
0.9%
0.8%
Total 
514,355
453,510
449,325 409,889
366,504
Source: Court Proceedings database 
 
Specific offence analysis 
Seriousness is a major consideration in sentencing decisions and, therefore, 
differential outcomes within an offence group for males and females may be 
driven by the specific offences they were tried for. For example, within the 
violence against the person offence category, there were 343 sentences for 
murder. Of these, 320 (93 per cent) sentences were issued to males and 23 
(seven per cent) to females. 
To further consider potential differences in the seriousness of offences, the 
following analysis looks at sentences issued to males and females for three 
specific offences: shoplifting; assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH); 
and possession of a Class A drug. 
 
63

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Shoplifting 
 
Of the 75,347 disposals issued to those sentenced for shoplifting in 2011, 
19,602 (26 per cent) involved females and 55,745 (74 per cent) males (see 
Table 4.05a). The proportion of offences accounted for by males and 
females was consistent between 2007 and 2011. 
 
The overall number of defendants sentenced for this offence increased by 
21 per cent during this period with a peak in 2010. There was a greater 
percentage increase in the number of females than males (28 per cent and 
19 per cent respectively). 
 
While a community sentence was most commonly received by both 
females and males, there were differences in the other disposals issued 
and in the proportions of all disposals they represented by gender. 
 
In 2011, nearly one in five of all males (19 per cent) sentenced for 
shoplifting received immediate custody compared to one in nine (11 per 
cent) of all females sentenced for shoplifting. In 2007, the percentages 
were 20 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.  
 
A greater proportion of females than males sentenced were given an 
absolute or conditional discharge (31 per cent compared with 23 per cent) 
and community sentences (34 per cent compared with 29 per cent) for this 
offence in 2011. There was a slight decrease in community sentences for 
this offence in 2011 compared to 2007, when 37 per cent of females and 
32 per cent of males received a community sentence for shoplifting.  
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the proportion of females and males given a 
suspended sentence was stable (at five to six per cent and five per cent 
respectively), although the number of suspended sentences increased 
year on year during this period (from 755 to 1,111 for females and from 
2,357 to 3,061 for males). 
 
64 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.05a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
shoplifting(1), by gender, 2011(2) 
Disposal 
Females
Males 
Total
Absolute or conditional discharge 
30.9%
23.1% 
25.2%
Fine 
14.2%
16.9% 
16.2%
Community sentence 
34.1%
29.2% 
30.5%
Suspended sentence 
5.7%
5.5% 
5.5%
Immediate custody 
11.1%
19.1% 
17.0%
Otherwise dealt with 
3.9%
6.3% 
5.7%
Total 
19,602
55,745 
75,347
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Notes: 
(1) An offence under S.1 Theft Act 1968. 
(2) 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. 
 
Actual bodily harm (ABH) 
 
Of the 13,787 disposals issued in 2011 to those sentenced for ABH, 1,660 
(12 per cent) involved females and 12,127 (88 per cent) males (see Table 
4.05b). The proportion of those sentenced for ABH accounted for by males 
and females was consistent between 2007 and 2011.  
 
Overall, the numbers sentenced for ABH has decreased by 17 per cent 
since 2007 with a peak in 2010. There was a similar reduction in disposals 
issued to females and males for this offence (18 per cent and 17 per cent 
respectively). 
 
Of all females sentenced for ABH, 53 per cent were given a community 
sentence in 2011 compared to 60 per cent in 2007. Although a community 
sentence was most common for males, it accounted for a lower proportion 
of all disposals than for females (also decreasing from 40 per cent in 2007 
to 35 per cent in 2011). 
 
Immediate custody was the second most common disposal for males, and 
a suspended sentence for females. In 2011, one-third (32 per cent) of all 
males sentenced for ABH and 13 per cent of all females received 
 
65

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
immediate custody. This is compared to 28 per cent of males and 12 per 
cent of females in 2007. 
Table 4.05b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
ABH(1), by gender, 2011(2) 
 Disposal 
Females
Males 
Total
Absolute or conditional discharge 
4.5%
1.5% 
1.9%
Fine 
1.0%
1.6% 
1.5%
Community sentence 
53.0%
35.0% 
37.2%
Suspended sentence 
25.7%
26.3% 
26.3%
Immediate custody 
13.0%
32.4% 
30.1%
Otherwise dealt with 
2.9%
3.2% 
3.1%
Total 
1,660
12,127 
13,787
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Notes: 
(1) Includes offences under S.47 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 and S.29(1)(b) & (2) 
Crime and Disorder Act 1998. 
(2) 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. 
 
 
66 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Possession of Class A drugs 
 
Of the 10,384 sentenced in 2011 for possession of a Class A drug, 1,023 
(10 per cent) were female and 9,361 (90 per cent) male. These proportions 
were stable between 2007 and 2011. 
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the number of defendants sentenced for 
possession of a Class A drug decreased by 22 per cent, with a 27 per cent 
decrease in the number of females sentenced for this offence and a 21 per 
cent decrease in the number of males. 
 
A fine was the most common disposal issued to both females and males 
for this offence, although there were differences in the proportion of all 
possession of Class A drugs offences accounted for by gender. In 2007, 
23 per cent of females and 39 per cent of males received a fine, compared 
to 32 and 47 per cent in 2011. In 2011, the average value of a fine for this 
offence was £103 for females and £146 for males. The overall average 
fine for possession of a Class A drug, including cases where gender was 
unknown, was £143. 
Table 4.05c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
possession of a Class A drug(1), by gender, 2011(2) 
Disposal 
Females
Males 
Total
Absolute or conditional discharge 
25.1%
13.4% 
14.6%
Fine 
32.3%
46.7% 
45.2%
Community sentence 
29.9%
26.7% 
27.0%
Suspended sentence 
2.0%
2.8% 
2.7%
Immediate custody 
4.2%
5.9% 
5.8%
Otherwise dealt with 
6.5%
4.5% 
4.7%
Total 
1,023
9,361 
10,384
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Notes: 
(1) Includes offences under S.5(2) & (3) Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and S.19(a) Criminal Justice 
(International Co-operation) Act 1990. 
(2) 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. 
 
 
 
67

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
What other factors may account for differences in sentencing 
between men and women? 
As previously noted, there are a range of other factors that contribute to 
sentencing decisions that may account for some of the differences observed 
between men and women. This section looks at two of these factors: a) 
previous criminal histories; and b) pre-sentence reports. Other factors that are 
also influential in determining the sentence that are not covered by this report 
include mitigating and aggravating factors. Information on these has recently 
been published in the Sentencing Council’s Crown Court Sentencing Survey.45  
a) Previous criminal histories 
Criminal history figures46 are counts of separate previous occasions when 
offenders received a reprimand, final warning, caution or conviction. These 
data provide information on the offending backgrounds of those sentenced, 
which may also influence the sentence imposed. The 2011 data presented 
below were based on 45,030 females and 282,404 males aged 10 or over 
extracted from the Police National Computer.47 As elsewhere in this chapter, 
only data from 2007 to 2011 are presented.  
 
In 2011, a greater proportion of females sentenced for an indictable 
offence had no previous cautions or convictions than males (15 per cent 
compared with nine per cent). These percentages have been broadly 
similar since 2007 for males and since 2008 for females. 
                                                
45 The most recent report is available at: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/facts/crown-
survey-results-2011.htm 
46 The figures on first time entrants and previous criminal histories have been taken from the 
Ministry of Justice’s extract from the Police National Computer (PNC) - the operational database 
used by all police forces in England and Wales. The PNC covers 'recordable' offences, which 
are defined as offences that can attract a custodial sentence plus some additional offences 
defined in legislation. Some non-recordable offences are also included on the PNC, particularly 
when they accompany recordable offences in the same case. A range of less serious summary 
offences, such as TV licence evasion and many motoring offences are not recorded on the 
PNC. Like any other large scale administrative database, the PNC is subject to possible errors 
with data entry and processing. All the figures shown are provisional and subject to change in 
later editions of this publication as more information is recorded by the police. 
47 Data used in this section can be found in the “Offending histories tables” published as part of 
the Ministry of Justice’s Criminal Justice Statistics, which can be found at: 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats 
 
68 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
A greater proportion of males sentenced for an indictable offence in 2011 
had 15 or more previous convictions or cautions than females (32 per cent 
compared with 25 per cent). The proportion of both males and females 
sentenced for an indictable offence with 15 or more convictions or cautions 
has increased year-on-year since 2007 (from 27 per cent of males and 18 
per cent of females). 
 
Of offenders sentenced for indictable offences for the first-time (6,822 
females and 26,175 males in 2011), a greater percentage of males were 
sentenced to immediate custody than females (27 per cent compared with 
17 per cent), which has been the case in each year since 2007. 
 
The percentage of female and male offenders sentenced to immediate 
custody increases with the number of previous cautions or convictions. In 
2011, 39 per cent of males and 29 per cent of females with 15 or more 
cautions or convictions were sentenced to immediate custody. 
 
All first-time offenders: The most common indictable offence for which all 
male first-time offenders were sentenced between 2007 and 2011 was 
violence against the person (20 per cent in 2011), and the second most 
common since 2009 was theft and handling stolen goods (18 per cent in 
2011). Theft and handling stolen goods was the most common indictable 
offence for which all female first-time offenders were sentenced between 
2007 and 2011 (33 per cent in 2011). Between 2007 and 2010, fraud and 
forgery was the second most common offence for which female first-time 
offenders were sentenced, and, in 2011, it was both fraud and forgery and 
violence against the person (19 per cent each).  
 
Adult first-time offenders: Between 2007 and 2011, the two most common 
indictable offences for which adult female first-time offenders were 
sentenced were theft and handling stolen goods and fraud and forgery (in 
2011, 33 and 21 per cent respectively), which is consistent with all 
females. For adult male first-time offenders, violence against the person 
was the most common indictable offence (19 per cent in 2011), although 
the second most common offence type varied between years (in 2011, it 
 
69

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
was theft and handling stolen goods, which accounted for 18 per cent of 
sentences). 
 
Juvenile first-time offenders: The most common indictable offence groups 
for which first-time juvenile offenders were sentenced differed to those for 
all females and males, and for adult females and males. The two most 
common indictable offences for which first-time juvenile male offenders 
were sentenced between 2007 and 2011 were robbery (25 per cent in 
2011) and violence against the person (24 per cent in 2011). Since 2008, 
first-time juvenile female offenders have most commonly been sentenced 
for violence against the person (29 per cent in 2011) and theft and 
handling stolen goods (26 per cent in 2011). In 2007, the order of these 
offences was reversed. 
b) Pre-sentence reports 
Pre-sentence reports (PSRs) provide information to the court about the 
offender and offence(s) committed and assist the court in deciding on a 
suitable sentence. This section looks at the concordance between 
recommendations made in pre-sentence reports and sentences issued at 
court, and whether this differs between males and females. Data on PSRs 
relates to those aged 18 or older. Due to a change in methodology, it is not 
possible to produce a gender breakdown prior to 2009. 
 
Of women who had a PSR recommending immediate custody, 84 per cent 
went on to receive this sentence in 2011, compared to 83 per cent in 2009 
and 85 per cent in 2010. In comparison, 90 per cent of men who had a 
PSR recommending immediate custody went on to receive it in each year 
between 2009 and 2011.  
 
A higher proportion of women than men recommended for Suspended 
Sentence Orders (63 per cent compared with 53 per cent) and community 
sentences (74 per cent compared with 68 per cent) were issued with these 
sentences in 2011. This is consistent with the previous two years. By 
contrast, a lower proportion of women than men recommended for 
 
70 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
71
Suspended Sentence Orders (24 per cent compared to 34 per cent) and 
community sentences (six per cent compared to eleven per cent) were 
issued with immediate custodial sentences.  
 
In 2011, around two thirds of both females (66 per cent) and males (69 per 
cent) whose PSR recommended a fine went on to receive one, while 19 
per cent of females and 17 per cent of males received a community 
sentence. These percentages are broadly consistent with the previous two 
years. 
 
In 2011, a higher proportion of males received immediate custodial 
sentences than females when another sentence option had been 
recommended in the PSR (e.g. a Suspended Sentence Order; all 
community sentences; or a fine). This is consistent with the previous two 
years, except for recommendations for a fine in 2010, when the same 
proportions of both genders received immediate custody (two per cent). 
 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.06: Concordance between sentences proposed and given where a Pre-sentence report (PSR) was written, by gender, 2011 
 
Sentenced Proposed in PSR 
 
 
Immediate Custodial 
Sentence 
Suspended Sentence 
Order 
Community 
sentences (1) 
  Fine   
  All    
Sentence given 
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men 
Immediate custodial 
sentences 
83.7%
90.2%
23.9%
34.4%
5.8%
11.2%
2.3%
2.7%
11.0%
21.9% 
Suspended Sentence 
Order 
8.1%
5.1%
62.9%
52.7%
17.4%
18.2%
2.7%
4.5%
22.5%
21.3% 
Community sentence 
3.7%
2.7%
11.6%
11.1%
73.8%
67.8%
18.8%
17.4%
62.3%
53.0% 
Fine 
0.9%
0.3%
0.1%
0.3%
0.7%
0.8%
66.0%
68.8%
1.9%
1.9% 
Absolute/ conditional 
discharge 
0.9%
0.3%
0.4%
0.3%
1.2%
0.7%
8.1%
4.6%
1.2%
0.7% 
Other 
2.6%
1.4%
1.0%
1.1%
1.1%
1.3%
2.1%
2.1%
1.1%
1.3% 
Total 
970
14,672
3,174
19,786
20,707
112,614
479
2,685
25,330
149,757 
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Notes:  
(1) Includes all pre-CJA community sentences. 
 
 
72 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
How do sentence lengths and types compare for men and women 
sentenced to immediate custody? 
This section compares the lengths and types of custodial sentences issued to 
males and females found guilty of a criminal offence. Any observed disparities 
in sentence length between females and males could be related to a range of 
factors including differences in the specific offence type, which are masked by 
analysis at offence group level. 
Custodial sentence lengths 
 
As shown in Table 4.07, the average custodial sentence length (ACSL)48 
for all indictable offences was consistently higher for males than for 
females between 2007 and 2011. In 2011, the ACSL for indictable 
offences was 17.7 months for males compared to 11.6 months for females.  
 
Between 2007 and 2011, the ACSL for indictable offences for both females 
and males increased, as did the difference between genders. In 2007, the 
ACSL for indictable offences was 15.6 months for males and 10.6 months 
for females. 
 
Analysis of the data by age showed that the differences in ACSL between 
males and females also applied to juveniles and adults, with males 
consistently receiving longer average custodial sentence lengths. In 2011, 
the ACSL for indictable offences for adult males was 18.0 months 
compared to 11.6 months for adult females, and the ACSL for juvenile 
males was 13.0 months compared to 11.3 months for juvenile females. 
 
Although ACSLs for females were shorter than those for males, offenders 
completing a custodial sentence of less than 12 months do not receive 
specific statutory support upon release, which may have implications for 
the readiness/ rehabilitation of these individuals.  
                                                
48 Excludes life and indeterminate custodial sentences. 
 
 
73

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The only indictable offence group for which all females consistently 
received a higher ACSL than males between 2007 and 2010 was criminal 
damage. In 2011, females received a higher ACSL for criminal damage 
(25.8 months versus 18.2 months for males) and slightly higher ACSLs for 
burglary (19.2 months compared to 18.8 for males) and indictable motoring 
offences (10.7 months and 9.7 months for males). 
Table 4.07: Average Custodial Sentence Length in months by offence 
group (indictable offences), 2007-2011 
 
Females  
Offence Group 
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Violence against the person 
15.5
15.2
17.9 
16.5 
18.1
Sexual offences 
35.3
22.5
30.6 
30.1 
32.4
Burglary 
14.0
16.0
16.4 
16.9 
19.2
Robbery 
23.9
23.2
25.5 
25.7 
28.2
Theft and handling of stolen goods 
3.4
3.2
3.7 
3.3 
3.9
Fraud and forgery 
8.7
9.2
8.4 
9.9 
10.9
Criminal damage 
17.6
16.3
20.3 
23.7 
25.8
Drug offences 
31.5
32.2
30.4 
29.8 
30.8
Other (excluding motoring) 
6.2
6.3
7.1 
7.7 
8.3
Indictable motoring 
8.8
5.9
9.2 
7.8 
10.7
All Indictable offences 
10.6
10.7
11.0 
10.4 
11.6
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Offence Group  
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Violence against the person 
17.0
17.4
17.7 
17.9 
18.8
Sexual offences 
43.0
44.4
49.0 
48.9 
53.6
Burglary 
16.7
17.5
18.5 
18.8 
18.8
Robbery 
31.8
33.2
34.1 
35.0 
36.0
Theft and handling of stolen goods 
4.2
4.1
4.3 
4.2 
4.5
Fraud and forgery 
10.3
11.1
10.8 
11.3 
13.3
Criminal damage 
12.2
14.8
18.8 
17.6 
18.2
Drug offences 
32.0
32.8
32.3 
30.8 
31.0
Other (excluding motoring) 
9.8
11.4
10.2 
9.8 
10.8
Indictable motoring 
8.8
9.5
9.1 
9.7 
9.7
All Indictable offences 
15.6
16.6
17.0 
16.7 
17.7
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Note: Excludes life and indeterminate custodial sentences. 
 
Criminal damage was also the only indictable offence group for which adult 
females consistently received a higher ACSL than adult males between 
2007 and 2011 (26.3 months compared to 18.3 for adult males). There 
 
74 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
was no indictable offence group for which juvenile females consistently 
received a higher ACSL than juvenile males.  
 
The largest difference in ACSL for males and females between 2008 and 
2011 was for the sexual offences group. In 2011, the ACSL for males was 
53.6 months compared to 32.4 for females ─ a difference of 21.1 months. 
In 2007, the largest difference in ACSL was for robbery (a difference of 8.0 
months between males and females). 
 
As shown in Table 4.08, data on the number of offenders sentenced 
between 2007 and 2011, showed that, proportionally, more females than 
males received short custodial sentences (sentences up to and including 
six months). By contrast, in the same period, a larger percentage of males 
than females received sentences of over four years. In 2011, 65 per cent 
of females received sentences of up to and including six months and four 
per cent received sentences of over four years. This is compared to 54 per 
cent and eight per cent of males, respectively.  
 
The patterns in sentence length by gender were also consistent for adults 
and juveniles i.e. proportionally more females than males received short 
custodial sentences (i.e. 60 per cent of juvenile females and 65 per cent of 
adult females received sentences of up to and including six months 
compared with 48 per cent of juvenile males and 54 per cent of adult 
males) and a greater proportion of males than females received longer 
sentences of over four years (three per cent of juvenile males and eight 
per cent of adult males versus two per cent of juvenile females and four 
per cent of adult females). 
 
While the percentages of both genders sentenced for four years or over 
were relatively stable (within one percentage point) between 2007 and 
2011, the percentage of females and males sentenced to up to and 
including six months decreased. In 2007, 69 per cent of females and 60 
per cent of males received short sentences, compared to 65 per cent and 
54 per cent respectively in 2011. 
 
75

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.08: Custodial sentence length for females and males found guilty 
of a criminal offence, 2007-2011 
 
Females 
Custodial Sentence Length 
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Up to and including 6 months 
68.6%
67.9%
67.2% 
69.1% 
65.0%
Over 6 month and up to and including 1 
year 
12.3%
12.7%
12.2% 
10.4% 
12.2%
Over 1 year and up to and including 4 
years 
15.3%
15.7%
16.9% 
17.4% 
19.2%
Over 4 years (1) 
3.8%
3.7%
3.7% 
3.1% 
3.6%
All Offenders 
7,795
8,359
8,100 
8,196 
8,046
  
  
  
  
  
  
 
Males 
Custodial Sentence Length 
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
Up to and including 6 months 
59.7%
57.3%
56.2% 
56.5% 
54.1%
Over 6 month and up to and including 1 
year 
12.2%
12.7%
13.1% 
12.7% 
13.2%
Over 1 year and up to and including 4 
years 
21.3%
22.6%
23.7% 
23.8% 
25.1%
Over 4 years (1) 
6.8%
7.5%
6.9% 
7.0% 
7.5%
All Offenders 
87,411
90,812
91,801 93,021 94,326
Source: Court Proceedings database 
Note: 
(1) Includes life and indeterminate custodial sentences. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
76 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 5 – Women as offenders: under supervision or in 
custody 
This chapter draws upon the Ministry of Justice publications Offender 
Management Statistics 2011, Safety in Custody Statistics 2011, and the 
Proven Re-offending Statistics series, presenting 2011 data and exploring 
five-year trends.49 These publications provide statistics relating to offenders 
under supervision or in custody, self-harm, deaths and assaults in prison 
custody, and proven re-offending. Statistics on the prison population relate to 
those aged 15 or over, figures on probation to individuals 18 and over, and re-
offending to those aged 10 or over.  
The key findings were as follows: 
 
In 2011, there were fewer women than men both under supervision and in 
custody. Women made up 15 per cent of those under supervision in the 
community as a result of community and Suspended Sentence Orders (the 
two most common types of community sentence), and five per cent of the 
total prison population in England and Wales. Women also accounted for 
the same proportion of offenders in custody and broadly similar 
proportions of offenders under supervision in each of the four preceding 
years. 
 
The average length of community and Suspended Sentence Orders was 
shorter for women in 2011, and women who started such supervision 
generally had fewer requirements to comply with than men. In 2011, 14 
per cent of women supervised under a community order were supervised 
for less than one year, whereas, for men, the corresponding proportion 
was seven per cent.   
                                                
49 Data on those in prison are also available for 30 June 2012. For consistency across sources 
(i.e. with probation data and safety in custody), this chapter focuses on data for 2011. 
 
77

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The total prison population on 30 June 2011 was 85,374. Women (aged 15 
or over) made up 4,185 of this total (five per cent), and men made up 
81,189 (95 per cent).  
 
A greater proportion of women in custody under immediate custodial 
sentence were serving sentences of twelve months or less (21 per cent 
compared with 10 per cent of men in 2011) or six months or less (15 per 
cent versus seven per cent of men in 2011) than men.  Smaller proportions 
of women were serving longer determinate sentences of four years or 
longer (27 per cent compared with 34 per cent of men) or indeterminate 
sentences (11 per cent compared with 19 per cent of men). These 
proportions were similar in each of the four preceding years. 
 
On 30 June 2011, there were differences between the principal offence 
profiles of men and women under immediate custodial sentence. Whilst 
violence against the person was the most prevalent principal offence type 
for both sexes (accounting for 27 per cent of women and 29 per cent of 
men), the rest of the offence profile differed, with larger proportions of 
women in prison for theft and handling (13 per cent versus five per cent for 
men) and drug offences than men (21 per cent versus 14 per cent for 
men), and fewer women in prison for sexual offences (two per cent versus 
14 per cent for men).   
 
Proven re-offending is defined as any offence committed in a one year 
follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, caution, reprimand or 
warning in the one year follow-up. In common with the four preceding 
years, male offenders (aged 10 years and older) in the 2010 re-offending 
cohort had a greater one year proven re-offending rate (29 per cent) than 
female offenders (19 per cent).   
 
Whilst the rate of women self-harming in prison custody was the lowest in 
the five year-period, these rates remained over 10 times higher than those 
for men (2,104 incidents per 1,000 female prisoners compared to 194 
incidents per 1,000 male prisoners in 2011). Repetitive self-harmers 
impact upon this comparison, as women who self-harmed in 2011 did so 
 
78 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
more often than men (an average of 7.1 incidents compared to 2.8 
incidents for each individual self-harming).  However, data suggests that 
acts of self-harm by men were more severe.  In 2011, nine per cent of all 
recorded self-harm incidents in male establishments resulted in hospital 
attendances, compared with two per cent of such incidents in female 
establishments. 
 
What experiences do men and women have under probation 
supervision and in custody? 
This section explores the gender differences in the representation of offenders 
under probation supervision or in prison. Differences in additional 
demographics are considered (including age and nationality) as well as 
gender differences in offence and sentence types. Data are drawn from 
Offender Management Statistics 2011. Additional data are also available in the 
supplementary Excel tables for Chapter 5.  
Community sentences50 
In this section, data on community sentences refer to individuals already 
undertaking probation supervision, rather than individuals being sentenced 
(as discussed in Chapter 4). 
 
In 2011, a total of 19,018 women (15 per cent) and 106,916 men (85 per 
cent) were under supervision as a result of a community order or 
Suspended Sentence Order.  These proportions are the same as those 
recorded in the four previous years, aside for 2007, when women 
accounted for 14 per cent and men 86 per cent. 
 
There was a 13 per cent decrease in the number of all persons under 
supervision as a result of a community order or Suspended Sentence 
                                                
50 Most community sentences are either: 1) Community orders – introduced as a single 
community sentence by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which must contain at least one of 12 
possible requirements (such as unpaid work, curfew, or drug rehabilitation); or 2) Suspended 
Sentence Orders – enable a court passing a custodial sentence of less than 12 months to 
suspend that sentence for a period of between six months and two years, while ordering the 
offender to undertake certain requirements in the community (drawn from the same list as those 
available for the community order). 
 
79

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Order between 2007 and 2011. The decrease was greater for men (14 per 
cent) than women (eight per cent). Data on trends in sentencing, as 
reflected in the previous chapter, also showed a seven per cent decrease 
in the combined number of suspended sentences and community 
sentences during this period (with a one per cent decrease for females and 
a seven per cent decrease for males).  
Table 5.01 shows the gender differences in the number of individuals under 
supervision and the length of the orders undertaken:  
 
80 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.01: Persons supervised by Probation Service under community 
orders and Suspended Sentence Orders by length of order and gender, 
31 December 2007–2011 
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
  
2007
2008
2009 
2010 
2011
  
  
Community Order 
  
  
 
  
 
Females 
14,906
15,087
14,799 
13,699 
12,925
under 1 year 
7.8%
8.9%
9.6% 
11.3% 
13.7%
1 year 
61.1%
63.1%
65.6% 
67.6% 
68.1%
2 years(1) 
28.5%
26.4%
23.6% 
19.8% 
17.1%
3 years(1) 
1.2%
1.3%
1.1% 
1.2% 
1.1%
Length unknown 
1.4%
0.2%
0.0% 
0.1% 
0.0%
  
 
 
 
 
 
Average length of order (months) 
14.2
14.0
13.7 
13.3 
12.9
  
  
Males 
86,952
86,066
82,682 
78,065 
71,243
under 1 year 
4.5%
4.9%
5.4% 
6.3% 
7.4%
1 year 
58.7%
61.7%
63.2% 
63.8% 
64.2%
2 years(1) 
32.0%
29.7%
27.7% 
25.5% 
23.3%
3 years(1) 
2.8%
3.3%
3.6% 
4.3% 
5.0%
Length unknown 
2.1%
0.3%
0.1% 
0.1% 
0.0%
  
 
 
 
 
 
Average length of order (months) 
15.3
15.2
15.1 
15.1 
15.0
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
Suspended Sentence Order 
  
  
  
 
Females 
5,821
6,218
6,351 
6,111 
6,093
under 1 year 
1.5%
1.4%
0.9% 
0.9% 
1.0%
1 year 
36.3%
35.4%
36.4% 
37.6% 
40.4%
2 years(1) 
62.0%
63.0%
62.4% 
61.4% 
58.5%
Length unknown 
0.2%
0.2%
0.3% 
0.1% 
0.1%
  
 
 
  
 
Average length of order (months) 
18.0
18.2
18.1 
18.1 
17.8
  
  
Males 
37,091
37,759
37,264 
37,450 
35,673
under 1 year 
1.0%
0.9%
0.7% 
0.7% 
0.7%
1 year 
34.7%
33.6%
33.8% 
33.9% 
36.4%
2 years(1) 
63.8%
65.1%
65.2% 
65.2% 
62.8%
Length unknown 
0.5%
0.3%
0.3% 
0.2% 
0.2%
  
 
 
  
 
Average length of order (months) 
18.3
18.5
18.5 
18.6 
18.3
  
 
 
 
  
Note: 
(1) Includes a small number of orders for less than the full number of years 
 
81

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, the majority of all community orders were for a year’s duration (65 
per cent); the majority of Suspended Sentence Orders were for two years 
(62 per cent). The average length of a community order and Suspended 
Sentence Order for women (12.9 and 17.8 months) was shorter than for 
men (at 15.0 and 18.3 months respectively).  The average length of both 
orders was also shorter for women in each of the four preceding years.  
 
Women beginning the most common types of supervision orders in 2011 
generally had fewer requirements with which to comply than men.  For 
community orders, 43 per cent of women and 51 per cent of men were 
given more than one requirement with which to comply.  For Suspended 
Sentence Orders, the corresponding proportions were 55 per cent for 
women and 63 per cent for men.  
 
In 2011, there were some differences in the most frequent types of 
requirements attached to community orders for men and women. The two 
most frequent requirements attached to women’s community orders were 
supervision (37 per cent) followed by unpaid work (26 per cent).  While 
these were also the two most frequent requirements attached to men’s 
orders; for men, unpaid work (34 per cent) was more frequent than 
supervision (31 per cent).  Supervision and unpaid work were also the 
most frequent requirements attached to Suspended Sentence Orders for 
both women (38 per cent and 24 per cent) and men (34 per cent and 28 
per cent respectively). These patterns also applied in each of the last four 
years. 
 
The Offender Management Tiering framework is a way of categorising 
offenders according to their risk of serious harm and likelihood of re-
offending. It indicates the level of intervention required with offenders: Tier 
1 represents the lowest level of intervention and Tier 4 the highest. Data 
for 31 December 2011 showed that, where offenders were supervised 
under community and Suspended Sentence Orders, there were 
differences in the known probation tiers to which men and women were 
assigned (see Figure 5.01). A higher proportion of women were assigned 
to Tiers 1 and 2 than men (66 per cent compared to 49 per cent), while a 
 
82 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
greater percentage of men were assigned to Tiers 3 and 4 than women 
(51 per cent compared to 34 per cent).51  These patterns were also 
consistent in each of the four preceding years. 
Figure 5.01: Offenders supervised under community orders and 
Suspended Sentence Orders by known supervision tier and gender, 31 
December 2011 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Tier 1 (low)
Tier 2 (low-medium)
Tier 3 (medium-high)
Tier 4 (high)
Percentage of Offenders
Women (N=18,943)
Men (N=106,540)
 
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
 
Men and women supervised under community orders and Suspended 
Sentence Orders in 2011 had different age profiles. Larger proportions of 
women commencing community orders (55 per cent) and Suspended 
Sentence Orders (58 per cent) were aged 30 or older in comparison to 
men (48 per cent of both types of orders). These patterns were similar in 
each of the four preceding years. 
Custody  
This section uses two measures for the prison population; the total prison 
population and the population under immediate custodial sentence.  The total 
                                                
51 Data where the probation tier was unknown were excluded. 
 
83

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
prison population includes sentenced, remand, non-criminal prisoners and fine 
defaulters. The total prison population does not include offenders under the 
age of 15 years accommodated in the YJB operated secure estate.  The 
population under immediate custodial sentence includes sentenced prisoners 
only and excludes fine defaulters. The populations presented are annual 
series, recorded on the 30 June each year.52   
As noted elsewhere in this report, differences between men and women may 
be attributable to a range of factors, including differences in the type or 
seriousness of the offences committed, and previous criminal history. 
a) Prison population 
 
On 30 June 2011, the total prison population in England and Wales was 
85,374. Women made up 4,185 of this total (five per cent), and men 
comprised 81,189 (95 per cent). Women also accounted for five per cent 
of the total prison population in each of the four preceding years. More 
historical data shows that women have accounted for five per cent of the 
prison population annual average since 1998 (and six per cent between 
2001 and 2006).  
 
On 30 June 2011, there were 10,779 foreign national prisoners in the total 
prison population. Of these, 10,091 were men and 688 were women. Table 
5.02 shows that the proportion of foreign national women in the prison 
population has fallen in the last five years, from 22 per cent of all women in 
custody (or 963) in 2007 to 16 per cent of all women in custody (or 688) in 
2011. This reduction can be explained in part by a fall in the number of 
foreign national women in custody for drugs offences, from 398 on 30 June 
2007 to 201 on 30 June 2011. The number and proportion of foreign 
national men in the total prison population remained broadly stable: in 
2007, there were 10,130 foreign national men in custody (13 per cent of all 
                                                
52 In addition to these measures, the Ministry of Justice publication Offender Management 
Statistics presents data on prison receptions which provide an indication of the number of 
individuals received into prison in a given year or quarter. 
 
84 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
men in custody) compared to 10,091 in 2011 (12 per cent of all men in 
custody). 
Table 5.02: Total prison population by nationality and gender, as at 30 
June 2007-2011 
  
Females 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
British nationals 
75.4%
77.0%
78.6%
78.5% 
78.4% 
81.8%
Foreign nationals 
22.5%
21.1%
19.5%
19.9% 
18.1% 
16.4%
Unrecorded nationality 
2.1%
2.0%
1.9%
1.6% 
3.4% 
1.8%
Total 
4,283
4,505
4,296
4,307 
4,267 
4,185
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Males 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
British nationals 
85.5%
85.5%
85.7%
85.4% 
83.8% 
85.7%
Foreign nationals 
13.4%
13.4%
13.3%
13.4% 
12.8% 
12.4%
Unrecorded nationality 
1.0%
1.1%
1.0%
1.2% 
3.3% 
1.8%
Total 
75,451
78,689
79,158
79,084 
80,735 
81,189
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
Note: 
(1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the 2010 prison population data is now 
taken from a different source. The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have been 
presented to aid comparison. 
 
 
There were differences between the age profiles of men and women in the 
total prison population in 2011. Women in custody were older than men, 
with 59 per cent aged 30 or older (compared with 54 per cent of men).  
 
Women accounted for a small proportion of the young adult population 
(those aged 18-20 years) in custody (four per cent of the total 7,927) and a 
smaller proportion of the juvenile (aged 15-17 years) population (one per 
cent of the total 1,581). 
 
On 30 June 2011, the prison population under immediate custodial 
sentence (i.e. excluding prisoners on remand and fine defaulters) stood at 
71,835 (see Table 5.03). Women accounted for 3,411 (five per cent) of this 
total, and men for 68,424 (95 per cent). Whilst the male prison population 
under immediate custodial sentence has grown year on year since 2007 
 
85

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
with a 10 per cent overall increase, the female population has fluctuated 
with a smaller overall increase of two per cent in 2011 compared to 2007. 
Table 5.03: Population in prison establishments under immediate 
custodial sentence by gender, as at 30 June 2007–2011 
  
2007 
2008
2009
2009 (1)
2010 
2011
Females 
3,345 
3,524
3,382
3,414
3,421 
3,411
Males 
62,188 
64,600
64,993
65,047
67,450 
68,424
Total 
65,533 
68,124
68,375
68,461
70,871 
71,835
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
Note: 
(1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the 2010 prison population data is now 
taken from a different source. The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have been 
presented to aid comparison. 
(2) The prison population under immediate custodial sentence excludes prisoners on remand 
and fine defaulters. 
 
 
The foreign national prison population sentenced to immediate custody 
stood at 7,516 on 30 June 2011. There was a slightly higher proportion of 
women in this total (seven per cent) than in the sentenced prison 
population as a whole (five per cent). 
b) Sentence profiles of those in prison 
Prison sentences can be divided into two broad groups: determinate 
sentences which are for a fixed period, and indeterminate sentences which 
have a minimum fixed period, known as a tariff, that must be served before 
release is considered. There were two main types of indeterminate sentences 
served by the population under immediate custodial sentence between 2006 
and 2011: mandatory life sentences (for those convicted of murder) and 
indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP sentences53).  Discretionary 
life sentences were also being served for other serious offences not including 
murder. 
 
There were differences between the sentence profiles of men and women 
serving immediate custodial sentences:   
                                                
53 IPP sentences were introduced in 2005 under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and were 
abolished under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.  
 
86 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
On 30 June 2011, a greater proportion of women were serving short 
sentences, with 21 per cent serving a sentence of 12 months or less 
compared with 10 per cent of men, and 15 per cent serving a sentence of 
six months or less compared with seven per cent of men. 
 
These patterns also applied to certain offence types – a smaller proportion 
of men were serving sentences of six months or less for both violence 
against the person (five per cent) and theft and handling (34 per cent) than 
women (10 per cent and 48 per cent for the same offences in 2011).  
 
On 30 June 2011, a smaller proportion of women were serving sentences 
of four years or more (27 per cent of women sentenced compared with 34 
per cent of men) and indeterminate sentences (11 per cent and 19 per 
cent respectively).  These patterns were also consistent in each of the four 
preceding years. 
 
The proportion of women under immediate custodial sentence on 30 June 
2011 who had been recalled from community supervision following a 
previous spell in custody was six per cent. This is similar to the proportion 
recorded in previous years (five per cent in 2010 and six per cent in 2009, 
when data on the recalled population became available).  The 
corresponding proportion for men on 30 June 2011 was greater at eight 
per cent, with similar proportions recorded in both 2010 (eight per cent) 
and 2009 (nine per cent).   
Table 5.04 shows the sentence length of the prison population under 
immediate custodial sentence by gender in the years 2006 to 2011. 
 
87

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.04: Population in prison under immediate custody by sentence 
length and gender, as at 30 June 2007-2011 
  
Females 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
Less than or equal to 6 months 
13.9%
15.7%
13.5%
14.1% 
15.3%
14.7%
Greater than 6 months to less 
than 12 months 
6.3%
7.5%
5.7%
5.7% 
5.8%
6.2%
12 months to less than 4 years 
37.0%
37.1%
39.0%
34.0% 
33.9%
34.9%
4 years or more  
(excluding indeterminate) 
33.8%
29.9%
30.7%
28.9% 
28.6%
27.4%
Indeterminate sentences 
8.9%
9.8%
11.1%
10.8% 
11.1%
11.1%
Recalls(1) 
-
-
-
6.4% 
5.3%
5.8%
Total 
3,345
3,524
3,382
3,414 
3,421
3,411
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Males 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
Less than or equal to 6 months 
7.6%
8.2%
7.2%
7.1% 
7.1%
7.2%
Greater than 6 months to less 
than 12 months 
3.6%
4.0%
3.5%
3.4% 
3.4%
3.2%
12 months to less than 4 years 
34.7%
34.6%
34.6%
29.5% 
29.2%
28.1%
4 years or more  
(excluding indeterminate) 
39.3%
36.1%
36.1%
32.9% 
33.7%
34.2%
Indeterminate sentences 
14.8%
17.1%
18.7%
18.2% 
18.9%
19.4%
Recalls(1) 
-
-
-
8.8% 
7.7%
8.0%
Total 
62,188
64,600
64,993
65,047 
67,450
68,424
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
Notes:  
(1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the 2010 prison population data is now 
taken from a different source and recalls are shown separately (they were previously included in 
the relevant sentence length band). The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have 
been presented to aid comparison. 
 
 
Of the 13,644 prisoners serving indeterminate sentences in 2011, 13,267 
were men (97 per cent) and 377 were women (three per cent). Women 
accounted for the same proportion of offenders under indeterminate 
sentence in each of the four preceding years. 
 
In the five years to 30 June 2011, the number of all offenders in custody 
under an IPP sentence more than doubled (2,859 in 2007 and 6,056 in 
2011). On 30 June 2011, more men than women were serving IPP 
sentences both as a proportion of the indeterminately sentenced 
population (45 per cent of all men serving indeterminate sentences 
 
88 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
compared with 35 per cent of women) and the sentenced population 
overall (nine per cent of all men sentenced; four per cent of all women).  
 
Patterns in the proportion of men and women serving indeterminate 
sentences reflect the gender profile of offenders sentenced for offences 
that can attract an indeterminate sentence, particularly sexual offences 
(see below).  
c) Offence profiles of those in prison 
Data on the population in custody under immediate custodial sentence 
showed differences in the offence profiles of men and women. The data 
presented refer to the principal offence for which the custodial sentence was 
received. 
 
Whilst, in 2011, violence against the person was the offence type for which 
the largest proportion of both sexes were imprisoned (with 27 per cent of 
women and 29 per cent of men in prison for this offence), the rest of the 
offence profile differed by gender. A higher proportion of women under 
immediate custodial sentence were in custody for theft and handling (13 
per cent versus five per cent for men) and drug offences (21 per cent 
versus 14 per cent for men), and a higher proportion of men were in prison 
for sexual offences (14 per cent versus two per cent for women). 
 
The offence profile for women in custody changed between 2007 and 
2011, whilst it remained relatively stable for men. In 2007, the most 
common offence type for which women were in custody was drug offences 
(31 per cent). This fell year on year to 21 per cent in 2011. During the 
same period, the proportion of women in prison for violence against the 
person increased from 21 per cent to 27 per cent, making it the most 
common offence type for women in custody.   
Table 5.05 shows how the offence profile of men and women in custody 
changed between 2007 and 2011. 
 
89

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.05: Population in prison under immediate custody by offence 
type and gender, as at 30 June 2007-2011 
  
Females 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
Violence against the 
person 
20.5%
21.9%
24.8%
24.9% 
26.2% 
26.7%
Sexual offences 
1.4%
1.3%
1.6%
1.8% 
2.4% 
2.4%
Robbery 
9.3%
8.4%
9.9%
9.7% 
8.0% 
8.8%
Burglary 
5.9%
5.8%
6.1%
5.9% 
4.4% 
5.0%
Theft and handling  
11.2%
13.1%
12.4%
11.5% 
12.8% 
13.2%
Fraud and forgery  
6.8%
8.4%
7.3%
7.4% 
5.4% 
5.1%
Drug offences 
31.2%
28.1%
26.4%
25.2% 
24.2% 
21.2%
Motoring offences 
0.9%
0.6%
0.6%
0.5% 
0.6% 
0.5%
Other offences 
11.7%
11.8%
10.6%
11.4% 
13.4% 
15.7%
Offence not recorded 
1.0%
0.7%
0.4%
1.8% 
2.5% 
1.3%
Total 
3,345
3,524
3,382
3,414 
3,421 
3,411
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Males 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2009(1) 
2010 
2011 
Violence against the 
person 
27.2%
28.1%
29.4%
29.1% 
28.7% 
28.5%
Sexual offences 
11.7%
11.7%
12.2%
12.5% 
13.7% 
14.3%
Robbery 
13.6%
13.1%
13.4%
12.9% 
12.7% 
12.9%
Burglary 
12.4%
12.0%
11.8%
11.1% 
9.9% 
10.1%
Theft and handling  
5.4%
5.2%
4.6%
4.2% 
5.1% 
5.5%
Fraud and forgery  
2.4%
2.7%
2.5%
2.6% 
2.0% 
1.8%
Drug offences 
15.4%
15.5%
15.1%
14.7% 
15.2% 
14.5%
Motoring offences 
2.3%
2.1%
1.7%
1.6% 
1.3% 
1.2%
Other offences 
9.0%
9.3%
8.9%
8.9% 
10.2% 
10.6%
Offence not recorded 
0.6%
0.4%
0.4%
2.5% 
1.2% 
0.7%
Total 
62,188
64,600
64,993
65,047 
67,450 
68,424
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
Note: 
(1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the 2010 prison population data is now 
taken from a different source. The 2009 figures from both the old and new systems have been 
presented to aid comparison. 
 
 
In 2011, there were differences between the offence profiles of British 
national and foreign national prisoners under immediate custodial 
sentence. Greater proportions of foreign national men were in prison for 
drugs offences (22 per cent) than British national men (14 per cent), and 
greater proportions of British national men were in custody for violence 
against the person (29 per cent) than foreign national men (24 per cent). 
 
90 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The differences in offence profiles were more pronounced amongst foreign 
national versus British national women in prison. On 30 June 2011, greater 
proportions of foreign national women were in prison for drugs offences 
(39 per cent) and fraud and forgery (14 per cent) than British national 
women (18 per cent and three per cent respectively). British national 
women were in prison more often for violence against the person (29 per 
cent) or robbery (10 per cent) than foreign national women (13 per cent 
and three per cent respectively). 
Home Detention Curfew  
 
Home Detention Curfew (HDC) refers to those prisoners serving sentences 
between three months and less than four years who spend up to the last two 
months of the custodial part of their sentence on an electronically monitored 
curfew, out of custody.  
 
In 2011, there were 12,727 prisoners released on HDC. Of these, 1,576 
were women (12 per cent) and 11,151 were men (88 per cent).  
 
Of those eligible for HDC, larger proportions of women (45 per cent in 
2011) than men (28 per cent in 2011) have been released under the 
scheme in each of the last five years, though the proportions of both 
women and men released under HDC have increased since 2007 (when it 
was 30 per cent of eligible women and 20 per cent of eligible men). 
 
How do men and women respond to the CJS in terms of their 
behaviour? 
This section explores the gender differences in responses to the CJS, looking 
at the re-offending, compliance and safety of those either in custody or under 
community supervision. The chapter draws on data from the Proven Re-
offending Statistics series, data on prison adjudications, community sentence 
outcomes from Offender Management Statistics 2011, and data on self-harm, 
deaths and assaults from the Safety in Custody 2011 statistics bulletin. 
 
91

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Proven re-offending 
This section looks at the re-offending of offenders who were released from 
custody, received a non-custodial conviction at court, received a caution, 
reprimand, warning or tested positive for opiates or cocaine between January 
and December 2010 (the 2010 cohort). It also considers trend data for the 
previous four years. Here, proven re-offending is defined as any offence 
committed in a one year follow-up period and receiving a court conviction, 
caution, reprimand or warning in the one year follow-up. Following this one 
year period, a further six month waiting period is allowed for cases to progress 
through the courts.  
 
Overall, 648,822 offenders were cautioned, convicted or released from 
custody between January and December 2010, comprising 523,675 male 
(81 per cent) and 125,147 female offenders (19 per cent).  
 
Of this 2010 cohort, 149,785 male and 23,489 female offenders committed 
a re-offence in the one year follow-up that resulted in a court conviction, 
caution, reprimand or warning. This gives a greater one-year proven re-
offending rate for males in the cohort (29 per cent) than females (19 per 
cent).   
 
Greater proportions of juvenile offenders committed a proven re-offence 
(35 per cent) than adult offenders (25 per cent) in the 2010 cohort.  
 
Table 5.06 shows that greater proportions of both adult and juvenile male 
offenders have committed a re-offence than adult and juvenile female 
offenders in each cohort since 2006. In the 2010 cohort, 39 per cent of 
juvenile males re-offended compared with 24 per cent of juvenile females; 
and 27 per cent of adult males versus 18 per cent of adult females. 
 
92 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.06: Proportion of offenders who re-offend by gender, re-
offending cohorts 2006-2010 
  
Females 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Juvenile re-offenders 
23.2%
22.0%
22.6% 
21.6% 
24.0%
Adult re-offenders 
17.2%
17.3%
18.0% 
17.3% 
17.6%
All re-offenders 
19.0%
18.7%
19.2% 
18.3% 
18.8%
Number of offenders in 
cohort 
150,977
157,888
146,492 139,233 125,147
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Males 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Juvenile re-offenders 
37.8%
36.4%
36.6% 
36.9% 
38.9%
Adult re-offenders 
26.2%
26.5%
27.1% 
26.7% 
27.0%
All re-offenders 
28.7%
28.6%
28.8% 
28.3% 
28.6%
Number of offenders in 
cohort 
591,542
608,586
589,035 558,129 523,675
Source:  Proven Re-offending Statistics 
 
 
The average number of re-offences per re-offender in the 2010 cohort 
was 2.89 for male and 2.77 for female re-offenders, which reflects a 
peak in the five-year period. Male re-offenders also committed more 
proven re-offences on average than female re-offenders in each of the 
preceding four years. 
Outcomes of community sentences 
A community sentence can run its full course or terminate early for good 
progress. Alternatively, the offender can fail to comply with the requirements 
attached or otherwise fail to complete the order. Differences between the 
outcomes of community sentences reflect the differences in the categorisation 
of men and women according to their risk of serious harm and likelihood of re-
offending. Data on terminations in 2011 indicates that Tier 1 and 2 offenders 
(comprising proportionately more women than men) are more likely to 
complete both community and Suspended Sentence Orders than Tier 3 and 4 
offenders (comprising proportionately more men than women). Differences in 
outcomes may also reflect differences between both the number and type of 
requirements attached to orders for both men and women (see p.82). 
The available data showed that: 
 
93

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, greater proportions of women completed both community 
orders (70 per cent versus 65 per cent) and Suspended Sentence 
Orders (74 per cent versus 66 per cent) than men. These patterns 
were also similar in each of the three previous years for which 
comparable records were available.54 
 
In 2011, larger proportions of both men and women breached or 
otherwise failed to comply with community sentences when they had 
two or more requirements with which to comply. For community orders, 
26 per cent of all those with one requirement breached or otherwise 
failed to comply (26 per cent of men and 22 per cent of women) 
compared with 41 per cent of those with two or more requirements (42 
per cent of men and 39 per cent of women).  For Suspended Sentence 
Orders, the corresponding proportions were 22 per cent (24 per cent of 
men and 15 per cent of women) and 38 per cent (38 per cent of men 
and 32 per cent of women) respectively. A greater proportion of those 
offenders with one requirement successfully completed their order or 
had their order terminated for good progress in each of the preceding 
three years for which data were comparable. 
Discipline in prison establishments 
Offences against prison discipline are heard in what are known as 
adjudications, where prisoners can be punished if found guilty. The analysis 
below compares the number and rate of offences punished in male and 
female establishments. Any differences may therefore reflect the way in which 
the CJS responds to the behaviour of men and women, and differences in the 
offences reported, and do not necessarily reflect differences in the behaviour 
of prisoners themselves.55 The available statistics showed that: 
                                                
54 It has only been possible to compare percentages over time from 2008 onwards, as before 
then not enough time had elapsed for all orders to run their full course. These orders were 
introduced in April 2005. 
55 See, for example, Leibling and Price (2003). Prison officers and the use of discretion. In L. 
Gelsthorpe and N. Padfield (Eds.). Exercising Discretion: Decision-making in the Criminal 
Justice System and Beyond. Willan Publishing. 
 
94 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, the rate of offences punished in prison establishments was 
higher for women (130 offences punished per 100 female prisoners) 
than for men (106 offences punished per 100 male prisoners). This 
rate was also higher for women than for men in each of the preceding 
four years (see Table 5.07).   
 
In 2011, the largest disciplinary offence category that both female and 
male offenders were punished for was disobedience or disrespect (59 
and 42 offences punished per 100 prisoners respectively). This was 
also the largest disciplinary offence category in each of the four 
preceding years.  
 
95

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.07: Offences punished per 100 prisoners56 in prison 
establishments by type of offence and gender, 2007–2011 
  
Females 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Violence 
30 
31 
24  
19  
20 
Disobedience or disrespect 
93 
83 
69  
57  
59 
Wilful damage 
13 
14 
12  
7  
8 
Unauthorised transactions/possessions 
31 
34 
29  
28  
28 
Other offences 
22 
19 
16  
15  
14 
All Offences(1)(2) 
189
180
150 
126 
130
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Males 
  
2007 
2008 
2009 
2010 
2011 
Violence 
22 
22 
21  
19  
19 
Disobedience or disrespect 
54 
52 
47  
41  
42 
Wilful damage 
9 
10 
10  
9  
9 
Unauthorised transactions/possessions 
36 
37 
35  
28  
26 
Other offences 
12 
12 
11  
9  
10 
All Offences(1)(2) 
133
133
124 
106 
106
Source: Offender Management Statistics 
Notes:  
(1)  The number of offences punished and punishments given are not equal because in many 
cases two or more punishments are given for a single offence.  
(2)  Including attempts. 
Safety in prison custody  
This section looks at gender differences in safety in custody statistics. The 
focus is on three elements: self-harm, deaths, and assaults. 
 
In 2011, there were a total of 24,648 incidents of self-harm57 in prisons, 
with 6,854 prisoners recorded as having self-harmed. Of these prisoners, 
5,621 (82 per cent) were men and 1,233 (18 per cent) were women.  
 
Overall, the equivalent of 29 per cent of all women in prison self-harmed in 
2011, compared with seven per cent of all men (individuals self-harming/ 
average population).  
                                                
56 This rate is based on the average monthly prison population rather than the prison population 
as at 30 June. 
57 Self-harm in prison custody is defined as “any act where a prisoner deliberately harms 
themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity of any injury”.  
 
96 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 5.08 shows how, when accounting for their under-representation in the 
wider prison population, comparatively more women than men self-harm in 
prison, and that women self-harm more often.  
Table 5.08: Self-harm in prison establishments, 2007-2011 
  
2007
2008
2009 
2010
2011
Self-harm incidents1 
23,000
25,234
24,184 26,979
24,648
Females 
49.6%
51.6%
43.3% 
46.8%
35.7%
Males 
50.4%
48.4%
56.7% 
53.2%
64.3%
Individuals self-harming2 
6,122
6,325
6,444 
6,623
6,854
Females 
21.8%
22.0%
20.6% 
18.8%
18.0%
Males 
78.2%
78.0%
79.4% 
81.2%
82.0%
Self-harm incidents per 1,000 
prisoners 
286
305
289 
318
287
Females 
2,608
2,949
2,447 
2,982
2,104
Males 
153
156
173 
178
194
Individuals self-harming per 1,000 
prisoners 
76
77
77 
78
80
Females 
306
315
310 
294
294
Males 
63
63
65 
67
69
Self-harm incidents per individual 
3.8
4.0
3.8 
4.1
3.6
Females 
8.5
9.4
7.9 
10.1
7.1
Males 
2.4
2.5
2.7 
2.7
2.8
Source: Safety in Custody Statistics 
Notes: 
(1) In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm incidents with absolute 
accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be detected and 
counted. Care needs to be taken when comparing figures shown here with other sources where 
data may be less complete. 
(2) The numbers of different individuals has been revised and is now based on unique surname 
and date of birth. The alternative method based on unique prisoner numbers has proven to be 
less consistent over time due to changes in the prison numbering system.  Neither method 
produces absolute numbers of unique individuals but the current method has advantages in that 
it is more consistent over time. 
 
 
The proportion of women self-harming in prison has gradually declined 
over the last five years, with women accounting for 22 per cent of all those 
self-harming in custody in 2007 and 18 per cent in 2011. 
 
The average rate of self-harm incidents amongst women in prison has 
fluctuated since 2007 when it was 2,608 incidents per 1,000 female 
prisoners. While the 2011 rate of 2,104 incidents per 1,000 female 
prisoners is the lowest in the five year reporting period, it remains over 10 
 
97

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
times higher than that for men. The average rate of self-harm incidents 
amongst men has increased year on year from the 2007 rate of 153 
incidents per 1,000 male prisoners to 194 incidents per 1,000 male 
prisoners in 2011.  
 
Repetitive self-harmers impact upon comparisons between rates of self-
harm for men and women. In 2011, women who self-harmed did so more 
often than men (an average of 7.1 incidents in the year compared to 2.8 
incidents for men).   
 
The number of incidents per woman self-harming in 2011 reflected a 
reduction on a peak of 10.1 incidents in 2010. The fall in the rate of self-
harm incidents among women is therefore explained by a reduction in both 
individual self-harmers and self-harm incidents.  
 
Whilst more women in prison custody self-harm and self-harm more often 
than men, the data suggest that acts of self-harm by men are more severe.  
In 2011, there were 1,375 self-harm related hospital attendances from 
male establishments, representative of nine per cent of all recorded self-
harm incidents in male establishments.  In comparison, there were 158 
self-harm related hospital attendances from female establishments, 
representative of two per cent of all recorded self-harm incidents in female 
establishments. 
 
In 2011, there were 57 self-inflicted deaths58 in prison custody, comprising 
55 men and 2 women. Of the 329 self-inflicted deaths in prison custody 
between 2007 and 2011, 314 were men (95 per cent) and 15 were women 
(five per cent), reflecting the relative proportions of men and women in the 
total prison population during this period. Due to the small numbers, 
annual figures on self-inflicted deaths cannot be taken as a good indicator 
of underlying trends and, as a result, percentage changes have not been 
presented. 
                                                
58 Self-inflicted deaths in prison custody are defined as any death of a person who has 
apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent.  
 
98 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2011, there were a total of 15,457 recorded assault59 incidents in prison 
custody (14,756 in male and 701 in female establishments), 1,367 of which 
were classified as serious60 (1,321 in male and 46 in female 
establishments). 
 
The proportion of assault incidents in all prison establishments that are 
recorded in female establishments has gradually declined from seven per 
cent in 2007 to a level proportionate to the population of women in custody 
(five per cent in 2011). The proportion of serious assaults remained stable 
over the period at three per cent in female establishments and 97 per cent 
in male establishments (see Table 5.09). 
Table 5.09: Assaults in prison establishments, summary statistics, 2007-
2011 
  
2007
2008
2009
2010 
2011
Assault incidents1 
15,272
15,959
15,185
14,356 
15,457
Females 
6.6%
5.7%
4.6%
4.6% 
4.5%
Males 
93.4%
94.3%
95.4%
95.4% 
95.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Serious assaults 
1,485
1,491
1,318
1,394 
1,367
Females 
3.4%
2.9%
2.7%
3.2% 
3.4%
Males 
96.6%
97.1%
97.3%
96.8% 
96.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assaults per 1,000 prisoners 
190
193
182
169 
180
Females 
230
205
165
154 
167
Males 
188
192
183
170 
180
Source: Safety in Custody Statistics 
Notes: 
(1) Assault incidents are derived from the NOMS incident reporting system.  They cannot be 
measured with absolute accuracy and, although quoted to the last figure, should be treated as 
approximate. See Appendix C of Safety in Custody Statistics, Quarterly Bulletin, January to 
March 2012, England and Wales for further information. 
 
                                                
59 PSI 47/2011 Prisoner Discipline Procedures uses the following questions to determine 
whether an assault was committed: Did the accused prisoner apply force to another person, or 
act in such a way that another person was in fear of force being applied to them? Was the force 
unlawful, i.e. more than was reasonable in the circumstances for self-defence against an 
assault or to prevent a serious crime?  
60 An assault is classified as serious if it is a sexual assault; results in detention in outside 
hospital as an in-patient; requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries; the injury 
is a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken 
nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, or temporary or permanent blindness.  
 
 
99

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Overall, the recorded assault rate in female establishments has declined 
since 2007, falling from 230 assaults per 1,000 female prisoners in 2007 to 
167 assaults per 1,000 female prisoners in 2011.  Recorded assault rates 
were at their lowest in female establishments in 2010 (154 assaults per 
1,000 prisoners).   
 
Assault rates also fell in male establishments over the five year period, 
from 188 assaults per 1,000 male prisoners in 2007 to 180 assaults per 
1,000 male prisoners in 2011.  In common with female establishments, 
recorded assault rates were at their lowest in 2010 at 170 assaults per 
1,000 prisoners.  
 
 
100 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 6 – Women as practitioners in the Criminal 
Justice System 
This chapter reports on the representation of women as staff and practitioners 
in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and how this has changed over time. A 
five-year trend analysis was undertaken for all agencies except the Probation 
Service where data were only available for 2009 to 2011 due to changes in 
recording systems. The five-year reference period was 2008 to 2012 for all 
agencies except the Crown Prosecution Service; where the latest data 
available related to 2007 to 2011. Where possible, analysis by gender of those 
joining and leaving agencies was also undertaken. It is possible that the 
gender composition of those leaving agencies was also influenced by 
differences in the age profiles of men and women, which are not covered in 
this report.  
It should be noted that some of the agencies covered by this chapter 
undertake work for both criminal and civil justice systems (for example, the 
Judiciary and the Magistracy). The data presented therefore relate to the 
agencies as a whole, and not to those who work for the CJS specifically. All 
statistics reflect headcount unless otherwise stated (i.e. as for the Police, 
where full-time equivalents were provided). Gender was available for 100 per 
cent of individuals working for the agencies included in this chapter.61 
The financial challenges in the Public Sector have made significant reductions 
in all areas of public spending, including staff, necessary. For example, it is 
expected that, by 2015, the Civil Service workforce will be around 23 per cent 
smaller than it was in March 2010.62 The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), 
the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the National Offender Management Service 
(NOMS), and the Probation Service are all affected by these changes, 
                                                
61 There were some instances where gender was not known for staff members in the additional 
agencies covered by the supplementary tables, however, such as the Youth Justice Board and 
Victim Support.   
62 The Civil Service Reform Plan. (2012). http://resources.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2012/06/Civil-Service-Reform-Plan-acc-final.pdf 
 
101

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
although the overall proportion of women in post in these agencies does not 
appear to have been directly impacted thus far. As public servants, the Police 
Service are also affected by cuts to public spending. 
The most recent available data for each agency showed that: 
 
The representation of women varied substantially across CJS 
agencies, ranging from 68 per cent at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), and 
71 per cent in the Probation Service, to 27 per cent in the Police 
Service and 23 per cent in the Judiciary. 
 
Women were less well represented in senior positions within CJS 
agencies than overall. Women represented 15 per cent of senior police 
officers and 27 per cent of all officers; 41 per cent of senior CPS staff 
compared to 66 per cent of all CPS staff; 43 per cent of senior civil 
servants in the MoJ and 68 per cent of all MoJ Staff; and 18 per cent of 
senior civil servants in the National Offender Management Service 
(NOMS) versus 36 per cent of all NOMS staff. 
 
In the last five years, there were slight increases in the proportion of 
police officer posts occupied by women, and the proportion of judges 
that were women.  
 
Police 
This section provides information on police officers in post by gender, and, for 
the first time, the gender breakdown of police staff, police community support 
officers (PCSOs), and volunteer special constables. 
 
Women represented 27 per cent of the 134,101 police officers in post 
(based on full-time equivalent posts) as at 31 March 2012; men 
represented 73 per cent.  
 
Between 2008 and 2012, there was a five per cent decrease in the 
number of police officers.  
 
102 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
There was an overall increase of more than two percentage points in 
the proportion of police officer posts occupied by women between 31 
March 2008 and 31 March 2012. 
Table 6.01: Police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by gender, as at 
31 March 2008-2012 
  
2008 
2009
2010
2011 
2012 
Women 
24.2% 
25.1%
25.7%
26.3% 
26.8% 
Men 
75.8% 
74.9%
74.3%
73.7% 
73.2% 
Total 
141,859 
143,770
143,734
139,110 
134,101 
Source: Home Office 
Notes: 
(1) Tables of police officer strength contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded 
to the nearest whole number, and, as a result, there may be an apparent discrepancy between 
totals and the sums of the constituent items.                                                                                                                          
(2) Revisions to data for previous years by certain police forces have resulted in some small 
discrepancies between the total staff figures published here and those published by the Home 
Office in its statistical bulletin Police Service Strength, England and Wales 31 March 2012.  
(3) Strength figures are for the 43 England and Wales police forces and exclude secondments 
and British Transport Police. They also include staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity 
leave. 
 
Women represented 15 per cent of the 1,479 senior police officers 
(those at Superintendent rank and above) as at 31 March 2012, while 
men represented 85 per cent. 
 
Between 2008 and 2012, the proportion of senior officer posts 
occupied by women increased by approximately one percentage point 
per year from 11 per cent in 2008 to 15 per cent in 2012. 
Table 6.02: Senior police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by 
gender, as at 31 March 2008–2012 
  
2008 
2009
2010
2011 
2012
Women 
11.1% 
12.0%
13.0%
14.2% 
15.4%
Men 
88.9% 
88.0%
87.0%
85.8% 
84.6%
Total 
1,699 
1,713
1,725
1,583 
1,479
Source: Home Office 
Notes: 
(1) Senior police officers’ include Superintendent, Chief Superintendent and ACPO ranks. 
(2) Tables of police officer strength contain full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded 
to the nearest whole number. As a result, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals 
and the sums of the constituent items.      
(3) Revisions to data for previous years by certain police forces have resulted in some small 
discrepancies between the total staff figures published here and those published by the Home 
Office in its statistical bulletin Police Service Strength, England and Wales 31 March 2012.  
 
 
103

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The percentages of civilian police staff, police community support 
officer (PCSO) and special constable posts occupied by women (61 
per cent, 45 per cent and 31 per cent respectively in 2012) have been 
relatively consistent since 2008 (when the percentages were 62 per 
cent, 44 per cent and 33 per cent respectively).                                                                                                        
Data on the gender of those joining and leaving police forces during the 
financial year 2011/12 showed that:  
 
Of the 2,394 full-time equivalent officers recruited, 28 per cent were 
women and 72 per cent were men. The proportion of new recruits that 
were female had decreased by four percentage points since 2007/08. 
 
Of the 6,965 full-time equivalent officers that left police forces, 15 per 
cent were women and 85 per cent were men. These proportions were 
relatively stable over the last five years. 
 
Of the 9,241 new police staff, PCSOs and special constables recruited, 
37 per cent were women and 63 per cent were men. The proportion of 
new recruits that were female had decreased by 12 percentage points 
since 2007/08. 
 
Of the 14,509 police staff, PCSOs or special constables that left the 
police service, 49 per cent were women and 51 per cent were men. 
This represented a three percentage point reduction in the proportion 
of non-officer leavers that were women since 2007/08.  
 
Taken together, these data suggest that, in 2011/12, women 
constituted a higher proportion of police officer joiners (28 per cent) 
than police officer leavers (15 per cent), and a higher proportion of 
police staff, PCSO or special constable leavers (49 per cent) than 
joiners (37 per cent). 
Further information on police officers and staff is available in the 
supplementary tables which accompany this report. Full police service 
strength figures, including gender breakdown, are also published by the Home 
 
104 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Office and can be found at: www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-
research-statistics/research-statistics/police-research/hosb0912. 
 
Crown Prosecution Service 
As the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) merged with the Revenue and 
Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) during the last quarter of 2009/10, it 
was only possible to compare data from the last three years for this agency.  
 
Women represented 66 per cent of the 7,672 Crown Prosecution 
Service (CPS) staff in 2011, while men represented 34 per cent.  
 
The proportion of CPS posts occupied by women has remained stable 
over the past three years, despite a 13 per cent decrease in the total 
number of CPS staff since 2009, from 8,869 to 7,672 in 2011. 
Table 6.03: Crown Prosecution Service Staff by gender, as at 31 
December 2007-2011 
  
2007 
2008
2009(a)
2010 
2011 
Women 
66.8% 
66.6%
66.3%
66.4% 
66.4% 
Men 
33.2% 
33.4%
33.7%
33.6% 
33.6% 
Total 
8,735 
8,695
8,869
8,344 
7,672 
Source: Crown Prosecution Service HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) Data uses Office for National Statistics Specification for Headcount. As a result, data may 
differ from other published figures due to differing specifications. 
(2) Data excludes the following grades: Fee Paid, Non Salaried, Non Executive Directors and 
G1 Permanent Secretary (from 2011 Data includes G1 Permanent Secretary). 
(a) The figures from 2009 are a result of combining the grade structures of the CPS and the 
RCPO, and so the vertical break in the table above represents non-comparable data. 
 
 
Women held 41 per cent of the 66 CPS Senior Civil Servant positions 
in 2011, while men held 59 per cent. These proportions are in contrast 
to those for all CPS staff.  
 
The proportion of senior CPS posts occupied by women was higher in 
2011 than in previous years.  
 
 
105

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.04: Crown Prosecution Service Senior Civil Servants (or 
equivalent) by gender, as at 31 December 2007-2011 
  
2007 
2008
2009(a)
2010 
2011 
Women 
34.9% 
33.3%
39.0%
36.5% 
40.9% 
Men 
65.1% 
66.7%
61.0%
63.5% 
59.1% 
Total 
83 
78
82
74 
66 
Source: Crown Prosecution Service HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) Data uses Office for National Statistics Specification for Headcount. As a result, data may 
differ from other published figures due to differing specifications. 
(2) Data excludes the following grades: Fee Paid, Non Salaried, Non Executive Directors and 
G1 Permanent Secretary (from 2011 Data includes G1 Perm Sec). 
(a) The CPS merged with the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) in 2009/10. 
The figures from 2009 are a result of combining the grade structures of these two organisations. 
 
Recent equality and diversity data for the CPS can be found online, at: 
www.cps.gov.uk/data/equality_and_diversity/workforce_diversity_data_2010_
11.html 
Magistracy 
Magistrates are trained volunteers who hear less serious criminal and civil 
cases such as motoring offences, minor assaults and theft in the Magistrates 
Courts. Whilst they are not legally qualified, they are able to commit more 
serious cases up to higher courts, impose sentences of up to 6 months 
imprisonment, and enforce financial penalties.63 The latest data showed: 
 
Women represented 51 per cent of the 25,170 Magistrates in post in 
the year ending March 2012; men represented 49 per cent.  
 
These proportions have been relatively consistent since 2008, despite 
a 14 per cent reduction in the total number of Magistrates over this 
period. 
 
                                                
63 See GOV.UK (2012). What Magistrates Do. https://www.gov.uk/become-magistrate/what-
magistrates-do 
 
106 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.05: Magistracy by gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
  
2008
2009
2010
2011 
2012 
Women 
50.1%
50.6%
50.8%
51.1% 
51.3% 
Men 
49.9%
49.4%
49.2%
48.9% 
48.7% 
Total 
29,419
29,270
28,607
26,966 
25,170 
Source: Judiciary of England and Wales 
 
Judges 
The Government has taken steps to increase the diversity of the Judiciary in 
recent years, including the appointment of a Judicial Diversity Taskforce.64 
There have been some changes in data on judges, which affect comparisons 
with historical data. Justices of the Supreme Court are no longer included, for 
example, as these data are no longer held centrally by the Judicial Office. For 
further information on these changes, see Appendix B.  
The composition of the Judiciary is influenced by the composition of the wider 
legal profession from which Judges are drawn. The most recent data on the 
gender breakdown of barristers and solicitors (presented in the supplementary 
tables accompanying this report) showed that women comprised 35 per cent 
of barristers and 45 per cent of private practice solicitors in 2011.65 
The most recent data on the court based judiciary showed:  
 
Women accounted for 23 per cent of the total 3,575 Judges in 
England and Wales in 2012; men for 77 per cent. The proportion of 
women had increased by four percentage points since 2008.  
 
Recorders accounted for the largest proportion of the Court’s 
Judiciary (32 per cent), and comprised 16 per cent women and 84 
per cent men. These proportions have been relatively consistent 
since 2008.  
                                                
64 See, for example, Ministry of Justice (2012). Improving Judicial Diversity: Progress towards 
delivery of the Report of the Advisory Panel on Judicial Diversity 2010.  
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/policy/moj/improving-judicial-diversity-judicial-diversity-
taskforce-annual-report 
65 See Tables S6.08 and S6.11a. 
 
107

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Women were most represented as Deputy Masters, Deputy 
Registrars, Deputy Costs Judges and Deputy District Judges 
(PRFD), accounting for 39 per cent of total members of this 
category; men comprised 61 per cent. The proportion of this 
category accounted for by women had increased by five 
percentage points (from 34 per cent) since 2008.  
 
Women were least represented as Heads of Division, where men 
held all five positions. This was consistent with 2008 data.  
Diversity figures for magistrates and judges for the last 10 years are published 
online, and can be found at www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications-and-
reports/statistics. 
 
Ministry of Justice 
Data on the Ministry of Justice include Ministry of Justice Headquarters 
(Corporate Performance Group and Justice Policy Group), Her Majesty’s 
Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), and the Office of the Public Guardian 
(OPG). Data on the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) are 
included later in this chapter. 
The Ministry of Justice has undergone some changes in recent years which 
will have affected the staff figures presented. In June 2010, 1,500 staff were 
transferred from NOMS to the Ministry of Justice. From 1 April 2011, Wales 
Office and Scotland Office were moved to the Office of the Territories. 
 
Women represented 68 per cent of the 25,731 staff in the Ministry of 
Justice as at 31 March 2012; men represented 32 per cent.  
 
These proportions were consistent over the past five years, despite 
changes in staffing within the Ministry of Justice during this period and 
a six per cent decrease in overall staff numbers. 
 
 
108 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.06: Ministry of Justice Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
 
2008
2009
2010
2011 
2012
Women 
68.2%
68.3%
68.3%
67.6% 
68.1%
Men 
31.8%
31.7%
31.7%
32.4% 
31.9%
Total 
27,473
28,295
27,928
28,606 
25,731
Source: Ministry of Justice HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) These values may differ from those published elsewhere as these figures represent all 
Ministry of Justice staff (whether they were or were not being paid as at 31 March 2012), who 
work in MoJ HQ, HMCTS and OPG. They are based on headcount and do not take account of 
the hours worked by individuals. 
(2) For 2008-2011, the MoJ used CHRIMSON as its HR Database. From May 2011, the data 
was migrated to MoJ Phoenix which is and has been the source of staffing data since this date. 
(3) For 2008-2011, the MoJ staffing figures include Wales and Scotland Office (excluding 
Scotland Office staff whose records are held on the Scottish Government systems). However, 
from 1 April 2011, Wales Office and Scotland Office were moved to the Office of the Territories 
and are therefore not included in the 2012 figures. 
(4) Other Agencies that fall under the Justice umbrella - NOMS, National Archives and the UK 
Supreme Court - are excluded from these figures, as are The Land Registry who, since their 
move to BIS in mid July 2011, are no longer included within the Justice umbrella. 
 
 
In contrast to the proportions for all Ministry of Justice staff, women 
represented 43 per cent of the 164 Senior Civil Servants in post in the 
Ministry of Justice as at 31 March 2012, while men represented 57 per 
cent.  
 
The proportion of Senior Civil Servant posts in the Ministry of Justice 
occupied by women had increased by six percentage points since 
2008, despite a reduction in the total number of SCS posts since 2010. 
 
 
109

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.07: Senior Civil Servants working at the Ministry of Justice by 
gender, as at 31 March 2008-2012 
  
2008 
2009
2010
2011 
2012 
Women 
36.8% 
42.1%
42.2%
41.5% 
43.3% 
Men 
63.2% 
57.9%
57.8%
58.5% 
56.7% 
Total 
152 
202
204
195 
164 
Source: Ministry of Justice HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) These values may differ from those published elsewhere as these figures represent all 
Ministry of Justice staff (whether they were or were not being paid as at 31 March 2012), who 
work in MoJ HQ, HMCTS and OPG. They are based on headcount and do not take account of 
the hours worked by individuals. 
(2) For 2008-2011, the MoJ used CHRIMSON as its HR Database. From May 2011, the data 
was migrated to MoJ Phoenix which is and has been the source of staffing data since this date. 
(3) For 2008-2011, the MoJ staffing figures include Wales and Scotland Office (excluding 
Scotland Office staff whose records are held on the Scottish Government systems). However, 
from 1 April 2011, Wales Office and Scotland Office were moved to the Office of the Territories 
and are therefore not included in the 2012 figures. 
(4) Other Agencies that fall under the Justice umbrella - NOMS, National Archives and the UK 
Supreme Court - are excluded from these figures, as are The Land Registry who, since their 
move to BIS in mid July 2011, are no longer included within the Justice umbrella. 
 
Data on the gender of those joining and leaving the Ministry of Justice during 
the financial year 2011/12 were also available, and showed that:  
 
Of the 1,153 individuals that joined the Ministry of Justice in that year, 
61 per cent were women and 39 per cent were men.  
 
Between 2007/08 and 2011/12, the percentage of joiners that were 
women decreased by five percentage points. 
 
The percentage of recruits that were men was higher than the 
percentage of men in the Ministry of Justice in each year.  
 
There were 3,924 individuals that left the Ministry of Justice during 
2011/12, an 89 per cent increase on leavers in 2010/11. Of these 
leavers, 62 per cent were women (lower than the 68 per cent of staff in 
post who were women) and 38 per cent were men (higher than the 32 
per cent of staff in post who were men). 
 
The proportion of leavers that were women was relatively consistent 
between 2007/08 and 2011/12.  
 
110 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Further information on Ministry of Justice staff is available in the 
supplementary tables which accompany this report. 
  
National Offender Management Service  
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) includes Her Majesty’s 
Prison Service (HMPS), NOMS Head Quarters (HQ) and Probation Service 
staff. In this chapter, HMPS refers to the public sector Prison Service, as staff 
in the public sector Prison Service and NOMS HQ are civil servants, whereas 
staff working at private sector establishments are employed by contractors. 
Probation Service data are also reported separately in this chapter as the staff 
are employed independently. The data presented below relate to NOMS HQ 
and HMPS combined. Individual data for the two organisations are also 
available in the supplementary tables which accompany this report. 
NOMS staffing has undergone a number of changes in recent years, some of 
which have affected specific parts of the workforce. These changes will have 
affected the data (including comparability between years) presented. In June 
2010, approximately 1,500 NOMS HQ staff were transferred to the central 
Ministry of Justice. Additional NOMS HQ restructures, the closing of four 
prison establishments in 2011/12, and the transferral of another prison to the 
private sector, resulted in a further reduction in the total number of civil 
servants in NOMS.  
 
Women represented 36 per cent of the 45,576 staff in NOMS HQ and 
HMPS as at 31 March 2012; while men represented 64 per cent.  
 
The proportion of NOMS HQ and HMPS posts occupied by women 
was consistent over the past five years. This is in spite of the staffing 
changes noted above and an 11 per cent decrease in the total number 
of staff employed in NOMS HQ and HMPS since 2008. 
 
111

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.08: NOMS HQ and HMPS Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2008-
2012 
  
2008
2009
2010
2011 
2012
Women 
36.0%
36.4%
36.0%
35.6% 
35.8%
Men 
64.0%
63.6%
64.0%
64.4% 
64.2%
Total 
51,239
52,956
51,212
49,210 
45,576
Source: NOMS HR Database 
 
In 2008, women occupied 18 per cent of NOMS HQ and HMPS Senior 
Civil Servant (SCS) posts. Between 2008 and 2009, the number of 
SCS posts increased from 38 to 65, and female representation within 
SCS posts increased to 29 per cent. By 2012, the number of SCS 
posts, and the representation of women within those posts had 
reverted to levels similar to 2008 (40 posts, with 18 per cent occupied 
by women). Caution should be used when considering percentage 
changes in relation to small numbers, as small numerical changes can 
result in large percentage changes.  
Table 6.09: NOMS Senior Civil Servants by gender, as at 31 March 2008-
2012 
  
2008
2009
2010
2011 
2012
Women 
18.4%
29.2%
24.6%
26.9% 
17.5%
Men 
81.6%
70.8%
75.4%
73.1% 
82.5%
Total 
38
65
65
52 
40
Source: NOMS HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) Figures may vary slightly from those published previously, due to the reclassification of 
Senior Medical Officers from Senior Civil Servant equivalent to Grade 6. 
 
Data on the gender of those joining and leaving NOMS during the financial 
year 2011/12 showed that: 
 
Of the 972 individuals that joined NOMS, 47 per cent were women and 
53 per cent were men. This reflects a three percentage point reduction 
in the proportion of female recruits since 2007/08. The percentage of 
women amongst recruits was, however, higher than the percentage of 
all NOMS posts occupied by women in each year.  
 
112 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Of the 3,561 individuals that left NOMS, 39 per cent were women 
(higher than the 36 per cent of staff in post who were women), and 61 
per cent were men (lower than the 64 per cent of staff in post who 
were men).  There had been a six percentage point reduction in the 
percentage of NOMS leavers that were women since 2007/08. Given 
the gender representation of staff across NOMS as a whole, women 
leave NOMS at a slightly higher rate than men. 
Further information on NOMS staff is available in the supplementary tables 
which accompany this report, and in the most recent NOMS annual equalities 
report.66  
Probation Service 
Due to a change in recording systems, Probation Service staff data relate to 
2009 to 2011 only.  
 
Women represented 71 per cent of the 20,265 Probation Service staff 
in post as at 31 December 2011, whilst men represented 29 per cent.  
 
The proportion of Probation Service posts occupied by women had 
been consistent at between 70 and 71 per cent since 2009, despite a 
seven per cent decrease in the total number of Probation Service posts 
during this time. 
                                                
66 Available at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/corporate-reports/noms/equality 
 
 
113

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.10: Probation Service Staff by gender, as at 31 December 2009-
2011 
  
2009(a)
2010
2011 
Women 
70.1%
70.4%
70.9% 
Men 
29.9%
29.6%
29.1% 
Total 
21,778
20,982
20,265 
Source: NOMS HR Database 
Notes: 
(1) The figures provided reflect a snap-shot at 31 December of each year of all permanent and 
casual staff and were collected from the probation areas/trusts via the HR Data Warehouse. 
The probation trusts have the ability to resubmit historical data which may result in occasional 
variations in subsequent reports. 
(a). Cheshire and West Mercia were unable to submit data to the HR Data Warehouse for 
December 2009 due to the implementation of new HR systems. The most recent data available 
at that point has therefore been included within the figures for 2009 for these areas/trusts. For 
West Mercia, November 2009 figures were included and, for Cheshire, September 2008 figures 
were included. 
 
 
Women and men represented more similar proportions of senior 
Probation Service Staff in 2011 (57 per cent and 43 per cent 
respectively) than in the service as a whole. 
 
The proportion of senior Probation Service posts occupied by women 
increased by five percentage points between 2009 and 2011, despite a 
15 per cent reduction in the number of senior Probation Service posts. 
Table 6.11: Senior Probation Service Staff by gender, as at 31 December 
2009-2011 
  
2009(a)
2010
2011 
Women 
51.8%
52.4%
56.9% 
Men 
48.2%
47.6%
43.1% 
Total 
525
492
448 
Source: NOMS HR Database 
(1) Senior Probation Service staff includes Chief Officer/Chief Executive, Deputy Chief Officer, 
Assistant Chief Officer and Area/District Manager posts. 
(2) The figures provided are a snap-shot at 31 December of each year of all permanent and 
casual staff and were collected from the probation areas/trusts via the HR Data Warehouse. 
The probation trusts have the ability to resubmit historical data which may result in occasional 
variations in subsequent reports. 
(a) Cheshire and West Mercia were unable to submit data to the HR Data Warehouse for 
December 2009 due to the implementation of new HR systems. The most recent data available 
at that point has been included within the figures for 2009 for these areas/trusts. For West 
Mercia, November 2009 figures were included and, for Cheshire, September 2008 figures were 
included. 
 
 
 
 
 
114 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Other criminal justice agencies 
The supplementary tables accompanying this chapter provide data on the 
gender breakdown, and where possible, the grade breakdown by gender, of 
staff employed by the Parole Board, Victim Support, the Youth Offending 
Teams (YOTs), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Independent Monitoring 
Boards (IMBs), magistrates, barristers and private practice solicitors.  
 
 
115

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Appendix A – Glossary 
Absolute discharge  
The court takes no further action against an offender, but the offender’s 
discharge will appear on his or her criminal record.  
Accused  
An individual charged with committing an offence.  
Acquittal  
The discharge of a defendant following a verdict or direction of not guilty.  
Act  
Law (as in an Act of Parliament).  
Arrest  
The power of a police officer to deprive a person of his or her liberty for the 
investigation and prevention of crime. Police officers have the power to arrest 
anyone who has committed an offence, is about to commit an offence, or is in 
the act of committing an offence. They also have the power of Arrest when a 
person is suspected of involvement in an offence.  
Bail 
The release of a defendant or charged individual from custody, subject 
sometimes to security being given and/or compliance with certain conditions. 
Barristers 
A lawyer entitled to represent clients in all courts. 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Burglary  
When a person enters any building as a trespasser and with intent to commit 
an offence of theft, grievous bodily harm or unlawful damage.  
Case 
An action, suit or claim in a court of law. 
Caution  
Simple caution – a non-statutory warning given to adults (aged 18 and over) 
by the police following an admission of guilt. A simple caution is an alternative 
to prosecution, which, though not a conviction, forms part of a person’s 
criminal record.  
Conditional caution – a warning with reparative and/or rehabilitative conditions 
attached, issued by the police to adults (aged 18 and over) under the Criminal 
Justice Act 2003. A conditional caution can be given following a CPS decision 
to issue and an offenders admission of guilt, and, although not a conviction, 
forms part of a person’s criminal record. 
Charge  
A formal accusation of a criminal offence against a person. 
Committal  
Committal for trial: the referral of a case involving an either-way offence to the 
Crown Court, following examination by magistrates. 
Committal for sentence: the referral of a case to the Crown Court for 
sentencing, when magistrates consider an offence to justify a sentence 
greater than they are empowered to impose. 
Committal order: an order of the Court committing someone to prison.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Community sentences  
A term that refers to all court orders (except Suspended Sentence Orders and 
deferred sentences), which may have a custodial component.  
Conditional discharge  
The discharge of a convicted defendant without sentence on condition that 
he/she does not reoffend within a specified period of time.  
Conviction  
The outcome of a criminal prosecution which concludes that the defendant is 
guilty of the crime charged. The conviction then appears on the offender’s 
criminal record.  
Court (of law) 
A judicial tribunal presided over by a judge, judges, or magistrates, and 
established to administer justice in civil and criminal cases.  
Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) 
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (formally known as the British Crime 
Survey) is a large, nationally representative survey that asks people in detail 
about their experiences of crime in the last twelve months. For further 
information on the CSEW, see Appendix B. 
Criminal 
A person who is guilty of a criminal offence. 
Criminal Justice System 
The system of law enforcement directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, 
defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of 
criminal offences.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Crown Court  
The Crown Court deals with all crime committed or sent for trial by 
magistrates’ courts. Cases for trial are heard before a judge and jury. The 
Crown Court also acts as an appeal court for cases heard and dealt with by 
magistrates.  
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)  
As the principle prosecuting authority in England and Wales, the CPS advises 
the police on prosecution matters, determines charges in more complex 
cases, and prepares and presents cases at court. 
Custodial sentence  
A sentence where the offender is detained in a prison, young offender 
institution or secure training centre.  
Custody 
The state of being detained or held under guard by the police or in a prison. 
Defendant  
A person sued, standing trial or appearing for sentence.  
Disposal  
Court disposal - The end result of a trial at court. In this publication, the 
disposals of interest are sentences, but other disposals are possible, for 
example, where there is a not guilty verdict.  
Out of court disposal - A disposal issued before a case gets to court, when a 
defendant admits to a minor offence. Out of court disposals include cautions, 
reprimands and warnings.  
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Domestic Abuse – CSEW 
Domestic abuse includes non-sexual emotional or financial abuse, threats, 
physical force, sexual assault or stalking carried out by a current or former 
partner or other family member. Full CSEW definitions can be found in the 
CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
Either-way Offence 
An offence for which the accused may elect the case to be dealt with either 
summarily by the magistrates or by committal to the Crown Court to be tried 
by jury. 
Final warning 
A formal warning issued to juveniles by the police for a second offence (no 
matter how minor). 
Fine  
A sentence whereby the offender pays money to the court as punishment for 
their crime.  
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) 
A Ministry of Justice agency responsible for the administration of the criminal, 
civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales; and non-devolved 
tribunals in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It provides for a fair, efficient and 
effective justice system delivered by an independent judiciary. 
Home Office  
The government department responsible for reducing crime. 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Homicide  
The term ‘homicide’ covers the offences of murder, manslaughter and 
infanticide. Murder and manslaughter are common law offences that have 
never been defined by statute, although they have been modified by statute. 
The offence of infanticide was created by the Infanticide Act 1922 and refined 
by the Infanticide Act 1938 (s1).  
Homicide Index  
A database held by the Home Office, which is continually updated with revised 
information on homicides from the police and the courts.  
Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) 
Independent boards that monitor day-to-day life in local prisons or removal 
centre’s, and ensure that proper standards of care and decency are 
maintained. 
Indictable offence  
A criminal offence triable only by the Crown Court. 
Intimate violence – CSEW 
Intimate violence is a collective term used in the CSEW to describe any 
partner or family domestic abuse, including non-physical abuse (emotional or 
financial abuse), threats, force, sexual assault (including attempts) and 
stalking. Full CSEW definitions can be found in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
Judge 
An officer appointed to administer the law and who has the authority to hear 
and try cases in a court of law. 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Jury  
A body of 12 people sworn to try a case and reach a verdict according to the 
evidence in a court.  
Juvenile 
A person under 18 years of age. 
Law  
The system made up of rules established by an Act of Parliament, custom or 
practice, enjoining or prohibiting certain action.  
Magistrate 
A person appointed to administer judicial business in a magistrates’ court. A 
magistrate also sits in the Crown Court with a judge or recorder to hear 
appeals and committals for sentence. 
Magistrates’ Court  
A Court where criminal proceedings are commenced before magistrates, who 
examine the evidence/statements and either deal with the case themselves, or 
commit it to the Crown Court for trial or sentence.  
Ministry of Justice 
The government department responsible for the various components of the 
justice system, including courts, prisons, probation services and attendance 
centres. The Ministry of Justice works to protect the public and reduce 
reoffending, and to provide a more effective, transparent and responsive 
criminal justice system for victims and the public. 
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Notifiable offence  
An offence deemed serious enough to be recorded by the police (also referred 
to as recorded crime), including most indictable and triable-either-way 
offences.  
Offence 
A breach of law or rule; an illegal act. 
Offender 
An individual convicted of a crime. 
Parole Board 
An independent body that works to protect the public by risk-assessing 
prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community. 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND)  
PNDs were introduced as part of the previous Government’s strategy to tackle 
low-level, anti-social and nuisance offending. The police may issue a PND for 
one of twenty-five offences including three notifiable offences. See Appendix B 
for more details.  
Personal crime – CSEW 
Personal crimes, as recorded in the CSEW, refer to all crimes against the 
individual (not that of other people in the household), for example, an assault. 
Published CSEW data for ‘all personal crime’ excludes sexual offences 
(except for ‘wounding with a sexual motive’) as the number of these types of 
offences picked up by the survey is too small to give reliable estimates. Full 
CSEW definitions can be found in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Police force area (PFA)  
The geographic area of jurisdiction covered by a particular police force. There 
are 43 PFAs in England and Wales.  
Pre-sentence reports (PSRs) 
A report submitted by an appropriate officer to assist the court in determining 
the most suitable method of dealing with an offender. 
Probation Service  
The service responsible for supervising offenders who are given community 
sentences and Suspended Sentence Orders by the courts, as well as 
offenders given custodial sentences, both before and after their release. 
Prosecution  
The institution or conduct of criminal proceedings against a person.  
Recorder  
Members of the legal profession (barristers or solicitors) who are appointed to 
act in a judicial capacity on a part-time basis. Recorders may progress to 
become full-time judges.  
Restorative Justice 
An approach to justice that emphasises reparation to the victim or the affected 
members of the community by the offender. 
Remand 
To send a prisoner or accused person into custody or admit them to bail.  
Reprimand 
A warning issued to juveniles for a first minor offence. 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Self-harm  
Self-harm in prison custody is defined as, “any act where a prisoner 
deliberately harms themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity of 
any injury.”67 In the community, self-harm is common but often covert. In 
prisons, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted.  
Sexual assault – CSEW  
The CSEW measure of sexual assault includes indecent exposure, sexual 
threats and unwanted touching, rape or assault by penetration including 
attempts, by any person including a partner or family member. “Serious” 
sexual assaults include rape or assault by penetration, including attempts.  
Full CSEW definitions can be found in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
Solicitor 
A member of the legal profession concerned with advising clients, preparing 
their cases and representing them in some Courts. Solicitors may also act as 
advocates before certain Courts or tribunals.  
Stalking – CSEW 
One or more incidents (causing distress, fear or alarm) of obscene or 
threatening unwanted letters or phone calls, waiting or loitering around home 
or workplace, following or watching, or interfering with or damaging personal 
property by any person, including a partner or family member. Full CSEW 
definitions can be found in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
                                                
67 See Ministry of Justice (2012). Safety in Custody Quarterly Bulletin January to March 2012 
England and Wales. http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/safety-
custody/safety-custody-jan-march-2012.pdf 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Statistical significance  
A statistical term for a result that is unlikely to have occurred by chance.  
Summary offence  
A criminal offence which is triable only by a magistrates’ court.  
Suspended sentence  
A custodial sentence that will not take effect unless there is a subsequent 
offence within a specified period.  
Suspect  
A person being investigated in relation to a particular offence or offences.  
Terminations  
A period of supervision (e.g. a community order) which comes to an end, 
either because the order has been completed successfully, or because the 
order has been breached and terminated early for negative reasons (such as 
failing to comply with its requirements) or because of some other neutral 
reason, such as the order being quashed by the court or the person having 
died.  
Theft from the Person – CSEW 
Theft from the person, as measured by the CSEW, covers theft (including 
attempts) of property directly from the victim, but without the use of physical 
force against the victim, or the threat of it. Full CSEW definitions can be found 
in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Victim (of Crime) 
A person who has suffered as a result of criminal conduct. 
Victim Support 
A national charity giving free and confidential help to victims of crime, 
witnesses, their family, friends and anyone else affected across England and 
Wales. 
Violence against the person 
A term that includes serious violence offences where the injury inflicted or 
intended is life threatening, and offences resulting in death, regardless of 
intent. This offence group also includes offences involving less serious injury, 
certain offences that involve no physical injury and some involving serious 
intent.  
Violent crime – CSEW 
Violent crime, as measured by the CSEW, covers a range of offence types 
from minor assaults, such as pushing that result in no physical harm, to (but 
not including) murder.  This includes offences where the victim was threatened 
with violence, regardless of whether or not there was any injury. CSEW violent 
crime is categorised according to offence type (wounding, assault with minor 
injury, assault without injury and robbery), and offender-victim relationship 
(domestic violence, stranger violence, acquaintance violence). Full definitions 
can be found in the CSEW User Guide: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=csew+USER+GUIDE 
Youth Offending Team (YOT)  
A Youth Offending Team is made up of local representatives from the police, 
Probation Service, social services, health, education, drugs and alcohol 
misuse and housing officers. The YOT identifies the needs of each young 
offender, and the specific problems that make the young person offend, as 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
well as measuring the risk they pose to others. This enables the YOT to 
identify suitable programmes to address the needs of the young person with 
the intention of preventing further offending.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Appendix B – Data sources 
Statistics on Women and the CJS draws on data from a number of sources 
across the Criminal Justice System, including data collected by the police, the 
courts and prisons. A brief description of the coverage of each of these 
sources is provided in this appendix, together with any known issues relating 
to data quality. Table B.01 outlines the main sources drawn on in this report, 
the data period covered, and provides links to where additional data can be 
found in the alternate years that this report is not published.  
Table B.01: Key sources presented in Women and the CJS 
 
Chapter 
Measure 
Reference 
Period 
Primary Source/Further 
Information 
2. Victims 
Crime Survey England and 
Wales (adult and child 
components) 
 
Homicide Index 
2011/12 
 
 
 
2010/11 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/ind
ex.html?nscl=Crime+in+England+a
nd+Wales 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication
s/science-research-
statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/hosb0212/ 
3. Suspects 
Arrests 
2010/11 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication
s/science-research-
statistics/research-statistics/police-
research/police-powers-
procedures-201011/ 
4. Defendants 
PNDs 
Cautions 
Prosecutions 
Sentences 
2011 
2011 
2011 
2011 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/stati
stics/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-
justice-stats-dec-2011.pdf 
5. Offenders 
Offender Management 
Statistics 
 
 
 
 
Safety in Custody Statistics 
 
 
Proven Re-Offending 
2011 
 
 
 
 
 
2011 
 
 
2010 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prison
s-and-probation/oms-quarterly/oms-
quarterly-editions 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prison
s-and-probation/safety-in-custody 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffe
nding/proven-re-offending 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
6. Staff and 
Practitioners 
Police  
 
 
 
 
 
Crown Prosecution Service 
 
 
 
Magistrates and Judiciary 
 
 
 
Barristers 
31/03/2012 
 
 
 
 
 
31/12/2011 
 
 
 
 
31/03/2012 
01/04/2012 
 
12/2011 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication
s/science-research-
statistics/research-statistics/police-
research/hosb0912/ 
www.cps.gov.uk/data/equality_and
_diversity/workforce_diversity_data
_2010_11.html 
www.judiciary.gov.uk/publications-
and-reports/statistics 
www.barcouncil.org.uk/about-the-
bar/facts-and-
figures/statistics/#AllBarStats 
Chapter 2: Women as victims of crime 
Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) – adult survey  
In April 2012, the British Crime Survey (BCS) became known as the Crime 
Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), to better reflect its geographical 
coverage. The CSEW is a face-to-face survey in which people resident in 
households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of crime 
in the 12 months prior to the interview. For the crime types and population 
groups it covers, the CSEW provides a more reliable measure of trends in 
crime than police recorded crime statistics, as it has a consistent methodology 
and is unaffected by changes in levels of reporting to the police, recording 
practice or police activity. 
The CSEW figures presented in this publication are based on interviews 
conducted between April 2011 and March 2012, and therefore cover a mix of 
crimes occurring in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The 2011/12 CSEW had a 
representative sample of 46,031 adults aged 16 or over (a response rate of 75 
per cent). The survey is weighted to adjust for possible non-response bias and 
to ensure that the sample reflects the profile of the general population.  
The primary purpose of the CSEW is to provide national-level estimates for 
the crime types it covers; it is not intended to provide a total count of crime. 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
When interpreting results and making comparisons with police recorded crime 
it should be borne in mind that: 
 
The CSEW estimates cover the 12 months before each respondent’s 
interview, and therefore there is a time lag compared with police 
recorded crime figures. 
 
Estimates from the CSEW are subject to a degree of variation as a 
result of sampling. 
 
Low-volume offences can frequently show apparently large year-on-
year changes. 
The CSEW has some notable exclusions in relation to crime type and 
respondents interviewed. 
Crime type: 
 
Crimes against businesses or public sector bodies are not included, 
although a survey of commercial victimisation is currently being 
developed to run later in 2012, following a recommendation in the 
National Statistician’s review of crime statistics. These results will be 
incorporated into CSEW quarterly crime statistics releases in 2013. 
 
So-called ‘victimless’ crimes (e.g. possession of drugs) are not 
included.  
 
Relatively new crimes (e.g. plastic card fraud) are not included in the 
main crime count, although additional questions have been added to 
the survey to capture such issues and are reported separately.  
 
As a survey that asks people whether they have experienced 
victimisation, murders cannot be included. 
 
Rape and other sexual offences are not included in the CSEW main 
crime count, due to the sensitivity of reporting in the context of a face-
to-face interview. However, victimisation estimates for sexual offences 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
are provided via a separate self-completion module on intimate 
violence.  
Respondents: 
 
The population living in group residences (e.g. care homes, halls of 
residence, or other institutions) are not included. 
Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW) – children’s survey  
Since January 2009, the CSEW has asked children aged 10 to 15 residing in 
households in England and Wales about their experience of crime in the 
previous 12 months. Preliminary results from the first calendar year were 
published in 2010, and following a user consultation, these statistics were 
refined. The questionnaire was refined again for the 2011/12 survey. As a 
result of the changes to the questions and definitions, it is not possible to 
assess whether there has been a change in levels of victimisation between 
years. Methodological differences also mean that direct comparisons cannot 
be made between data collected in the adult and child surveys.  
The CSEW aims to interview around 4,000 children aged 10 to 15 in any 12 
month period, in order to provide reliable national estimates of crimes and 
crime-related attitudes and experiences on an annual basis. In 2011/12, 3,930 
children (a response rate of 67 per cent of those eligible within households 
responding to the core CSEW) took part in the children’s survey.  
Two measures of crime against children are presented in the CSEW. The 
figures referred to in this report use the ‘preferred measure’ of crime, which 
takes into account factors identified as important in determining the severity of 
an incident (such as relationship to the offender and level of injury or value of 
item stolen or damaged).  
The ‘preferred measure’ includes all offences where: 
 
the offender was not known (e.g. stranger, tradesman, pupil from 
another school); or 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
the offender was known, but aged 16 or over and not a family member 
(e.g. neighbour, older friend, teacher);  or 
 
the offender was known and either a family member or aged under 16 
(e.g. parent, sibling, school-friend) and there was visible injury or theft 
or damage involving a ‘high value’ item; or 
 
a weapon was involved. 
The User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales is a useful 
reference guide with explanatory notes regarding the issues and 
classifications which are key to the production and presentation of the CSEW 
statistics. This can be downloaded from: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/taxonomy/index.html?nscl=Crime+in+England+and+Wal
es 
Homicides  
Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System presents data on 
homicide offences from 2006/07 to 2010/11, with offences shown according to 
the year in which the police initially recorded the offence as homicide (not 
necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any 
court decision was made).  
The most recent data are based on the latest Home Office publication, which 
can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-
statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0212. These data may 
change as subsequent court hearings take place or other information is 
received.  
Data from the Homicide Index are deemed a better source of data than the 
separate main recorded crime dataset as it is continually being updated with 
revised information from the police and the courts. The Index also provides far 
greater detail than the main recorded crime dataset.  
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 3: Women as suspects 
Chapter 3 of this report presents data on arrests for notifiable offences, which 
form the basis of recorded crime statistics. Data are sourced from the latest 
edition in the Home Office’s statistical series Police Powers and Procedures 
England and Wales, which can be found online at: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-
statistics/police-research/police-powers-procedures-201011/. These data 
reflect police activity and should not be used to infer levels of crime committed 
by offenders, or their specific characteristics. 
The data presented are drawn from returns from the 43 local police forces in 
England and Wales, and cover trends in arrest rates, as well as breakdowns 
by offence group and gender.  
The following issues should be borne in mind when considering these data: 
 
Figures on arrests for notifiable offences are not strictly comparable 
with cautions and court proceedings data. This is mainly because the 
aggregated offence categories for notifiable offences do not directly 
compare with indictable (including triable-either-way) offence groups. 
Additionally, court proceedings figures relate to the year of the final 
court decision, rather than the year of arrest, and these may differ. 
 
Where a person has been arrested for more than one notifiable offence 
on the same occasion, the offence with the highest maximum penalty 
is recorded. A person will appear more than once in the tables if 
arrested on more than one occasion during the year.  
 
As with any data collection system, differences in recording practice 
can impact on the comparability of figures over time and across police 
force areas. 
Further information on arrests data can be found in the User Guide to Police 
Powers and Procedures Statistics, which is available at: 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-
statistics/police-research/user-guide-ppp 
 
Chapter 4: Women as defendants 
The most recent defendants data presented in this report refer to out of court 
disposals and court proceedings data for 2011, from the Ministry of Justice 
publication Criminal Justice Statistics. The statistics in this bulletin relate to 
cases in the Crown and magistrates’ courts in England and Wales during the 
12 months ending December 2011, and the preceding four years. The chapter 
also draws on data from the Police National Computer (PNC) for offending 
histories, which are published in the Ministry of Justice Criminal Justice 
Statistics report and the Ministry of Justice publication Offender Management 
Statistics for Pre-Sentence Reports (PSR). 
Data on Penalty Notices for Disorder and cautions are issued and recorded by 
police forces. These data are received either via the individual police forces or 
extracted from administrative database systems.  
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs)  
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), more commonly known as ‘on the spot 
fines’, were introduced under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 
(sections 1–11) as part of the previous Government’s strategy to tackle low-
level, anti-social and nuisance offending. Under the legislation, police can 
issue a fixed penalty of £50 or £80 for a specified range of minor disorder 
offences, either on the spot or at a police station.  
Since 2004, when PNDs were piloted, data have been received from the 
individual police forces on a monthly basis. The two returns provided are 
details of PNDs issued and their subsequent outcomes. The returns are 
checked by the statistical teams for completeness and accuracy. Any 
anomalies in the data are queried with the force and any duplication of data is 
removed from the database. On an annual basis, a full reconciliation process 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
is undertaken where each police force is given the opportunity to verify the 
monthly figures they have supplied and to make revisions to the annual 
returns prior to publication.  
A new PND for the offence of possession of cannabis was introduced in 2009. 
Guidance was issued limiting the use of this PND to adults, i.e. to those aged 
18 and over. The data submitted in 2011 showed that some PNDs were 
issued for this offence to juveniles, i.e. those aged under 18. These were 
queried with the relevant forces and subsequently 69 per cent were cancelled.  
Cautions  
Since April 2011, all cautions data have been extracted from the Police 
National Computer (PNC). The records are validated for accuracy and 
completeness and amended as necessary. Additionally, any apparent 
cautions given for serious offences, such as rape, are investigated thoroughly 
with forces. All cautions data prior to April 2011 were collected directly from 
police forces and have been through the same validation process.  
Court proceedings  
The complexities of the CJS and the constraints on resources in collating and 
processing data limit the amount of information collected routinely, so only the 
final outcomes of proceedings at magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court 
(where applicable) are recorded.  
Prosecutions, convictions and sentencing  
Statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing are either derived from 
the LIBRA case management system, which holds the magistrates’ courts 
records, or the Crown Court’s CREST system which holds the trial and 
sentencing data. The data include offences where there has been no police 
involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by government 
departments, private organisations and individuals.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Prior to November 2008, the police reported on magistrates’ court proceedings 
and it is thought that, for some police force areas, there may have been under-
reporting of proceedings, in particular those relating to motoring offences, TV 
Licence evasion and other summary offences with no police involvement. The 
extent of under-reporting may vary from year to year. In addition, the gender of 
defendants at magistrates’ courts can be recorded as sex “Not Stated” under 
the LIBRA case management system. 
The court system data used in this bulletin go through a variety of validation 
and consistency checks: 
 
 Individual records are validated in an automated process that 
highlights irregularities and inconsistencies. In general, data validation 
is ongoing to investigate unusual trends or records.  
 
For serious offences (such as homicide and serious sexual offences) 
and severe disposals (such as life imprisonment and indeterminate 
sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP)), individual 
records are flagged for manual confirmation, which further reduces the 
possibility of error.  
For the Crown Court, where these validation failures occur, the data are 
corrected by referring to original court registers. Approximately 17,000 
individual records were corrected in 2011. At the magistrates’ courts, the 
sheer volume of court records (around 2.8 million per year compared with 
100,000 Crown Court records) means that the same process cannot be 
followed. The majority of validation failures are subject to automatic 
amendment and any serious errors are manually checked. The validation rate 
for the magistrates’ courts’ files is around 7 per cent, compared to much 
higher rates at the Crown Court (30–40 per cent).  
Data on court proceedings presented in this report relate to proceedings 
completed in the year. A defendant may appear more than once in the tables if 
proceedings were completed against that defendant on more than one 
occasion during the year.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Where proceedings involve more than one offence, the principal offence is 
reported. The basis for the selection of the principal offence is as follows:  
 
Where a defendant is found guilty of one offence and acquitted of 
another, the offence selected is the one for which he/she is found 
guilty. 
 
Where a defendant is found guilty of two or more offences, the offence 
selected is the one for which the heaviest sentence is imposed.  
 
Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the 
offence selected is the one for which the statutory maximum penalty is 
the most severe.  
The offence shown in the tables on court proceedings is the one for which the 
court took its final decision and is not necessarily the same as the offence for 
which the defendant was initially prosecuted; for example, when the court 
accepts a guilty plea from the defendant on a lesser charge.  
Unless otherwise stated, the sentence shown is the most severe sentence or 
order given for the principal offence (i.e. the principal sentence).  
Remands 
The statistics in the remands section of Statistics on Women and the Criminal 
Justice System relate to persons remanded in each year in each completed 
court case rather than to the number of remand decisions (a person may be 
remanded several times during a case). Cases are recorded in the year in 
which the final court decisions were made and this is not necessarily the same 
year in which the person was originally remanded.  
Although some information on the use of remands during proceedings is 
collected, the amount of detail recorded is limited and does not identify 
separately every individual offence (except where the data have been supplied 
directly from a court computer system).  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
From 2008, following the introduction of the LIBRA case management system, 
the number of custodial remands at magistrates’ court proceedings has been 
over-reported in the data supplied to the Ministry of Justice. These data are 
not reported in Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System, but are 
available in Criminal Justice Statistics.  
A Guide to Criminal Justice Statistics is a useful reference guide with 
explanatory notes regarding the quality of data and the checks made in 
producing the statistics referred to in this publication. The most recent version 
of the guide can be downloaded from: 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-justice-
statistics-guide-sept-2012.pdf 
Pre-sentence reports (PSRs) 
The PSR data presented in this report are not currently published; however, 
overall PSR data (not broken down by gender) are published in Offender 
Management Statistics, and can be downloaded from: 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/omsq/omsq-q1-
2012-probation-tables.xls (table 4.13). The PSR figures have been drawn from 
administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are 
subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.   
Criminal histories and Police National Computer (PNC) data 
The figures on first time entrants and previous criminal histories have been 
taken from the Ministry of Justice’s extract from the Police National Computer 
(PNC) - the operational database used by all police forces in England and 
Wales. The PNC covers 'recordable' offences, which are defined as offences 
that can attract a custodial sentence plus some additional offences defined in 
legislation. Some non-recordable offences are also included on the PNC, 
particularly when they accompany recordable offences in the same case. A 
range of less serious summary offences, such as TV Licence evasion and 
many motoring offences are not recorded on the PNC. Like any other large 
scale administrative database, the PNC is subject to delays and errors in 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
recording and data entry. Figures may be subject to revision in later editions of 
this publication as more information is recorded by the police. 
First time entrants 
The figures based on first time offenders include an offender who has received 
their first reprimand, warning, caution or conviction for an offence processed 
by a police force in England or Wales or by the British Transport Police. The 
measure excludes any offenders who were at the time of their first conviction 
or caution (according to their PNC record) resident outside England or Wales. 
Penalty notices for disorder, other types of penalty notice, cannabis warnings 
and other sanctions given by the police are not counted. 
Criminal histories 
The data on criminal histories relate to cautioning or sentencing occasions 
recorded on the PNC for indictable offences, although some figures are for 
summary offences that are recorded by the police. Where an offender has 
been cautioned or sentenced on more than one occasion, the offender’s 
criminal history on each occasion has been included. Where an offender has 
been cautioned or sentenced on the same occasion for several offences, 
details of the primary offence have been presented. The figures relate to 
cautioning or sentencing occasions for offences prosecuted by police forces in 
England and Wales including British Transport Police; they exclude sentences 
resulting from prosecutions brought by other authorities such as the 
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) 
and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Although some of these cases are 
recorded on the PNC, they may not always be linked to the offender’s 
previous criminal history and have therefore been excluded. Certain offences, 
such as benefit fraud, which are commonly prosecuted by non-police 
authorities, are, as a result, undercounted. 
 
 
 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 5: Women as offenders: under supervision or in custody 
The data presented in the Chapter 5 are based on the publications Offender 
Management Statistics 2011, Safety in Custody Statistics 2011, and the 
Proven Re-offending Statistics series. 
Prison flows and population  
Data on those in prison are drawn from administrative IT 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. 
While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, they should 
be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the last whole 
number shown in the tables. Where figures in the tables have been rounded to 
the nearest whole number, the rounded components do not always add to the 
totals, which are calculated and rounded independently. 
In May 2009, the National Offender Management Service began the roll-out of 
a new case management system for prisons (Prison-NOMIS). During the 
phased roll-out, data collection issues emerged that affected the supply of 
data for statistical purposes from July 2009 to February 2010. Specifically, 
statistical information on sentence length and offence group is not available on 
any of the prison datasets for this period. These problems were successfully 
resolved in March 2010, and various measures were taken to estimate 
sentence lengths for prisoners received or discharged before the problems 
were resolved. Further information on these measures can be found at: 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/oms-definitions-
measurement.pdf 
Prison establishments record details for individual inmates on the prison IT 
system (either Prison-NOMIS or LIDS). The information recorded includes 
details such as date of birth, sex, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, custody 
type, offence, reception and discharge dates and, for sentenced prisoners, 
sentence length. The data from individual prison establishments then feed 
through to a central computer database, called the Inmate Information System 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
(IIS), from which data extracts are used to produce the various analysis of 
prison population, receptions, discharges and time served in custody.  
Until June 2009, the prison population data used for analysis were derived by 
combining two sources: the individual level data collected on IIS, and a set of 
aggregate totals from each prison establishment giving the numbers held in 
each prison broadly subdivided according to age group, sex, custody type and 
sentence length. The individual level data were scaled to the aggregate totals 
to create the monthly prison population dataset used for all analysis. A more 
detailed method of scaling was developed in 2004.  
Following the rollout of the new prison IT system ─ Prison-NOMIS ─ the prison 
population data are now drawn from a single source, removing the need for 
the scaling process used previously. All prison population data from July 2009 
onwards have been taken from this new data source. Thus, for all annual 
tables showing the prison population over time, 2010 figures have been taken 
from a different source to earlier years. To aid comparison, the 2009 figures 
from both the old and new systems have been presented.  
Probation Service supervision  
Since 2005, detailed information on the supervision of offenders (at the 
individual offender level) has been submitted by probation trusts on a monthly 
basis. These monthly ‘probation listings’ include information on offenders 
starting and terminating probation supervision and those supervised on the 
probation caseload at the end of each month. Between 2002 and 2005, this 
information was submitted quarterly, and, prior to 2002, a different data 
collection system was in place, which meant that information on caseload had 
to be calculated based on the number of people starting supervision and the 
number of terminations.  
For further information on prisons and probation data, please see Offender 
Management Statistics: definitions and measurement, which is available at: 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/statistics-and-data/mojstats/oms-
definitions-measurement.pdf  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Safety in custody  
Deaths  
The data relating to deaths in prison custody presented in this publication are 
drawn from the NOMS Deaths in Prison Custody database. The data are 
closely scrutinised and are considered to be of high quality. However, the 
nature of deaths may change over time as new information emerges in 
particular following inquests which often take place some years after a death. 
Overall, numbers of deaths in prison custody should be absolute. However, a 
single reclassification of a death following inquest will affect numerous tables 
in this publication. Tables dependent on classification of deaths should 
therefore be treated as provisional.  
In a previous Safety in Custody bulletin (published in July 2011), a new 
‘unclassified’ category of death was introduced. At the time, it was unclear 
how these deaths would eventually be classified. Although it has always been 
the case that classifications may change as new information emerges, the 
approach attracted criticism that self-inflicted or other violent deaths may be 
hidden in this new category.  
In the majority of cases, deaths in prison custody are quickly classified. For 
the remaining deaths, further information may be required before a 
classification can be made. The information awaited may refer to post mortem 
or toxicology reports, Prison and Probation Ombudsman reports or the 
Coroner’s inquest. In a few cases, the cause of death may never be known 
even after all of the necessary investigations have taken place. Such cases 
have always existed but, in 2010, numbers appeared to increase.  
Of the deaths for which further information is awaited after three months, it has 
been concluded that the majority will end up classified as ‘other/non-natural’. 
Most of the remaining deaths in this category will be natural causes. Only a 
small proportion are expected to be self-inflicted, although there will remain an 
element of uncertainty that will not be removed until after inquest.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
The revised approach consists of four main categories and two sub 
categories:  
 
Self-inflicted  
 
Natural causes  
 
Homicide  
 
Other – consisting of the two sub categories:  
 
Other/non-natural  
 
Awaiting further information (formerly ‘unclassified’)  
The only essential change is that two of the existing categories are now 
aggregated. The statistical reason for this change is that the two sub-
categories reported on previously are relatively volatile, changing quickly over 
time as new information emerges. As a result, they are not, in isolation, 
suitable for determining trends. However, the aggregate ‘other’ category is 
relatively stable and therefore more useful for determining trends.  
The types of deaths included in the aggregate ‘other’ category include:  
 
Deaths following a fall  
 
Adverse reaction to medical treatment  
 
Refusal of medical treatment  
 
Drug related  
Data in this publication includes deaths of prisoners while Released on 
Temporary License (ROTL) for medical reasons but excludes deaths of any 
prisoners on other types of ROTL because the incident leading to a death 
does not usually occur within the direct control of the state. For example; an 
overdose or fatal road traffic accident. In addition, ROTL deaths cannot be 
counted accurately because:  
 
They are not always reported to NOMS immediately. 
 
When prisoners do not return to custody, they are declared as being 
unlawfully at large. Unless all such prisoners can be accounted for, the 
numbers dying while on ROTL cannot be measured with certainty.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Self-harm and assaults 
The data relating to self-harm and assault incidents in this publication are 
drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System, which collects information 
on a range of different types of incident. Although care is taken when 
processing and analysing returns related to these incidents, the detail 
collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording 
system. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, 
they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the 
last whole number.  
In prisons, as in the community, self-harm is often covert and assaults may go 
unreported. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more likely to be 
detected and counted. Recording of self-harm and assault incidents in prison 
custody has improved over the years but it remains the case that they cannot 
be counted with absolute accuracy.  
Re-offending 
The data required for measuring proven re-offending involve a range of data 
sources (NOMS prison database, probation data, identification of drug-
misusing offenders, identification of Prolific and other Priority Offenders, and 
young offenders in secure accommodation, and the criminal records from the 
Police National Computer) from a range of agencies (NOMS, probation trusts, 
the Youth Justice Board, Drug Action Teams, local authorities and the 
National Police Improvement Agency). These figures have been derived from 
administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are 
subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. 
There is no agreed international standard for measuring and reporting re-
offending. An offender’s journey through the criminal justice system can be a 
complex one; offenders can appear on numerous occasions.  
Measuring true re-offending is difficult. Official records are taken from either 
the police or courts, but they will underestimate the true level of re-offending 
because only a proportion of crime is detected and not all crimes are recorded 
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
on one central system. Furthermore, other methods for measuring re-
offending, such as self report studies, are likely to be unreliable. Therefore, 
this data source aims to measure proven re-offending.  
Ministry of Justice publications in the Proven Re-offending Statistics series 
have been developed in response to a consultation in late 2010 and early 
2011 on “Improvements to Ministry of Justice Statistics”. For a more detailed 
explanation of this consultation and the data used in the Proven Re-offending 
Statistics series, please see the accompanying ‘Definitions and Measurement’ 
document at: www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/reoffending/proven-re-offending  
 
Chapter 6: Women as staff and practitioners in the Criminal 
Justice System 
Data on practitioners have been provided by the individual agencies listed in 
this chapter and are based on HR systems. As these systems are regularly 
updated, the data were true at the specific date supplied and may not always 
be reconcilable with those published by the agencies themselves.  
Figures are based on headcount for all agencies except the Police, who 
provided full-time equivalent figures. Police data are therefore not directly 
comparable with data from other agencies.  
Police 
The figures quoted in this report are for all officers including those officers on 
career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 
Police staff figures do not include school-crossing patrols, British Transport 
Police, contract staff employed by private companies and staff on external 
secondments. However, staff on fixed-term contracts are included, and 
secondments from one police force to another are included in the police officer 
strength total for the 43 forces of England and Wales. 
Data on officers and staff joining and leaving the police force are unverified 
and are provided on a provisional basis only.  
 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Crown Prosecution Service 
As the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) merged with the Revenue and 
Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) during the last quarter of 2009/10, it is 
only possible to compare data from the last three years for this agency.  
Data from the Crown Prosecution Service HR database excludes all career 
break staff and does not include non salaried, fee paid, Non Executive 
Directors or G1 grades nor casual staff i.e. agency/contractors & the 
Corporate Division. 
Judges 
Since 2008, figures for judges have included those in four new posts: 1) Judge 
Advocates; 2) Deputy Judge Advocates; 3) Masters, Registrars, Costs Judges 
and District Judges (Principal Registry of the Family Division, PRFD); and 4) 
Deputy Masters, Registrars, Costs Judges and District Judges (PRFD). Data 
on judges also no longer include Justices of the Supreme Court, as these data 
have not been held by the Judicial Office since the creation of the Supreme 
Court in 2009. As a result of these changes, data on judges presented in this 
report will not be comparable with those presented in previous editions. 
Ministry of Justice 
Ministry of Justice figures include staff in Ministry of Justice Head Quarters 
(MoJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and the Office of the 
Public Guardian (OPG). They do not include the National Offender 
Management Service (NOMS), the National Archives, the UK Supreme Court 
or the Land Registry, which also come under the justice umbrella.  
The Ministry of Justice has undergone some changes in recent years which 
will have affected the staff figures presented. In June 2010, 1,500 staff were 
transferred from NOMS to the Ministry of Justice. From 1 April 2011, Wales 
Office and Scotland Office were moved to the Office of the Territories. 
 
 
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National Offender Management Service (NOMS) 
Data from the NOMS HR database are subject to a number of staffing 
changes in recent years, some of which have affected specific parts of the 
workforce. In June 2010, approximately 1,500 NOMS HQ staff were 
transferred to the central Ministry of Justice. Additional NOMS HQ 
restructures, the closing of four prison establishments in 2011/12, and the 
transferral of another prison to the private sector, resulted in a further 
reduction in the total number of NOMS staff.  
Probation Service 
Due to a change in recording systems, Probation Service staff data presented 
in Chapter 6 relate to 2009 to 2011 only. These figures include staff seconded 
out of probation areas/trusts.  
Cheshire and West Mercia were unable to submit data to the HR Data 
Warehouse for December 2009 due to the implementation of new HR 
systems. The most recent data available at that point has been included within 
the figures for 2009 for these areas/trusts (November 2009 data for West 
Mercia, and September 2008 data for Cheshire).  
 
 
 
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154 
Contact points for further information 
Current and previous editions of this publication are available for download at 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/women 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: Tel: 
xx-xxxx-xxxx, Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: 
xxx@xxx.xx 
We welcome the views of users on the format, content and timing of reports. 
These views and other general enquiries about the statistical work of the 
Ministry of Justice can be emailed to: xxx@xxx.xx 
Other National Statistics publications, and general information about the 
official statistics system of the UK, are available from www.statistics.gov.uk 
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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