An overview of sexual offending in England and Wales
Source: data.gov.uk (2014-05-10)

This is an Official Statistics bulletin produced by statisticians in the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Office for National Statistics. It brings together, for the first time, a range of official statistics from across the crime and criminal justice system, providing an overview of sexual offending in England and Wales. The report is structured to highlight: the victim experience; the police role in recording and detecting the crimes; how the various criminal justice agencies deal with an offender once identified; and the criminal histories of sex offenders.

An Overview of Sexual Offending in 
England and Wales 
 
Ministry of Justice, Home Office & the 
Office for National Statistics 
 
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Published 10 January 2013 
 
 
Also available on the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and Office for National 
Statistics websites at 
www.justice.gov.uk 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm 
www.ons.gov.uk

Contents  
 
 
Foreword..................................................................................................................... 3 
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 4 
Chapter 1: Executive Summary .................................................................................. 6 
Chapter 2: Crime Survey for England and Wales: Sexual offence victimisation....... 11 
Prevalence of sexual offences ............................................................................... 11 
Nature of sexual offences against females ............................................................ 15 
Reporting of the most serious sexual offences among female victims .................. 16 
Chapter 3: Police activity relating to sexual offences................................................ 19 
Trends in recorded crimes for sexual offences ...................................................... 19 
Quality of police recorded crime data for sexual offences ..................................... 22 
Detections .............................................................................................................. 25 
Cautions................................................................................................................. 28 
Chapter 4: Court proceedings & sentencing ............................................................. 31 
Proceedings at magistrates’ courts........................................................................ 31 
Offenders found guilty............................................................................................ 33 
Outcomes of prosecutions ..................................................................................... 37 
Sentencing ............................................................................................................. 41 
Chapter 5: Duration from offence to completion in criminal courts ........................... 45 
Duration of sexual offence cases from offence to completion................................ 45 
Duration of rape offence cases from offence to completion by case conclusion and 
plea type................................................................................................................. 47 
Chapter 6: Offender management ............................................................................ 49 
Prison population ................................................................................................... 49 
Offenders supervised by the Probation Service..................................................... 51 
Chapter 7: Offender histories.................................................................................... 53 
Background to the criminal justice system................................................................ 55 
Reporting crime...................................................................................................... 55 
Out of court disposals ............................................................................................ 56 
Court proceedings.................................................................................................. 57 
Conviction and sentencing..................................................................................... 58 
Explanatory notes ..................................................................................................... 63 
Data sources and quality........................................................................................ 63 
Symbols and conventions ...................................................................................... 69 
Links to other resources............................................................................................ 70 
Contacts.................................................................................................................... 72 

Foreword 
 
Jil Matheson, 
National Statistician 
 
I welcome this report produced by analysts in the Ministry of Justice, Home Office 
and the Office for National Statistics, which provides an overview of the available 
statistics on sexual offending.  
 
Past reviews of crime and criminal justice statistics have identified the need for 
official statistics to provide a fuller picture of offences and offenders through the 
criminal justice system. Publication of separate statistical releases on different 
elements of the crime and criminal justice system can make it difficult for users to find 
linkages between the statistics, and to understand the relationship between crimes 
recorded by the police and offenders dealt with by the courts. 
 
One of the recommendations of the UK Statistics Authority’s report on Overcoming 
Barriers to Trust in Crime Statistics was to call for a more joined-up approach to 
provide the public with a better understanding of the treatment of offences and 
offenders through the criminal justice system.  
 
Providing such an overview can be technically demanding, with data coming from a 
number of sources and requiring careful interpretation. I am pleased that the analysts 
have been able to overcome these challenges to provide this overview of this very 
important topic.  
 
I hope it will be first of a number of ad hoc reports that will examine different aspects 
of crime and offending, thus presenting users with a more joined-up and insightful 
narrative on issues of public policy concern. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
January 2013 
 
 
 
3

Introduction 
 
This report brings together, for the first time, a range of official statistics from across 
the crime and criminal justice system, providing an overview of sexual offending in 
England and Wales. Most of the information presented in this report has been 
previously published in other official statistics bulletins. 
 
The report is structured to highlight: the victim experience; the police role in recording 
and detecting the crimes; how the various criminal justice agencies deal with an 
offender once identified; and the criminal histories of sex offenders. 
 
Providing such an overview presents a number of challenges, not least that the 
available information comes from different sources that do not necessarily cover the 
same period, the same people (victims or offenders) or the same offences. For 
example, the results from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) are 
based on self completed questions from a representative sample of adults (aged 16 
to 59), asking about an individual’s experiences of sexual offences in the last 12 
months. The police recorded and court information cover all sexual offences, as 
legislated for in law, committed against any individual irrespective of age or when the 
crime took place, but exclude the large volume of crimes not reported to the police.. 
 
Other issues that prevent direct comparisons include: 
 
the CSEW focusing on the most recent experience of adults as a victim of 
sexual offence in the previous 12 months (thus, for example, does not include 
sexual offences experienced by children or those aged 60 or over); 
 
police recorded crime figures being based on offences per victim (i.e. for each 
victim in a given incident, a crime is recorded) in the year the crime was 
reported, irrespective of when the offence took place; 
 
the criminal justice outcome information (e.g. cautions and convictions) being 
on an offender basis at the date of the final outcome, again irrespective of 
when the crime took place. 
 
The latter two points mean that figures between the police and court sources will 
differ, as there will be crimes involving more than one victim or more than one 
offender, or possibly multiple victims and offenders relating to a single crime. It is not 
currently feasible to track individual cases from initial recording by the police through 
the CJS.  
 
When interpreting the flows of offences and offenders through the CJS, it is important 
to note the various stages of attrition and the inherent challenges associated with 
detection and prosecution of crime, in particular with sexual offences. Second, the 
issue of ‘downgrading’ of offences (when a decision is made by the Crown 
Prosecution Service, between the initial hearing at the magistrates’ court and the first 
hearing at the Crown Court, that the initial charge is incorrect and should be changed 
to another offence) as they move through the system presents analytical challenges 
and requires careful consideration when interpreting the statistics. 
 
For example, one method of calculating rape conviction rates often used by 
commentators shows the number of people convicted of rape as a proportion of all 
rape crimes recorded. Given the different currencies of the two number and the effect 
 
4

of downgrading of offences through the CJS mentioned above, this method is 
incorrect and misleading in terms of presenting evidence on convictions for rape. 
 
For the purposes of this report, the results from the last three years’ CSEW have 
been combined to provide a large enough sample to enable more reliable findings to 
be presented. Elsewhere, the report mainly covers the period 2005 to 2011(for police 
recoded crime 2005/06 to 2011/12), as 2005 was the first full year following the 
introduction of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Where readily available, longer time 
series have been provided. 
 
Detailed statistical tables are provided in the spreadsheets alongside this bulletin. 
Tables referenced in the text are included within the bulletin, whereas others 
referenced are found only within the spreadsheets. 
 
It is acknowledged that any sexual offence will be a traumatic experience for the 
victim. For ease of reference however, throughout the report, sexual offences have 
been referred to as falling into two groups: 
 
“Most serious sexual offences”, covering all rape, attempted rape and sexual 
assault offences; and 
 
“Other sexual offences”, which includes sexual activity with minors (excluding 
rape and sexual assaults), exposure, voyeurism etc. 
 
A full description of the offence types included, with reference to the relevant 
legislation, is included in the glossary in the spreadsheet tables accompanying 
Chapters 3 and 4. A number of summary sexual offences, such as kerb crawling and 
letting premises for use as a brothel, have been considered outside the scope of the 
publication. 
 
Within each chapter, introductory information is provided (in italics) to give a overview 
of the chapter content, the basis of the statistics included, and the relevant data 
sources. Further background information can be found in the ‘Background to the 
criminal justice system’ and ‘Data sources and quality’ sections of this bulletin. 
 
 
 
 
5

Chapter 1: Executive Summary 
 
Victimisation through to police recording of crimes 
 
Based on aggregated data from the ‘Crime Survey for England and Wales’ in 
2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12, on average, 2.5 per cent of females and 0.4 per cent 
of males said that they had been a victim of a sexual offence (including attempts) in 
the previous 12 months. This represents around 473,000 adults being victims of 
sexual offences (around 404,000 females and 72,000 males) on average per year. 
These experiences span the full spectrum of sexual offences, ranging from the most 
serious offences of rape and sexual assault, to other sexual offences like indecent 
exposure and unwanted touching. The vast majority of incidents reported by 
respondents to the survey fell into the other sexual offences category. 
 
It is estimated that 0.5 per cent of females report being a victim of the most serious 
offences of rape or sexual assault by penetration in the previous 12 months, 
equivalent to around 85,000 victims on average per year. Among males, less than 
0.1 per cent (around 12,000) report being a victim of the same types of offences in 
the previous 12 months. 
 
Around one in twenty females (aged 16 to 59) reported being a victim of a most 
serious sexual offence since the age of 16. Extending this to include other sexual 
offences such as sexual threats, unwanted touching or indecent exposure, this 
increased to one in five females reporting being a victim since the age of 16. 
 
Around 90 per cent of victims of the most serious sexual offences in the previous 
year knew the perpetrator, compared with less than half for other sexual offences. 
 
Females who had reported being victims of the most serious sexual offences in the 
last year were asked, regarding the most recent incident, whether or not they had 
reported the incident to the police. Only 15 per cent of victims of such offences said 
that they had done so. Frequently cited reasons for not reporting the crime were that 
it was ‘embarrassing’, they ‘didn’t think the police could do much to help’, that the 
incident was ‘too trivial or not worth reporting’, or that they saw it as a ‘private/family 
matter and not police business’ 
 
In 2011/12, the police recorded a total of 53,700 sexual offences across England and 
Wales. The most serious sexual offences of ‘rape’ (16,000 offences) and ‘sexual 
assault’ (22,100 offences) accounted for 71 per cent of sexual offences recorded by 
the police. This differs markedly from victims responding to the CSEW in 2011/12, 
the majority of whom were reporting being victims of other sexual offences outside 
the most serious category. 
 
This reflects the fact that victims are more likely to report the most serious sexual 
offences to the police and, as such, the police and broader criminal justice system 
(CJS) tend to deal largely with the most serious end of the spectrum of sexual 
offending. The majority of the other sexual crimes recorded by the police related to 
‘exposure or voyeurism’ (7,000) and ‘sexual activity with minors’ (5,800). 
 
 
6

 
7
 year averages)
Figure 1.1 – Flow of sexual offence cases from victimisation to conviction (figures displayed are 3
Case flow through system
ESTIMATED 
NUMBER OF 
VICTIMS
Sexual offences:
430,000 - 517,000
Rape:
60,000 - 95,000
PERSONS
POLICE
RECORDED 
CRIMES
Sexual offences:
54,310
Rape:
15,670
OFFENCES
DETECTIONS
Sexual offences:
16,450
Rape:
3,850
OFFENCES
COURTS
PROCEEDINGS
Sexual offences:
9,950
Rape:
2,910
PERSONS
Offence to charge or laying of information – 296 days
Charge to first listing – 20 days
First listing to
Time taken 
(mean ave.)
CONVICTIONS
Sexual offences:
5,620
Rape:
1,070
PERSONS
 completion – 181 days
Levels of reporting of sexual offences to the
police are relatively low compared with other
offences. Offences reported tend to be the  
most serious offences of rape and 
sexual assault. Police record crime 
if the circumstances reported 
amount to a crime are 
defined in law and there 
is no credible
evidence to the  
contrary.
It is not always possible to identify a 
suspect relating to a sexual offence. 
In addition, sometimes the police 
will decide after further investigation 
that, in fact, no crime had taken 
place.
Sometimes a suspect will be 
identified but the victim is unwilling 
to proceed with the case through 
the courts, or the police decide to 
take no further action (for example, 
in the case of minors engaging in 
unlawful consensual sex).
The police work with the CPS in 
deciding the most appropriate 
course of action in each case, 
potentially with an offender being 
charged with a lesser offence 
than the one originally recorded.
Sometimes a suspect is charged 
by the police or Crown 
Prosecution Service but, on 
hearing the evidence, the 
magistrates decide that there is 
no case to answer and the 
charge is dismissed;
Between the initial
court and the first 
the prosecuting au
initial charge is in
offence e.g. sexual
downgrading. At a
plead guilty to this
by a jury or even ac
The defendant ma
the prosecution do
the defence are su
prosecution eviden
answer or, after ha
jury decide to find t
Following a guilty p
may be convicted of
and sentenced.
Not presented to scale. Victims and offenders may not relate to the same cases.
 hearing at the magistrates’
hearing at the Crown Court, 
thority (CPS) may decide the 
correct and change to another 
 assault. This is known as 
ny stage, the defendant can 
 lesser charge, be found guilty 
quitted;
y be acquitted if for example 
 not present any evidence, or 
ccessful in arguing after the 
ce that there is no case to 
ving heard the evidence, the 
he defendant not guilty.
lea or jury trial, the defendant 
 the initial charge of rape 
Figure 1.1 – Flow of sexual offence cases from victimisation to conviction (figures displayed are 3 year averages)
Case flow through system
ESTIMATED 
NUMBER OF 
VICTIMS
Sexual offences:
430,000 - 517,000
Rape:
60,000 - 95,000
PERSONS
POLICE
RECORDED 
CRIMES
Sexual offences:
54,310
Rape:
15,670
OFFENCES
DETECTIONS
Sexual offences:
16,450
Rape:
3,850
OFFENCES
COURTS
PROCEEDINGS
Sexual offences:
9,950
Rape:
2,910
PERSONS
Offence to charge or laying of information – 296 days
Charge to first listing – 20 days
First listing to
Time taken 
(mean ave.)
CONVICTIONS
Sexual offences:
5,620
Rape:
1,070
PERSONS
 completion – 181 days
Levels of reporting of sexual offences to the
police are relatively low compared with other
offences. Offences reported tend to be the  
most serious offences of rape and 
sexual assault. Police record crime 
if the circumstances reported 
amount to a crime are 
defined in law and there 
is no credible
evidence to the  
contrary.
It is not always possible to identify a 
suspect relating to a sexual offence. 
In addition, sometimes the police 
will decide after further investigation 
that, in fact, no crime had taken 
place.
Sometimes a suspect will be 
identified but the victim is unwilling 
to proceed with the case through 
the courts, or the police decide to 
take no further action (for example, 
in the case of minors engaging in 
unlawful consensual sex).
The police work with the CPS in 
deciding the most appropriate 
course of action in each case, 
potentially with an offender being 
charged with a lesser offence 
than the one originally recorded.
Sometimes a suspect is charged 
by the police or Crown 
Prosecution Service but, on 
hearing the evidence, the 
magistrates decide that there is 
no case to answer and the 
charge is dismissed;
Between the initial
court and the first 
the prosecuting au
initial charge is in
offence e.g. sexual
downgrading. At a
plead guilty to this
by a jury or even ac
The defendant ma
the prosecution do
the defence are su
prosecution eviden
answer or, after ha
jury decide to find t
Following a guilty p
may be convicted of
and sentenced.
Not presented to scale. Victims and offenders may not relate to the same cases.
 hearing at the magistrates’
hearing at the Crown Court, 
thority (CPS) may decide the 
correct and change to another 
 assault. This is known as 
ny stage, the defendant can 
 lesser charge, be found guilty 
quitted;
y be acquitted if for example 
 not present any evidence, or 
ccessful in arguing after the 
ce that there is no case to 
ving heard the evidence, the 
he defendant not guilty.
lea or jury trial, the defendant 
 the initial charge of rape 

Trends in recorded crime statistics can be influenced by whether victims feel able to 
and decide to report such offences to the police, and by changes in police recording 
practices. For example, while there was a 17 per cent decrease in recorded sexual 
offences between 2005/06 and 2008/09, there was a seven per cent increase 
between 2008/09 and 2010/11. The latter increase may in part be due to greater 
encouragement by the police to victims to come forward and improvements in police 
recording, rather than an increase in the level of victimisation. 
 
After the initial recording of a crime, the police may later decide that no crime took 
place as more details about the case emerge. In 2011/12, there were 4,155 offences 
initially recorded as sexual offences that the police later decided were not crimes. 
There are strict guidelines that set out circumstances under which a crime report may 
be ‘no crimed’. The ‘no-crime’ rate for sexual offences (7.2 per cent) compares with a 
‘no-crime’ rate for overall police recorded crime of 3.4 per cent. The ‘no-crime’ rate 
for rape was 10.8 per cent. 
 
Sexual offences detected by the police 
 
If the police ‘clear up’ the crime, then this is called a detection. There are a number of 
ways that the police can detect a crime, including by charging a suspect, issuing a 
summons, or administering a caution. Sanction detections are where offences 
cleared up by the police result in a formal sanction issued to an offender. These can 
take the form of a charge or summons, a caution, a Penalty Notice for Disorder 
(PNDs), or offences that are asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs). 
 
The sanction detection rate for all recorded crime was 27 per cent in 2011/12. 
Around 16,100 sexual offences were detected by sanction detection, equivalent to a 
sanction detection rate of 30 per cent. In the vast majority of cases (86 per cent of 
the total), the method of detection for sexual offences was by charge or summons 
(13,800 offences).  
 
While the sanction detection rate for sexual offences was higher than for a number of 
other offences, such as robbery (21 per cent) and burglary (13 per cent), it was lower 
than other contact crimes such as violence against the person (44 per cent). This 
may in part reflect the greater challenges associated with investigating sexual 
offences and the reluctance of some victims to proceed with prosecutions. 
 
The police work with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in deciding the most 
appropriate course of action in each case. The CPS may decide that the police 
should charge an offender with a lesser offence than the one originally recorded. This 
does not mean that the police have incorrectly recorded the crime but rather that the 
CPS have applied their own charging standard which takes into account additional 
factors, such as whether there is a realistic chance of obtaining a conviction on the 
basis of the admissible evidence. Once a suspect has been identified, arrested and 
charged, they can either be cautioned1 by the police or prosecuted at court. 
 
In 2011, there were 1,500 offenders cautioned having admitted committing a sexual 
offence. The most common offence for which a caution is given is sexual assault on 
a female2, which covers offences involving touching in a sexual manner without 
consent. 19 offenders were cautioned for rape, almost half that of the previous year 
when 35 were administered. Of the 19 administered in 2011, the majority, 16, were 
for offenders under the age of 18. 
                                                
1 Includes reprimands and warnings in the case of juvenile offenders. 
2 Offences under Section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 
 
8

Court proceedings and convictions for sexual offences 
 
Virtually all criminal cases start in magistrates’ courts – in 2011, 9,900 defendants 
were proceeded against at the magistrates’ court accused of sexual offences. 
 
Of those individuals prosecuted, three quarters were committed for trial at the Crown 
Court, reflecting the serious nature of the offences each was accused of. This 
proportion has ranged from 69 to 77 per cent over the last six years. Rape accounts 
for around three in ten defendants prosecuted for sexual offences each year. In 2011 
the 2,900 defendants prosecuted for rape were prosecuted, on average, for 2.3 rape 
offences each. 
 
Of those cases that completed to the point of guilty or acquittal at the magistrates’ 
court or Crown Court in 2011, just under two thirds were convicted. This is eight 
percentage points higher than 2005. Over the same period the most common 
sentence was immediate custody with around three in five offenders sent to prison. 
 
Reflecting the seriousness of the offence, nearly every convicted rapist received a 
custodial sentence. In 2011, only 40 such offenders out of 1,200 received a non-
custodial sentence for rape. The average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for those 
offenders convicted of rape in 2011 was in excess of eight and a half years, an 
increase of nearly 21 months since 2005. The ACSL across all sexual offences was 
just under four and a half years, an increase of almost a year since 2005. 
 
Aside from fraud and forgery cases, sexual offences take on average longer to 
complete in court than any other offence type, from the time the offence was 
committed to the final outcome at court. This reflects the complexities in these types 
of cases. In 2011, both offence types took on average more than one year and four 
months to reach their conclusion. However, at least half of the sexual offence cases 
took less than ten months from offence to completion at court. For rape cases, it can 
take even longer, with at least half taking more than one year to complete, and on 
average cases taking around one year and ten months. 
 
Specifically for those defendants initially proceeded against for rape (2,800) in 2009, 
nearly all (2,700) were committed to the Crown Court for trial. Over the following 
three years, 49 per cent of those proceeded against were convicted and sentenced 
at the Crown Court, and just over 12 per cent of cases had yet to reach a final 
conclusion. Of those offenders convicted at all courts, six in ten were convicted of 
rape and three in ten were convicted of another sexual offence – see Figure 1.2 
below. 
 
Offenders in prison for sexual offences tend to spend more time in prison than for 
other offence groups. In 2011, sex offenders spent on average 32 months in prison, 
including time spent on remand, compared with an average of 10 months for all other 
offences. 
 
A large majority of offenders sentenced for sexual offences each year had not 
previously been cautioned or convicted of a sexual offence – over 80 per cent in 
each of the last seven years. Around four per cent of those convicted had five or 
more previous cautions or convictions for a sexual offence and, in 2011, just under 
80 per cent of those people received a custodial sentence. Of those convicted of 
rape in 2011 who had five or more previous cautions or convictions for a sexual 
offence, nearly all (97 per cent) received a custodial sentence. 
 
9

Figure 1.2 – Outcomes of prosecutions for defendants proceeded against 
for rape offence in 2009, by end of 2011 
 
 
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
2,797*
Found guilty of 
rape at 
magistrates’ court
13
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
342
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
2,405
Guilty 
plea
747
Not guilty 
plea2
1,658
Found 
guilty of 
rape 
354
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
124
Other 
outcome5
8
Found 
guilty of 
rape3
448
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
46
Found not 
guilty4
1,038
Total found guilty 
at all courts
1,372
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
sexual 
offence 
269
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
sexual 
offence 
118
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
37
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
2,747
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
5 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
2,797*
Found guilty of 
rape at 
magistrates’ court
13
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
342
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
2,405
Guilty 
plea
747
Not guilty 
plea2
1,658
Found 
guilty of 
rape 
354
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
124
Other 
outcome5
8
Found 
guilty of 
rape3
448
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
46
Found not 
guilty4
1,038
Total found guilty 
at all courts
1,372
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
sexual 
offence 
269
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
sexual 
offence 
118
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
37
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
2,747
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
5 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
 
10

Chapter 2: Crime Survey for England and Wales: 
Sexual offence victimisation 
 
This chapter presents key findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales 
(CSEW). The figures relate to self-completion questions asked of males and females 
aged 16 to 59, resident in households in England and Wales, about their experiences 
as victims of sexual offences3 in the last year. Findings from the CSEW provide 
estimates of the extent of sexual offence victimisation, including offences that do not 
come to the attention of the police. 
  
Due to the relatively low number of respondents that have been a victim of a sexual 
offence, the three most recent available survey years have been combined and 
averaged to improve the accuracy of figures. In most cases this is 2009/10, 2010/11 
and 2011/12. However, certain questions are only included in the CSEW every other 
year and in these cases data have been combined from the 2007/08, 2009/10 and 
2011/12 surveys. In some tables there are insufficient data to draw reliable 
conclusions about male victims, where this is the case only offences committed 
against females are presented. 
 
CSEW uses two measures of sexual offences. One relates to experiences since the 
age of 16 and the other is limited to those experiences in the last 12 months. To 
allow for better comparison with the rest of this report, the 12 month measure is used 
for the majority of the chapter. To help put these figures into context, a short section 
at the end of the chapter discusses respondent’s experiences as victims of sexual 
offences since the age of 16. 
 
More background information on the CSEW can be found in the ‘Data sources and 
quality’ section of this bulletin. 
 
Prevalence of sexual offences 
 
Based on data from the 2009/10, 2010/11, and 2011/12 CSEW, females were much 
more likely than males to have reported being a victim of a sexual offence; this was 
the case across all sexual offence categories. Overall 2.5 per cent of females and 0.4 
per cent of males had reported experiencing some form of sexual offence in the last 
12 months (Table 2.1). For both sexes, the vast majority of incidents are accounted 
for by “other sexual offences”, which include offences relating to indecent exposure, 
sexual threats and unwanted touching. 
 
Focusing on the most serious sexual offences (including attempts), 0.5 per cent of 
female respondents had reported being a victim in the last year. Of these, the 
majority had been a victim of rape and two fifths a victim of assault by penetration. 
Males were much less likely than females to report being a victim of a most serious 
sexual offence (0.1 per cent). To put these figures into context, over the same period, 
2.2 per cent of adults had been a victim of a violent crime resulting in injury in the last 
12 months. 
 
Based on these prevalence rates, it is estimated that there were between 430,000 
and 517,000 adult victims of sexual offences in the last year over these three survey 
                                                
3 For the benefit of continuity throughout the report, the term ‘sexual offences’ is used. Other published 
reports on findings from the CSEW refer to these incidents as ‘sexual assaults’. Other CSEW reports 
refer to ‘most serious sexual offences’ and ‘other sexual offences’ as ‘serious sexual offences’ and ‘less 
serious sexual offences’. 
 
11

periods (Table 2.2). Of these, it is estimated that there were between 366,000 and 
442,000 female victims and between 54,000 and 90,000 male victims. With regard to 
the most serious sexual offences, the survey estimated the number of females who 
were victims ranged between 68,000 and 103,000 and male victims between 5,000 
and 19,000 per year.4  
 
Table 2.1 – Prevalence of being a victim of a sexual offence in the last 12 
months among adults aged 16 to 59, average of 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 
CSEW 
 
Persons aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Percentage who were victims once or more
Offence
Males
Females
All
Any sexual offence (including attempts)(1)
0.4
2.5
1.5
Most serious sexual offences (including attempts)
0.1
0.5
0.3
Rape (including attempts)
0.1
0.4
0.2
Assault by penetration (including attempts)
0.0
0.2
0.1
Most serious sexual offences (excluding attempts)
0.1
0.4
0.2
Rape (excluding attempts)
0.0
0.3
0.2
Assault by penetration (excluding attempts)
0.0
0.1
0.1
Other sexual offences
0.4
2.3
1.3
Unweighted base (2)
20,692
         
24,203
         
44,895
         
(1) Subcategory figures will not add up to the figures above them because respondents may have 
been victims of separate incidents of different types of sexual offence.
(2) The bases given are for any sexual offence, the bases for the other measures presented will be 
similar.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                
4 More information about the ONS method for calculating these ranges can be found in ONS’s User 
Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales.  
 
12

Table 2.2 – Estimated numbers of victims of sexual offences in the last  12 
months among adults aged 16 to 59, average of 2009/10, 2010/11 and 2011/12 
CSEW 
 
Persons aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Number of victims per year (thousands) (1)
Offence
Estimate
Estimate
Estimate
Any sexual offence (including attempts)(1)
72
54 - 90
404
xx-xxxx-xxxx
473
430 - 517
Most serious sexual offences (including attempts
12
5 - 19
85
68 - 103
97
77 - 116
Rape (including attempts)
9
3 - 15
69
54 - 85
78
60 - 95
Assault by penetration (including attempts)
4
0 - 8
31
20 - 41
34
23 - 46
Most serious sexual offences (excluding attempts
9
3
15
62
47
77
70
54
87
Rape (excluding attempts)
6
1 - 11
52
39 - 66
58
43 - 73
Assault by penetration (excluding attempts)
4
0 - 8
21
12 - 30
25
15 - 34
Other sexual offences
68
51 - 85
369
333 - 406
436
395 - 477
Unweighted base (3)
20,692
  
24,203
  
44,895
  
(2) The ranges presented in this table have been calculated using a 95 per cent confidence interval.
(3) The bases given are for any sexual offence the bases for the other measures presented will be similar.
Males
Females
All
(1) Subcategory figures will not add up to the figures above them because respondents may have been victims of separate incidents 
of different types of sexual offence.
Range(2)
Range(2)
Range(2)
 
 
Trends in victimisation 
 
Since the inclusion of this type of question in the 2004/05 CSEW, the prevalence of 
sexual offences committed against females has ranged between 2.3 and 3.3 per cent 
(Table 2.3) with few statistically significant year-on-year changes. Prevalence rates 
for male victims over the same period ranged from 0.3 and 0.6 per cent per year with 
no statistically significant changes during this period. 
 
Table 2.3 – Prevalence of any sexual offence (including attempts) among males 
and females aged 16 to 59, 2004/05 to 2011/121 CSEW 
Persons aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Percentage who were victims once or more
Sex
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Males
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.4
0.4
0.5
0.5
0
Females
2.8
3.3
3.1
3.0
2.5
2.3
2.5
3
Total
1.7
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.4
1.3
1.5
1
Unweighted base (1)
22,939
24,582
24,000
23,220
23,830
21,844
11,041
11,015
(1) The sample size is lower from 2010/11 onwards compared to previous years due to use of a split-sample experimalest. For further 
information, see Hall, 2011.
.3
.0
.6
 
 
 
Characteristics of female victims  
 
As earlier sections of this chapter have shown, gender is a key factor related to the 
risk of sexual offence victimisation, with the majority of victims being female. In 
addition to this, risk of victimisation for females varied by other personal and 
 
13

household characteristics5. Analysis of the three most recent survey years indicates 
that: 
 
 
Females aged between 16 and 19 were at the highest risk of being a victim of a 
sexual offence (8.2 per cent) and as age increased the risk of victimisation 
reduced. 
 
 
Single females6 and those who were separated7 were more at risk than other 
females (5.3 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively). 
 
 
Females from households in the lowest income bracket (under £10,000 per year) 
showed an increased risk of victimisation (3.8 per cent) as did full time students 
(6.8 per cent), and the unemployed (3.8 per cent).  
 
 
An increased risk of victimisation was apparent for females with limiting 
disabilities or illnesses (3.4 per cent) and those who were economically inactive 
at the time of interview due to long term illness (4.9 per cent). 
 
 
Factors relating to household location, and housing tenure were also related to 
risk of victimisation. For example, prevalence rates were higher among females in 
the ‘City Living’ Output Area Classification category8 (5.5 per cent), people living 
in flats or maisonettes (3.9 per cent), those living in an urban area (2.6 per cent) 
and in rented accommodation (3.4 per cent for social rented accommodation and 
4.6 for private rented). 
 
 
Sexual victimisation rates were higher for females who reported visiting a pub at 
least once a week (4.3 per cent) or a night club one to three times a month (5.6 
per cent). Those who visited a night club at least four times a month had the 
highest victimisation rate of any characteristic covered by the CSEW (9.2 per 
cent). 
 
Many of these characteristics will be closely associated, so care should be taken not 
to view the categories in isolation. Particular attention should be paid to the 
relationship between age and characteristics such as marital status, full-time student 
status and use of nightclubs and pubs; as should the relationship between household 
income and economic status, output area classification, tenure, occupation and 
residential characteristics. 
 
Previous reports in this area have used logistic regression to help identify factors 
which are independently associated with increased risk of victimisation. Previous 
analysis by the Home Office9 found that the characteristics which contributed most to 
explaining the risk of sexual offence were the respondent’s sex, use of any drugs in 
the last year and age. However, other variables such as marital status, having a long-
term illness or disability and frequency of visits to a nightclub were also important. 
                                                
5 Demographic characteristics deemed to be of greater risk of victimisation are ones with a statistically 
higher prevalence rate than the remainder of the female population (determined using a T-Test for 
statistical significance). 
6 ‘Single females’ includes those in a relationship who are not cohabiting.  
7 ‘Separated females’ are those who are married, but not living with their spouse.  
8 The Output Area Classification method uses 2001 Census data to place an address one of seven 
categories based on the socio-economic attributes of the residents of each area. More information can 
be found at http://areaclassification.org.uk/. 
9 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/hosb0212/hosb0212?view=Binary 
 
14

The report also noted that although people who had used any drug in the last year 
were found to have higher odds of being a victim of sexual offence compared with 
those who hadn’t, they could not conclude that there was a causal relationship 
between the two. Nor could they exclude the possibility that other lifestyle factors 
related to both drug use and victimisation, which were not included in the model, may 
be related.  
 
A full breakdown of the risk of sexual offence victimisation by personal, household 
and area characteristics is shown in Table 2.7 in the accompanying set of reference 
tables. 
 
Nature of sexual offences against females 
 
The CSEW self-completion module asks victims for further details about the nature of 
incidents they experienced, including the characteristics of the offender(s) and 
whether the victim reported the incidents to the police or others. These questions are 
included in the CSEW biennially and, as such, analysis presented in this section uses 
data from the 2007/08, 2009/10 and 2011/12 surveys. 
 
Despite combining data from multiple survey years, the available data yields a 
relatively low number of victims for analysis. As such, the figures presented here 
should be interpreted with caution. 
 
Offender characteristics for offences against females 
 
Female respondents who had been a victim of a most serious sexual offence 
reported that offenders were most likely to be young males, with 47 per cent of 
offenders being males aged between 20 and 39 (Table 2.4).  
 
Table 2.4 – Reported sex and age of offender(1) characteristics for female 
victims of a most serious sexual offence, 2009/10 and 2011/12 combined(2) 
 Females aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Percentage
Age group
Male
Female
Under 16
1
-
16-19
29
-
20-39
47
-
40-59
20
-
60 or over
2
-
Total
100.0
-
Base
'-' = Nil
Note: Some figures may not sum due to rounding.
2. It was not possible to combine three years of data for this table, because the question was not 
asked until 09/10.
Sex
62
1. These figures are taken from incidents where there was only one person involved with the sexual 
offence. Figures for incidents involving more than once offender may differ.
 
 
 
 
15

Victim-offender relationship among female victims 
 
When asked about their most recent incident, the victim-offender relationship was 
found to vary considerably between different types of sexual offence (Figure 2.2).  
 
 
The most commonly reported victim-offender relationship among victims of the 
most serious offence types was a partner10 (56 per cent).  
 
 
Among females who had been victims of other sexual offences, the offender was 
most likely to be a stranger (52 per cent). 
 
 
In around a third of both the most serious and other sexual offences, the offender 
was found to be somebody known to the victim, other than a partner or family 
member11. 
 
Figure 2.1 – Victim-offender relationship for serious sexual offences and less 
serious sexual offences experienced by females in the last year, 2009/10, 
2010/11 and 2011/12 CSEW combined 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Most serious sexual offences
Other sexual offences
Offence category
Percentage
Partner/ ex-partner
Family member
Other known
Stranger
 
 
Reporting of the most serious sexual offences among female 
victims 
 
Further questions, related to the most recent incident, were asked of victims of 
offences in the most serious sexual offence category. Around a quarter (28 per cent, 
Table 2.5) of females had not told anyone about the incident. One in seven had told 
the police about the incident (15 per cent), and all of these respondents had had also 
told somebody else. Fifty-seven per cent of females told someone about the incident, 
but did not tell the police. For those who did tell someone about their experience, the 
                                                
10 Includes current partner and former partner. 
11 The ‘other known’ category includes: a date, friend, neighbour, an acquaintance (outside work or 
school/college/university), colleague/peer from work or school/college/university, or a person in a 
position of trust or authority. 
 
16

main group that victims confided in were friends, relatives or neighbours (65 per 
cent). 
 
Respondents who had not reported the incident to the police were asked why they 
did not report it. Due to the low numbers of victims, it is difficult to draw firm 
conclusions from these findings. However, data from responses to these questions 
do provide a broad indication of the most commonly cited reasons for not reporting a 
sexual offence to the police. Based on the responses of females victims in the 
2011/12 survey, the most frequently cited were that it would be ‘embarrassing’, they 
‘didn’t think the police could do much to help’, that the incident was ‘too trivial/ not 
worth reporting’, or that they saw it as a ‘private/family matter and not police 
business’. 
 
Table 2.5 – Who female victims of most serious sexual offences told about the 
most recent incident (where the incident had occurred in the last year)(1), 
combined 2007/08, 2009/10 and 2011/12 CSEW 
 
Females aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Percentage
Told someone
72
Told someone, but did not tell police(2)
57
Told police
15
Told police, but did not tell someone else
-
Told no one
28
Base
136
'-' = Nil
(1) Unlike other statistics in this chapter (such as offender characteristics or victimisation) 
reporting behaviour is subject to external influences, such as the media, government/police 
initiatives and public opinion. This is particularly pertinent for reporting to the police. As such, 
caution should be exercised when interpreting these figures.
(2) The figure presented is a proportion of all respondents, not just of those who told 
someone.
 
 
 
17

 
 
Victimisation since the age of 16 
Other information collected by the CSEW questionnaire can provide a fuller 
understanding of the broader picture of sexual offence victimisation. While the 
findings reported in this chapter focus on CSEW respondents’ experience of 
sexual offences in the last year, the self-completion module of the questionnaire 
also asks respondents about their experiences of sexual offences since the age 
of 16. According to the 2011/12 CSEW: 
 
19.6 per cent of females had been a victim of a sexual offence since the 
age of 16, compared with 2.7 per cent of males (Table 2.6) 
 
less serious sexual offences accounted for the majority of victimisation 
experience for both males and females 
 
5.3 per cent of females had been the victim of a serious sexual offence 
(including attempts) compared to 0.5 per cent of males 
Table 2.6 – Prevalence of being a victim of a sexual offence since the 
age of 16 among adults aged 16 to 59, 2011/12 CSEW 
 
Persons aged 16 to 59
England and Wales                      
Percentage who were victims once or more
(1)
Offence
Males
Females
All
Any sexual offence (including attempts)
2.7
19.6
11.1
Most serious sexual offence (including attempts)
0.5
5.3
2.9
Rape (including attempts)
0.3
4.6
2.5
Assault by penetration (including attempts)
0.3
2.1
1.2
Most serious sexual offence (excluding attempts)
0.4
4.3
2.3
Rape (excluding attempts)
0.2
3.8
2.0
Assault by penetration (excluding attempts)
0.2
1.6
0.9
Other sexual offence
2.4
18.8
10.5
Unweighted base
(2)
5,272
6,055
11,327
(1)  Subcategory figures will not add up to the totals above them because respondents may have 
been victims of separate incidents of different types of crime.
(2)  The bases given are for any sexual offence, the bases for the other measures presented will be 
similar.
 
 
 
 
 
18

Chapter 3: Police activity relating to sexual offences 
 
The previous chapter looked at the extent and trends of sexual offences as 
measured by the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). This chapter 
presents statistics from the police forces of England and Wales, including how many 
sexual offences the police record, the number of offences that the police detect, and 
how many cases are dealt with by an out of court disposal, namely cautions. The 
police recording of an offence is the first stage of a crime entering the crime and 
criminal justice system.  
 
More background information on police recorded crime can be found in the ‘Data 
sources and quality’ section of this bulletin. Later in this chapter, the quality of police 
recorded crime data for sexual offences is discussed.  
 
Trends in recorded crimes for sexual offences 
 
The police are responsible for the recording of crime committed in England and 
Wales. When the police become aware of an incident that might be a crime, they 
register it as an incident. Subsequently, the police record a crime if, on the balance of 
probability, the circumstances as reported amount to a crime defined by law and if 
there is no credible evidence to the contrary. Further information on how the police 
record crime can be found in the ‘Data sources and quality’ section of this bulletin. 
 
In 2011/12, the police recorded 53,665 sexual offences, accounting for around one 
per cent of all police recorded crime. This equates to around one offence per year for 
every thousand people in England and Wales.  
 
The most commonly recorded sexual offence was sexual assault (including 
attempts), accounting for 41 per cent of the sexual offences recorded in 2011/12 
(22,053 offences). A further 30 per cent were for rape (16,041 offences, including 
attempts). This compares with the estimate of 69,000 rapes (including attempts) per 
year on average as measured by the CSEW (see previous chapter). In line with the 
findings from the CSEW, levels of rape and sexual assault against females are 
higher than for males.  
 
The proportion of recorded sexual crimes in the most serious sexual offence category 
of rape or sexual assault (71 per cent) differs markedly from profile of crimes 
experienced by victims responding to the CSEW, of whom 20 per cent reported being 
victim of the most serious sexual offences. This reflects the fact that victims are more 
likely to report the most serious sexual offences to the police and, as such, the police 
and broader criminal justice system (CJS) tend to deal largely with the most serious 
end of the spectrum of sexual offending. 
 
The majority of the remaining police recorded sexual crimes were for exposure or 
voyeurism (7,007 offences), and sexual activity with minors12 (5,778 offences). 
 
                                                
12 ‘Sexual activity with minors’ includes Home Office offences of sexual activity involving children under 
16 and sexual activity involving children under 13, and excludes rapes and sexual assaults on minors. 
For more information see the Home Office Counting Rules for sexual offences: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/counting-rules/count-sexual?view=Binary 
  
 
19

A more detailed breakdown of police recorded sexual offences by offence type for 
2011/12 can be found in Table 3.2 in the spreadsheet tables which accompany this 
bulletin. 
 
Figure 3.1 – Number of sexual offences recorded by the police, 2011/12 
Sexual activity with 
minors, 5,778
Sexual assault on a 
male, 2,273
Rape of a male, 1,274
Other sexual offences, 
9,793
Sexual assault on a 
female, 19,780
Rape of a female, 
14,767
 
 
The number of police recorded sexual offences fell from 62,080 in 2005/06 to 51,429 
in 2008/09, before increasing to 54,919 in 2010/11. It is likely that the increases in 
recorded sexual offences since 2008/09 were largely due to greater encouragement 
by the police to victims to come forward and improvements in police recording, rather 
than an increase in the level of victimisation. These changes particularly affected the 
number of rape offences recorded by the police, which increased from 13,096 in 
2008/09 to 16,041 in 2011/12, an increase of 22 per cent. However, there is no 
evidence from the Crime Survey to suggest that an actual increase occurred in the 
number of rapes in England and Wales over this time period.  
 
Over the period 2008/09 to 2011/12, the number of offences for sexual assault (on 
males and on females) has been relatively stable (with some year-on-year 
fluctuation). This followed a fall of 16 per cent in police recorded sexual assaults 
between 2005/06 and 2008/09. The number of offences of sexual activity with minors 
recorded by the police in the last three years is, on average, around ten per cent 
higher per year than in the 2005/06 to 2008/09 period. In contrast, there has been a 
general downward trend in the number of ‘other sexual offences’ recorded over the 
seven year period presented (a decrease of 39 per cent between 2005/06 and 
2011/12). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
20

 
Table 3.1 – Police recorded sexual offences by sexual offence group, 2005/06 
to 2011/12 
England and Wales
Number of recorded crimes(1)
Offence group(2)
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Rape of a Female
13,327
12,624
11,664
12,133
13,902
14,589
14,767
Rape of a Male
1,116
1,150
1,009
963
1,172
1,303
1,274
Sexual Assault on a Female
23,020
21,395
20,545
19,740
19,841
20,644
19,780
Sexual Assault on a Male
3,169
2,763
2,653
2,323
2,262
2,411
2,273
Sexual Activity with Minors
5,491
5,275
5,141
5,140
5,809
5,808
5,778
Other sexual offences(3)
15,957
14,315
12,554
11,130
11,358
10,164
9,793
Total sexual offences
62,080
57,522
53,566
51,429
54,344
54,919
53,665
(2) The offence groups presented here have been created to match Ministry of Justice's categorisation of sexual 
offences, to aid comparison of data.
(1) Caution should be taken in analysing trends in the number of sexual offences recorded by the police due to 
changes in recording practices over the period and due to possible changes in reporting rates.
(3) The 'Other sexual offences' presented here is wider than (and hence incomparable with) the category of 
'Other sexual offences' routinely published in recorded crime statistics.
 
 
 
Figure 3.2 – Number of sexual offences recorded by the police, 2005/06 to 
2011/12 
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Year
Number of recorded crimes
Rape of a female
Rape of a male
Sexual assault on a female
Sexual assault on a male
Sexual activity with minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
 
21

Quality of police recorded crime data for sexual offences 
 
Police recorded crime statistics provide a partial picture of the extent of sexual 
offences in England and Wales. This is largely because a high proportion of such 
offences is not reported to the police and therefore not recorded. Estimates from the 
CSEW presented in Chapter 2 give a better estimate of the prevalence of sexual 
offences experienced by people resident in households in England and Wales. 
Changes in recorded crime figures also reflect changes in reporting rates (with 
criminal justice agencies encouraging victims to come forward and report offences) 
and changes in recording practices, rather than number of sexual offences actually 
taking place. For these reasons, caution should be used when interpreting trends in 
these offences.  
 
Furthermore, in recent years, police forces have been taking steps to improve the 
reporting and recording of rape and other sexual offences. Extra guidance for the 
recording of sexual offences was incorporated into the Home Office Counting Rules 
(HOCR) from 1 April 2010 and this reflected good practice guidance issued by the 
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO). This is likely to have been a factor 
driving year-on-year increases in the number of sexual offences recorded in 2009/10 
and 2010/11.  
 
However, the strength of the police recorded crime statistics are that they provide a 
measure of the number of offences that come to the attention and are recorded by 
the police and therefore the number of cases that could potentially flow through the 
criminal justice system. Further information on the quality of police recorded crime 
can be found in the ‘Data sources and quality’ section of this bulletin. 
 
‘No crimes’ 
 
Sometimes, after the initial recording of an offence, the police will decide that in fact 
no crime took place. There may be a number of reasons for this including cases 
where the original offence had been recorded in error, where additional information 
following investigation emerges (including cases where the victim later retracts the 
allegation) or where the offence actually took place under the jurisdiction of another 
force13. When this happens, the original offence is ‘no-crimed’ and therefore removed 
from that force’s police recorded crime statistics. ‘No crimes’ are the first stage where 
a criminal offence can drop out of the criminal justice system once a crime has been 
initially recorded by the police. Further information on ‘no-crimes’ can be found in the 
‘Data sources and quality’ section of this bulletin. 
 
In 2011/12, 4,155 sexual offences that were initially recorded by the police were later 
‘no-crimed’. This equates to 7.2 per cent of initially recorded crimes. The percentage 
of sexual offences ‘no-crimed’ is higher than for overall crime recorded by the police, 
which stood at 3.4 per cent in 2011/12. ‘No crime’ levels for rape are higher than for 
other sexual offences, at 10.8 per cent. ‘No crime’ rates for violence against the 
person with injury are slightly higher than police recorded crime overall, at 3.8 per 
cent.  
 
 
 
                                                
13 When a recorded offence is found to have occurred under the jurisdiction of another force, the offence 
will be ‘no-crimed’ by the force that originally recorded and then recorded as an offence by the force 
where the crime took place. 
 
22

Figure 3.3 – Percentage of initially recorded offences that were subsequently 
‘no-crimed’, by offence group, 2011/12 
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Rape of a
female
Rape of a
male
Sexual assault
on a female
Sexual assault
on a male
Sexual activity
with minors
Other sexual
offences
Violence
against the
person with
injury
All police
recorded crime
Offence group
Percentage
 
 
‘No crimes’ and retractions of rape allegations 
 
Between 2008/09 and 2010/11, the Home Office collected data on a voluntary basis 
from police forces on the number of individuals who, having made or confirmed a 
complaint regarding a rape, subsequently retracted their allegations (on the basis 
that the crime did not take place or that the report was fabricated). For 2008/09 and 
2009/10, 21 police forces sent data to the Home Office. While these data are not 
complete, it does give an indication of the proportion of offences that were ‘no-
crimed’ because an individual reporting the crime later retracted the allegation.  
 
Combined data from 2008/09 and 2009/10 for the forces that supplied data showed 
that around 45 per cent of ‘no crimes’ were due to the individual reporting the crime 
later retracting the allegation. Females were more likely to retract an allegation (45 
per cent) than males (39 per cent). Retractions of allegations were more likely to be 
made by adults (49 per cent) than children (under 13s – 24 per cent; under 16s – 36 
per cent). 
 
Quality of ‘no crime’ decisions 
 
In a joint investigative report published in February 2012 , Her Majesty’s Inspectorate 
of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for the Crown Prosecution 
Service (HMCPSI) examined ‘no crime’ reports in their report Forging the Links: 
Rape investigation and prosecution14. They compared ‘no crime’ rates for rape with 
offences of grievous bodily harm with intent, on the basis that a similar number of 
offences were recorded for each crime and because both can attract a sentence of 
life imprisonment.  
 
Although recognising that these are very different crimes, they found, for 2010/11, 
the ‘no crime’ rates for rape (11.8 per cent) were around four times higher than for 
GBH with intent offences (3.0 per cent). The corresponding figures for 2011/12 are 
                                                
14 www.hmic.gov.uk/publication/forging-the-links-rape-investigation-and-prosecution/ 
 
 
23

similar; 10.8 per cent of rape offences were ‘no crimed’ compared with 2.5 per cent 
for GBH with intent. There are legitimate reasons why a rape offence could be ‘no-
crimed’, including when the report of the rape came via a third party or a Sexual 
Assault Referral Centre but the victim does not want a police investigation to take 
place or in cases of a rape retraction. However, the report did note that they 
considered the relatively high level of ‘no-criming’ to be a ‘considerable’ problem. 
 
Cases where the victim declines to support the investigation or prosecution 
 
As part of the same data collection exercise to identify the number of individuals who 
subsequently retracted their allegations of a rape offence, the Home Office also 
collected data on the number of offences where the victim declined to complete the 
initial process or chose to withdraw support for the investigation or prosecution. If this 
happens but the victim maintains that the crime took place, then unless there is 
additional verifiable information available which determines that no notifiable crime 
took place, the rape offence remains recorded as such. However, in these cases it is 
likely that the police will be unable to take any further action or be able to detect the 
crime.  
 
Data from the voluntary collection show that, for 21 police forces in 2008/09 and 
2009/10, in around eight per cent of cases where a rape has been recorded, the 
victim decided not to complete the initial process or later decided to withdraw their 
support for the investigation or prosecution. Females were more likely to withdraw 
from the process (nine per cent) than males (six per cent). Victims were more likely 
to withdraw from the process if they were an adult (10 per cent) than victims who 
were children (under 13s – 4 per cent; under 16s – 7 per cent).  
 
 
24

Detections 
 
The Home Office collates information on whether the crimes that the police record 
are detected, and if so, how they are detected. Detected crime is a term that 
describes notifiable offences that have been detected by the police.  
 
Detections can be divided into two categories: sanction and non-sanction detections. 
Sanction detections are where a formal sanction is issued to an offender and can be 
in the form of a charge or summons, a caution, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) 
and offences that are asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs). In the 
vast majority of cases where a sexual offence has been detected, the method of 
detection is by charge or summons.  
 
Non-sanction detections are where the offence was cleared up but either no further 
action was taken against an offender, for example, where the alleged offender has 
died, where the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by virtue of their powers under the 
Criminal Justice Act 2003 decided not to prosecute or in certain cases the offence 
was cleared up by the use of a form of locally based community resolution.15  
 
Sanction detections 
 
In 2011/12, 16,124 sexual offences were detected by means of a sanction compared 
with 53,665 recorded sexual offences in the same period16. This gives a sanction 
detection rate of 30.0 per cent for sexual offences. This is higher than the rate for 
police recorded crime overall, which was 27.1 per cent in the same period. Violence 
against the person with injury offences have a higher sanction detection rate (40.3 
per cent) than both sexual offences and police recorded crime overall.  
 
Figure 3.4 – Sanction detection rates for selected offences, 2011/12 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Rape of a
female
Rape of a
male
Sexual assault
on a female
Sexual assault
on a male
Sexual activity
with minors
Other sexual
offences
Violence
against the
person with
injury
All police
recorded crime
Offence group
Sanction detection rate (%)
 
                                                
15 From April 2011, the Home Office has collected data (supplied on a voluntary basis by 22 police 
forces) on crimes ‘cleared up’ by the application of locally based community resolutions or by the 
application of Restorative Justice (RJ) techniques. For  more information see Detections in England and 
Wales 2011/12: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0812/ 
16 Sanction detections relate to those crimes cleared up in 2011/12, these are not necessarily the same 
offences recorded in 2011/12 although in many cases these will be the same offences.  
 
25

 
Of the 16,124 sanction detections for sexual offences, 13,817 were a charge or 
summons, accounting for 86 per cent of the total (Table 3.3). Most of the other 
sanction detections for sexual offences were by the issuing of a caution17(2,210 
issued, 14 per cent). Further information on cautions is presented later in this chapter 
and presents statistics from the Police National Computer (a different source than the 
detections figures presented in this paragraph).  
 
Table 3.3 shows a very small number of sexual offences detected by means of a 
Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND), despite the fact there are no sexual offences that 
can be detected by this method. While the police follow the HOCR to record crime, 
the CPS work to their own charging standard which takes into account additional 
factors, such as whether there is a realistic chance of obtaining a conviction, or 
whether it is appropriate to issue a caution or PND for an alternative offence to the 
one the police recorded. The information that the Home Office currently collects from 
forces links detections with the initially recorded offence, even if the CPS have 
decided that the appropriate course of action should be to prosecute, caution or issue 
a PND for an alternative offence. This explains why it appears that a small number of 
PNDs have been issued for sexual offences. 
 
Table 3.3 – Detections by sexual offence group and method of detection, 
2011/12 
 
England and Wales
Number and percentages of detections
Method of detection
Rape of a 
Female
Rape of a 
Male
Sexual 
Assualt of a 
Female
Sexual 
Assualt of a 
Male
Sexual 
Activity with 
Minors
Other 
sexual 
offences
All sexual 
offences
Charge/summons
3,303
362
5,337
695
1,571
2,549
13,817
Cautions
54
14
651
68
416
1,007
2,210
TICs(1)
0
1
19
2
23
37
PNDs(2)
0
0
0
0
0
15
Total sanction detections
3,357
377
6,007
765
2,010
3,608
16,124
Non-sanction detections (3) (4) (5)
27
17
120
15
49
62
290
All detections
3,384
394
6,127
780
2,059
3,670
16,414
Total recorded offences
Detection rate (%)
Charge/summons
22.4
28.4
27.0
30.6
27.2
26.0
25.7
Cautions
0.4
1.1
3.3
3.0
7.2
10.3
4.1
TICs(1)
0.0
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.4
0.4
0.2
PNDs(2)
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.2
0.0
Total sanction detections
22.7
29.6
30.4
33.7
34.8
36.8
30.0
Non-sanction detections (3) (4) (5)
0.2
1.3
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.6
0.5
All detections
22.9
30.9
31.0
34.3
35.6
37.5
30.6
'-' = Nil
(1) Offences asked to be taken into consideration by a court.
(2) Penalty Notices for Disorder (formerly known as fixed penalty notices) were introduced in several forces in 2003/04 and 
nationally in 2004/05.
(3) From 1 April 2007, new rules governing non-sanction detections significantly limited the occasions for which such 
administrative disposals can be applied.
(4) Includes data on Youth Restorative Disposals (YRDs) submitted to the Home Office as non-sanction detections from pilots 
in eight police force areas (Avon and Somerset, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Metropolitan, Norfolk, North 
Wales, Nottinghamshire).  The pilot was introduced in 2008/09. 
(5) Includes Restorative Justice and community resolution data submitted on a voluntary basis by 22 forces in 2011/12.
82
15
 
 
The sanction detection rate for rape of a female in 2011/12 was 22.7 per cent and 
29.6 per cent for rape of a male. Where rape offences were detected by sanction 
                                                
17 There are two measures of the number of cautions issued; see section on Cautions later in this 
chapter for more details.  
 
26

detection, the vast majority of cases (over 98 per cent) resulted in a charge or 
summons. Apart from one TIC, the few remaining sanction detections were cautions. 
These are covered in more detail later in this chapter.  
 
Sanction detection rates for sexual offences have been relatively stable since 
2005/06, fluctuating between 29.7 per cent and 31.4 per cent (Table 3.4). In recent 
years, there has been a slight fall in the number of sexual offences detected by 
means of a caution.  
 
Table 3.4 – Detections for sexual offences and method of detection, 2005/06 to 
2011/12 
 
England and Wales
Number and rates of detections
Method of detection
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
Charge/summons
15,453
13,863
13,136
13,254
13,688
14,101
13,817
Cautions
2,872
2,985
2,972
2,743
2,455
2,264
2,210
TICs(1)
740
172
163
146
82
90
8
PNDs(2)
66
47
19
16
11
8
15
Total sanction detections
19,131
17,067
16,290
16,159
16,236
16,463
16,124
Non-sanction detections (3) (4) (5)
2,411
1,299
110
86
107
121
290
All detections
21,542
18,366
16,400
16,245
16,343
16,584
16,414
Total recorded offences
62,080
57,522
53,566
51,429
54,344
54,919
53,665
Charge/summons
24.9
24.1
24.5
25.8
25.2
25.7
25.7
Cautions
4.6
5.2
5.5
5.3
4.5
4.1
4.1
TICs(1)
1.2
0.3
0.3
0.3
0.2
0.2
PNDs(2)
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Total sanction detections
30.8
29.7
30.4
31.4
29.9
30.0
30.0
Non-sanction detections (3) (4) (5)
3.9
2.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.2
All detections
34.7
31.9
30.6
31.6
30.1
30.2
30.6
(1) Offences asked to be taken into consideration by a court.
2
0.2
0.0
0.5
(5) Includes Restorative Justice and community resolution data submitted on a voluntary basis by 22 forces in 2011/12.
(3) From 1 April 2007, new rules governing non-sanction detections significantly limited the occasions for which such 
administrative disposals can be applied.
(4) Includes data on Youth Restorative Disposals (YRDs) submitted to the Home Office as non-sanction detections from 
pilots in eight police force areas (Avon and Somerset, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Metropolitan, Norfolk, 
North Wales, Nottinghamshire).  The pilot was introduced in 2008/09. 
Number of detections
Detection rate (%)
(2) There are no sexual offences for which a PND can be issued. The small number of offences shown detected by a 
PND in this table are where the police have issued a PND for an alternative offence to the one initially recorded.
 
 
Non-sanction detections 
 
In 2007/08, new rules were introduced limiting to two circumstances in which  a non-
sanction detection could be used. These are where the offender dies before 
proceedings could be initiated or completed; and where the CPS decides not to 
prosecute (by virtue of its powers under the Criminal Justice Act 2003). The effect of 
the change to these rules  can be seen in Table 3.4, where the non-sanction 
detection rate fell from 3.9 per cent in 2005/06 to 0.2 per cent in 2007/08.18  
 
There was an increase in the non-sanction detection rate for sexual offences 
between 2010/11 and 2011/12, from 0.2 per cent to 0.5 per cent. This reflects the 
uptake of the new locally based community resolution and Restorative Justice 
                                                
18 For more information on non-sanction detections, see Detections in England and Wales 2011/12: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/hosb0812/ 
 
27

outcomes. However, given the serious nature of many sexual offences, it is not 
surprising that the use of these non-sanction detections are lower than for recorded 
crime overall. Where non-sanction detections have been used, these will tended to 
have been offences within the ‘other sexual offences’ category, such as exposure 
and voyeurism. For overall recorded crime, 1.4 per cent of recorded crimes were 
detected by a non-sanction detection in 2011/12, an increase from 0.2 per cent in 
2010/11. 
 
Cautions 
 
Cautions19 are issued by the police and aim to deal with low risk, low-level and 
mostly first-time offenders outside of the court system. In the case of sexual offe
cautions are the only available out of court disposal. Guidance exists to help police 
forces and the CPS make their decision to issue a caution, and is clear that simple 
cautions should not normally be used for serious offences or persistent offenders. 
nces, 
                                                
 
Cautions are used only where the specific circumstances of the case make it 
appropriate. There may be cases in which the particular circumstances of the offence 
or offender mean that it is not in the public interest to prosecute – for example, where 
the age, welfare or mental well-being of the victim or offender argues against a trial. 
 
There are two data sources for the number of cautions issued by the police: those 
sent to the Home Office as part of the detections statistical return; and data taken 
from the Police National Computer (PNC) which are routinely published by the 
Ministry of Justice in ‘Criminal Justice System Quarterly Bulletin’ publications. 
Although both data sources cover cautions issued by the police, there are differences 
between the datasets – the main reason being that the Home Office data are counted 
on a per victim basis, while Ministry of Justice data are on an offender basis. Further 
explanation can be found in the ‘Data sources and quality’ section. 
 
All the data on offenders cautioned below are from the PNC and relate to the offence 
that the caution was ultimately issued for. The data are presented on a calendar year 
basis, based on the date of caution. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into 
force on 1st May 2004, introduced a large number of new categories of sexual 
offences. As such, figures are presented back to 2005, for ease of comparison. 
 
Cautions for sexual offences peaked over the last seven years in 2007, when 1,947 
cautions were issued, and have fallen by 21.3 per cent since. This broadly matches 
the trend in the overall use of cautions, which has hit a peak over the last decade of 
362,900 issued in 2007 and has declined since, by over a third (36.0 per cent) to 
232,200 cautions issued in 2011. The decline in the use of cautions 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. 
 
In 2011, there were 1,532 offenders cautioned for sexual offences, including 
juveniles given a reprimand or final warning, representing a 12.3 per cent increase 
from 1,364 in 2010.  
 
The increase in the numbers of cautions between 2010 and 2011 was chiefly driven 
by three sexual offence types in particular which reported large increases: exposure 
(up from 208 to 283 cautions), sexual activity with child under 13 (up from 67 to 100 
 
19 Including reprimands and warnings for juveniles.  
 
28

cautions), and sexual assault on a female (up from 373 to 441 cautions) – all three of 
which had been decreasing since 2007 before the increase in the last year. 
 
In 2011, 39.9 per cent of cautions issued for sexual offences were for sexual assault, 
with 29.3 per cent for sexual activity with minors. There were 19 cautions issued for 
rape20, 1.2 per cent of all cautions for sexual offences. 
 
Cautions for sexual assault, rape and other sexual offences have all decreased since 
2007 (by 33.3 per cent, 44.1 per cent and 19.6 per cent respectively), whereas 
cautions for sexual activity with minors have increased by 3.7 per cent over the 
period. 
 
Figure 3.5 – Offenders cautioned by sexual offence group, 2005 to 2011 
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Number of offenders cautioned
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on a Female
Sexual Assault on a Male
Sexual Activity with Minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
Demographic breakdowns of offenders cautioned for sexual offences  
 
In 2011, the vast majority of cautions issues for sexual offences were to males (96.7 
per cent) (see Table 3.6). 
 
Males aged 18 or over accounted for around two thirds of cautions for sexual 
assaults on a female, half of cautions for sexual assaults on a male and around two 
thirds of cautions for sexual activity with minors. 
 
Of the 19 cautions issued for rape in 2011: 
 
11 were for males aged under 15 where the victim (males and females) was 
aged under 13; 
 
Five were for males aged 15-17; 
 
The remaining three were for males aged 21 and over. 
 
 
                                                
20 Including attempted rape. 
 
29

In 2011, 1,487 (97.1 per cent) offenders cautioned for sexual offences were of a 
known ethnicity (see Table 3.8). Of these persons: 
 
87.8 per cent were White (compared with 85.8 per cent of offenders of a 
known ethnicity for all cautions); 
 
4.7 per cent were Black (compared with 7.5 per cent of all cautions); 
 
6.1 per cent were Asian (compared with 5.2 per cent of all cautions); 
 
The remaining 1.4 per cent were of ‘other’ ethnicity. 
 
30

Chapter 4: Court proceedings & sentencing 
 
If there is sufficient evidence against the defendant and none of the out of court 
disposals are appropriate, the police or Crown Prosecution Service will formally 
charge the suspect. The law then requires the defendant to be brought before a 
magistrates’ court as soon as possible. On hearing the evidence, the magistrates will 
decide whether there is a case to answer (if not, the charge is dismissed) or whether 
there is enough evidence to proceed, and whether or not to commit the defendant to 
the Crown Court for trial. 
 
The data presented are on a calendar year basis and refer to persons proceeded 
against in the courts, as reported by the Ministry of Justice in ‘Criminal Justice 
System Quarterly Bulletin’ publications. The Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came 
into force on 1st May 2004, introduced a large number of new categories of sexual 
offences. As such, figures are presented back to 2005, for ease of comparison. 
 
Proceedings at magistrates’ courts 
 
Virtually all criminal court cases start in a magistrates’ court and less serious 
offences can be handled entirely within this court. 
 
In 2011, there were 9,919 defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for 
sexual offences. This represented a 6.1 per cent decrease in proceedings compared 
with a peak over the last seven years in 2010, but a 2.4 per cent increase compared 
with 2005 volumes. 
 
Figure 4.1 – Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts by sexual 
offence group, 2005 to 2011 
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Number of defendants
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on a Female
Sexual Assault on a Male
Sexual Activity with Minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
 
31

29 per cent of defendants proceeded against for sexual offences in 2011 were for 
rape offences, and 42 per cent were for sexual assault. These proportions have been 
stable over the last seven years. In 2011, 2,873 defendants were proceeded against 
for rape offences21, a decrease of 6.4 per cent from 2010. Sexual assault 
proceedings also declined, by 3.6 per cent from 4,318 in 2010 to 4,162 in 2011. 
 
Demographic breakdowns of defendants prosecuted for sexual offences  
 
In 2011, males accounted for the vast majority of prosecutions for sexual offences 
(98.2 per cent). More specifically, males aged 18 and over accounted for 89.7 per 
cent of proceedings for sexual offences, with similar proportions for rape (89.6 per 
cent) and sexual assault (89.2 per cent) proceedings (see Table 4.2). 
 
9,042 defendants proceeded against for sexual offences in 2011 (91.2 per cent of 
total) were of a known ethnicity (see Table 4.4). Of these persons: 
 
78.0 per cent were White; 
 
9.9 per cent were Black; 
 
9.7 per cent were Asian; 
 
The remaining 2.4 per cent were of ‘other’ ethnicity. 
 
Outcomes of proceedings at magistrates’ courts 
 
Of the 9,919 defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for sexual offences 
in 2011: 
 
820 (8.3 per cent) saw their proceedings terminated early22, were discharged 
at committal proceedings, or saw their case dismissed (i.e. the defendant was 
found not guilty after a summary trial); 
 
1,625 (16.4 per cent) were found guilty at the magistrates' court; 
 
the remaining 7,474 (75.4 per cent) were committed for trial at the Crown 
Court. 
 
Outcomes of proceedings at magistrates’ courts vary greatly by sexual offence 
group, reflecting the relative seriousness of the offences covered. For defendants 
accused of rape offences in 2011, 97.7 per cent were committed for trial at the Crown 
Court, with only 0.7 per cent found guilty at the magistrates’ court. In comparison, 
67.7 per cent of defendants proceeded against for sexual assault offences were 
committed for trial at the Crown Court, with 21.1 per cent found guilty by magistrates 
(see Table 4.5). 
 
 
 
                                                
21 Including attempted rape. 
22 Includes proceedings discontinued under s.23(3) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985, charges 
withdrawn and cases "written off" (e.g. bench warrant unexecuted, adjourned sine die, defendant cannot 
be traced etc.). 
 
32

Offenders found guilty 
 
A conviction is where a person or a company is found guilty of a criminal offence at 
either the magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court. 
 
Convictions trends – by offence group 
 
There were 5,977 offenders found guilty of sexual offences in 2011, compared with 
5,784 in 2010 – an increase of 3.3 per cent. This continues an increasing trend over 
the past seven years, up 24.9 per cent since 2005. In 2011, there were 1,058 
offenders found guilty of rape of a female, and 95 offenders found guilty of rape of a 
male.  
 
The largest increases in the number of offenders found guilty over the past seven 
years have occurred for the offences of rape of a female and sexual activity with 
minors, with increases of 45.3 and 45.2 per cent respectively. Rape of a male has 
also seen an increase in convictions, of 39.7 per cent since 2005. Sexual assault on 
a female and other sexual offences have seen smaller increases of 18.7 and 15.3 per 
cent, whilst convictions for sexual assault on a male have decreased by 12.5 per cent 
over the period. 
 
Figure 4.2 - Offenders found guilty at all courts by sexual offence type, 2005 to 
2011 
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Number of offenders
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on a Female
Sexual Assault on a Male
Sexual Activity with Minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
Demographic breakdowns of offenders convicted for sexual offences  
 
In 2011, males accounted for the vast majority of offenders found guilty for sexual 
offences (99.0 per cent). More specifically, males aged 18 and over accounted for 
91.8 per cent of offenders found guilty for sexual offences, with similar proportions for 
rape (94.0 per cent) and sexual assault (90.3 per cent) proceedings (see Table 4.8). 
 
 
33

5,497 offenders found guilty of sexual offences in 2011 (92.0 per cent) were of a 
known ethnicity (see Table 4.10). Of these persons: 
 
80.9 per cent were White; 
 
7.6 per cent were Black; 
 
8.7 per cent were Asian; 
 
The remaining 2.8 per cent were of ‘other’ ethnicity. 
 
Outcomes of trials at the Crown Court 
 
There were 7,061 defendants tried at the Crown Court for sexual offences in 2011 
(see Table 4.6), of which: 
 
2,592 (36.7 per cent) pleaded not guilty and were acquitted; 
 
1,639 (23.2 per cent) pleaded not guilty and were found guilty; 
 
2,713 (38.4 per cent) pleaded guilty; 
 
the remaining 117 were not actually tried – on the grounds that they were 
unfit for plea due to disability, unfit for trial due to mental health 
considerations, died before the completion of the trial, or the case was 
adjourned and the court ordered the offence to remain on file. 
 
This gives a total of 4,352 offenders convicted of sexual offences at the Crown Court 
in 2011, 72.8 per cent of the total convictions for sexual offences. As discussed in the 
previous section, the remaining 1,625 were convicted at magistrates’ courts. 
 
In 2011, the conviction rate for completed trials at the Crown Court for sexual 
offences was 61.6 per cent, which has increased by 7.1 percentage points since 
2005. Conviction rates for completed trials at the Crown Court have increased across 
all sexual offence groups, with the highest increases for rape of a female (51.1 per 
cent in 2011, an increase of 9.9 percentage points since 2005) and rape of a male 
(62.5 per cent in 2011, an increase of 9.7 percentage points since 2005). The 
combined rape conviction rate for completed trials at the Crown Court in 2011 was 
51.8 per cent, a 9.9 percentage point increase since 2005. 
 
Plea at the Crown Court 
 
In 2011, 38.4 per cent of defendants tried at the Crown Court for sexual offences 
pleaded guilty. However, plea varied by sexual offence group, with defendants tried 
for rape of a female having the lowest proportion of guilty pleas at 20.8 per cent. The 
proportion of those trialled for sexual offences who pleaded guilty has increased over 
the last seven years, up from 34.6 per cent in 2005. 
 
Of defendants who pleaded not guilty at the Crown Court in 2011, 38.7 per cent were 
subsequently found guilty of the offence. This proportion does not vary greatly by 
offence group. However, the proportion of defendants found guilty following a not 
guilty plea has increased over the last seven years, up from 32.5 per cent in 2005. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
34

Figure 4.3 – Outcomes for offenders tried at the Crown Court, by plea and 
sexual offence group, 2011 
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault
on a Female
Sexual Assault
on a Male
Sexual Activity
with Minors
Other sexual
offences
Offence group
Proportion
Pleaded guilty 
Pleaded not guilty and found guilty
Pleaded not guilty and acquitted
 
 
Conviction ratios 
 
Conviction ratios are calculated as the number of convictions as a proportion of the 
number of proceedings. This gives a measure of the relative number of defendants 
who are found guilty within a given year for a certain offence, when compared with 
the number who are prosecuted that year for the same offence. 
 
It is worth noting that, given the time taken to complete criminal proceedings 
(covered in Chapter 5), offenders found guilty in a given year may well have been 
proceeded against in a previous year. Similarly, defendants proceeded against in one 
year may not have received their final case outcome (i.e. found guilty or acquitted) in 
the same year. Further, defendants may be found guilty of a different offence to that 
for which they were originally proceeded against. 
 
Alongside the increase in the number of convictions for sexual offences over the past 
seven years, the overall conviction ratio has also increased, from 49.4 per cent in 
2005 to 60.3 per cent in 2011 (see Table 4.11). 
 
Comparing across sexual offence groups, rape of a female has the lowest conviction 
ratio – 39.7 per cent in 2011 – but it has increased from 27.6 per cent in 2005. In 
2011, sexual assault on a male had the highest conviction ratio of 91.0 per cent. 
 
For certain offence types, such as meeting a child under 16 following sexual 
grooming and gross indecency with a child, we see conviction ratios of greater than 
100, specifically 103.7 and 295.2 for these offence types in 2011. This shows that 
more defendants are being found guilty of that offence in that year than were 
proceeded against in that year. This is likely to be because the offender was initially 
proceeded against at the magistrates’ court for a different sexual offence. In addition, 
as with any conviction, the defendant may have been found guilty following a 
prosecution that commenced in a previous year. 
 
 
35

Between the initial hearing at the magistrates’ court and the first hearing at the Crown 
Court, the prosecuting authority the CPS can decide the initial charge is incorrect and 
change to another offence, known as ‘downgrading’. For example, a rape charge 
could be downgraded to one of sexual assault, to increase the chances of a 
conviction. This makes the simple comparison of prosecutions and conviction for an 
individual offence group such as rape potentially misleading.  
 
Figure 4.4 - Conviction ratio by sexual offence group, 2005 to 2011 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Conviction ratio
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on a Female
Sexual Assault on a Male
Sexual Activity with Minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
 
36

Outcomes of prosecutions 
 
The following section considers rape cases which were proceeded against in 2009 
and matches the cases through to their outcomes (if reached) up to the end of 2011. 
In doing so, it provides an insight into the ultimate outcomes of rape proceedings, the 
majority of which are completed at the Crown Court. Similar analyses of the 
outcomes of murder proceedings are provided for comparative purposes. 
 
Of the rape proceedings commencing in 2009 which have been matched to an 
outcome at magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court in 2009, 2010 or 2011 (i.e. 
completed cases23): 
 
 
55.9 per cent were found guilty of an offence, with: 
o 33.2 per cent being found guilty of a rape offence;  
o 7.9 per cent being found guilty of sexual assault; 
o 7.9 per cent being found guilty of another sexual offence (neither rape nor 
sexual assault); and 
o a further 3.6 per cent being found guilty of a violent offence, 2.6 per cent 
of another indictable offence and 0.7 per cent of a summary offence. 
 
 
42.3 per cent were found not guilty. 
 
 
the remaining 1.8 per cent were discharged, had their proceedings ended 
early, or had another outcome, e.g. the defendants died before sentence was 
passed. 
 
Figure 4.5 shows the flow of these matched cases through the Criminal Justice 
System. A total of 1,372 defendants prosecuted for rape in 2009, whose case was 
matched to an outcome by the end of 2011, were found guilty. Of these, a total of 
815 were found guilty of rape, 194 were found guilty of sexual assault, and 193 were 
found guilty of another sexual offence; the remaining 170 were found guilty of 
another offence. 
 
The increase in the conviction rate for rape when including other offences reflects the 
complex relationship that can sometimes exist between prosecutions and outcomes 
at the Crown Court – namely the extent to which particular types of offences can be 
subject to downgrading. Further, in some instances, cases are combined and the 
offender is convicted of a more serious offence, such as murder, with the rape 
charge ordered to remain on file. 
 
Figure 4.5 also illustrates the relationship between plea and outcome of cases 
completed at the Crown Court. The defendant pleaded not guilty in 69 per cent 
of completed rape cases at the Crown Court, and 63 per cent of those pleading 
not guilty were subsequently found not guilty. 
                                                
23 342 cases could not be matched to an outcome in 2009, 2010 or 2011. Please note this could reflect 
that the case is still outstanding, or could be due to data quality issues that prevented the proceeding 
being matched to the outcome. 
 
37

Figure 4.5 – Outcomes of prosecutions for defendants proceeded against 
for rape offences in 2009, by end of 2011 
 
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
2,797
Found guilty of 
rape at 
magistrates’ court
13
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
342
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
2,405
Guilty 
plea
747
Not guilty 
plea2
1,658
Found 
guilty of 
rape 
354
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
124
Other 
outcome5
8
Found 
guilty of 
rape3
448
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
46
Found not 
guilty4
1,038
Total found guilty 
at all courts
1,372
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
sexual 
offence 
269
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
sexual 
offence 
118
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
37
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
2,747
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
5 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
2,797
Found guilty of 
rape at 
magistrates’ court
13
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
342
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
2,405
Guilty 
plea
747
Not guilty 
plea2
1,658
Found 
guilty of 
rape 
354
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
124
Other 
outcome5
8
Found 
guilty of 
rape3
448
Found guilty 
of other 
offence
46
Found not 
guilty4
1,038
Total found guilty 
at all courts
1,372
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
sexual 
offence 
269
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
sexual 
offence 
118
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
37
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
2,747
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
5 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
 
 
 
 
38

Of the murder proceedings commencing in 2009 which have been matched to an 
outcome at magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court in 2009, 2010 or 2011 (i.e. 
completed cases24): 
 
 
81.0 per cent were found guilty of an offence, with: 
o 48.2 per cent being found guilty for murder;  
o 21.9 per cent being found guilty of another homicide related offence25; 
and 
a further 4.1 per cent being found guilty
o 
 of another violent offence and 6.8 
per cent of another indictable offence. 
 
 
18.0 per cent were found not guilty. 
 
 
ad another outcome, e.g. the defendants died before sentence was 
passed. 
ilty, nearly half pled guilty to another 
omicide related offence, e.g. manslaughter. 
ut only 28 per cent of those pleading not guilty were subsequently found not 
uilty. 
 
                                                
the remaining 1.0 per cent were discharged, had their proceedings ended 
early, or h
 
Figure 4.6 shows the flow of these matched cases through the Criminal Justice 
System. This further illustrates how downgrading happens – of those initially charged 
with murder and who subsequently pleaded gu
h
 
Looking again at the relationship between plea and outcome of cases, the 
defendant pleaded not guilty in 66 per cent of completed murder cases at the Crown 
Court, b
g
 
 
24 48 cases could not be matched to an outcome in 2009, 2010 or 2011. Please note this could reflect 
that the case is still outstanding, or could be due to data quality issues that prevented the proceeding 
being matched to the outcome. 
25 Includes attempted murder, threats, conspiracy or incitement to murder and manslaughter. 
 
39

Figure 4.6 – Outcomes of prosecutions for defendants proceeded against 
for murder offences in 2009, by end of 2011 
 
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
654
Found guilty of 
murder at 
magistrates’ court
0
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
48
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
604
Guilty 
plea
208
Not guilty 
plea2
396
Found 
guilty of 
murder 
64
Found guilty 
of other 
indictable 
offence
44
Other 
outcome6
4
Found 
guilty of 
murder3
228
Found not 
guilty5
109
Total found guilty 
at all courts
491
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
homicide 
related 
offence4
100
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
homicide 
related 
offence 
33
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
2
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
652
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes attempted murder, threats, conspiracy or incitement to murder and manslaughter.
5 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
6 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
Found guilty 
of other 
indictable 
offence
22
Cases proceeded 
against at 
magistrates’ court
654
Found guilty of 
murder at 
magistrates’ court
0
Incomplete trials 
at end 2011
48
Completed trials at 
Crown Court1
604
Guilty 
plea
208
Not guilty 
plea2
396
Found 
guilty of 
murder 
64
Found guilty 
of other 
indictable 
offence
44
Other 
outcome6
4
Found 
guilty of 
murder3
228
Found not 
guilty5
109
Total found guilty 
at all courts
491
Found 
guilty of any 
other 
homicide 
related 
offence4
100
Found 
guilty of 
any other 
homicide 
related 
offence 
33
Proceedings 
terminated early or 
defendant discharged
2
Cases committed 
for trial at Crown 
Court
652
1 Those cases where an outcome could be identified at Crown Court in 2009, 2010, 2011.
2 Includes where no plea is entered.
3 Includes those found guilty by a jury and those who pleaded guilty during the trial process.
4 Includes attempted murder, threats, conspiracy or incitement to murder and manslaughter.
5 Includes all cases where the CPS offered no evidence after a not guilty plea so the case was completed 
before a full trial took place.
6 Defendants who died before sentence was passed.
Found guilty 
of other 
indictable 
offence
22
 
40

Sentencing 
 
When someone is convicted of a crime, they will be given a sentence by a court 
which reflects the seriousness of the offence or offences committed by the offender. 
Sentences are generally time spent in prison, a community sentence, a fine or 
discharge.  
 
To determine the appropriate sentence in a particular case, courts will assess the 
seriousness of the offence. For example, a court cannot impose a custodial sentence 
unless the offence is so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence 
can be justified. In assessing the seriousness of an offence, courts are required by 
law take into account the culpability of the offender and the harm the offence caused 
or might forseeably have caused. Courts will also take into account other aggravating 
and mitigating factors relevant to the offender or the offence – for example, whether 
the offender has relevant and recent previous convictions, or whether the offence 
was aggravated by virtue of hostility to the victim's race, religion, disability, sexuality 
or gender identity. 
 
While the number of offenders sentenced for sexual offences has been increasing 
over time, from 4,729 in 2005 (of which 98.8 per cent were male) to 5,955 in 2011 (of 
which 98.6 per cent were male), the way in which offenders are dealt with by the 
courts has seen little variation. 
 
The proportion of offenders receiving immediate custody has varied little between 
2005 and 2011, remaining within a range of 55 to 59 per cent. The proportion of 
offenders receiving a suspended sentence initially increased in 2006 from 2005 but 
has remained with 8 to 9 per cent between 2007 and 2011. The proportion of 
offenders receiving a community sentence decreased slightly in 2006 but has since 
remained between 26 per cent and 29 per cent between 2006 and 2011. The use of 
fines and other disposals has decreased slightly over time, from 3.8 per cent in 2005 
to 2.0 per cent in 2011 and 6.3 per cent in 2005 to 4.0 per cent in 2011, respectively. 
 
Figure 4.7 – Offenders sentenced for sexual offences by outcome, 2005 to 2011 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Proportion
   Immediate custody
   Suspended sentence
   Community sentences
   Fines
   Other disposals
 
 
 
 
41

Sentence outcomes by offence group 
 
Sentencing outcomes differed across sexual offence groups. In 2011, immediate 
custody accounted for 95.7 per cent of outcomes for rape of a female, compared to 
90.5 per cent for rape of a male. The proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate 
custody for sexual assault was lower than for rape at 50.5 per cent. Sexual assault of 
a male saw a higher proportion sentenced for immediate custody (59.2 per cent) than 
for sexual assault of a female (49.6 per cent). 
 
Since 2005, there have been fewer than seven Suspended Sentences Orders 
(SSOs) given each year for rape of a female and none have been given for rape of a 
male. Suspended sentences have been used more for offences of sexual assault, 
sexual activity with minors and other sexual offences, accounting for between 10 and 
11 per cent of all sentence outcomes for each of these offence groups. For these 
offences, the number of SSOs has been increasing over time, reflecting the change 
in legislation since it was introduced on 4 April 2005. Although a SSO should only be 
used where the court is minded to pass a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, 
the increase in offenders sentenced with a SSO has generally not been offset by a 
similar decrease in offenders sentenced with a custodial sentence of less than 12 
months. The exception to this is sexual activity with minors, which has seen custodial 
sentences of less than 12 months fall from 96 in 2005 to 45 in 2011.  
 
In 2011, community sentences made up only 2.7 per cent of outcomes for rape of a 
female, and 9.5 per cent for rape of a male. The lower proportion of offenders 
sentenced to immediate custody for sexual assault on a female referred to above 
coincides with a higher proportion being sentenced to community sentences. 
Likewise, fewer offenders had been sentenced to a community sentence for sexual 
assault on a male which corresponds to a higher proportion being sentenced to 
immediate custody. The highest proportion of community sentences across offence 
groups, 43.5 per cent, was used for other sexual offences. 
 
In 2011, offenders sentenced to a fine accounted for the lowest proportion of 
outcomes for sexual offences. The use of fines is highest for the offence group of 
other sexual offences, accounting for 5.5 per cent of all sentences. 
 
Figure 4.8 – Offenders sentenced for sexual offences, by offence group and 
outcome, 2011 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on
a Female
Sexual Assault on
a Male
Sexual Activity with
Minors
Other sexual
offences
Offence group
Proportion
   Immediate custody
   Suspended sentence
   Community sentences
   Fines
   Other disposals
 
 
42

Sentence outcomes by ethnicity 
 
In 2011, 5,476 (92.0 per cent) of offenders sentenced for sexual offences were of a 
known ethnicity (see Table 4.18). Of these persons: 
 
80.9 per cent were White; 
 
7.6 per cent were Black; 
 
8.7 per cent were Asian; 
 
The remaining 2.9 per cent were of ‘other’ ethnicity. 
 
Sentencing volumes across sexual offence groups varied by ethnicity. Compared 
with the overall proportions above, the offences of rape of a female and sexual 
assault on a female had proportionally less White offenders and more Black and 
Asian offenders sentenced. Conversely, the offences of rape of a male, sexual 
assault on a male, and sexual activity with minors had proportionally more White 
offenders and less Black and Asian offenders sentenced. 
 
Figure 4.9 – Offenders sentenced for sexual offences by offence group and 
ethnicity, 2011 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on
a Female
Sexual Assault on
a Male
Sexual Activity with
Minors
Other sexual
offences
Offence group
Proportion
White
Black
Asian
Other
 
 
Average custodial sentence lengths 
 
The number of life sentences for sexual offences has been decreasing over time, 
from 65 in 2005 to 23 in 2011. However, with the introduction of imprisonment for 
public protection introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 on 4 April 2005, the 
number of offenders given an indeterminate sentence increased from 48 in 2005 to a 
peak of 400 in 2007. This was followed by a fall in the number of indeterminate 
sentences to 300 in 2011, following the introduction of the Criminal Justice and 
Immigration Act (CJIA) 2008, which restricted the use of imprisonment for public 
protection. 
 
In 2011, for all sexual offences, the average custodial sentence length (ACSL), 
calculated from determinate sentences only, was 53.2 months, an increase of 11.6 
months compared with 2005. ACSL rose across all sexual offence groups between 
2005 and 2011, with the largest increases for rape of a male (28.2 month increase) 
 
43

and rape of a female (20.1 month increase). In 2011, the ACSLs for the two offence 
groups were almost identical – 102.5 months for rape of a female and 102.2 months 
for rape of a male. 
 
Figure 4.10 – Average custodial sentence length (ACSL) for offenders 
sentenced for sexual offences, by offence group, 2005 to 2011 
0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
120.0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Average custodial sentence length (in months)
Rape of a Female
Rape of a Male
Sexual Assault on a Female
Sexual Assault on a Male
Sexual Activity with Minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
Sentence outcomes by age band 
 
The number of adults sentenced for sexual offences has increased by 30.9 per cent 
between 2005 and 2011, from 4,173 to 5,464. This rise has not been mirrored by the 
number of juveniles (those aged under 18) sentenced for sexual offences, which has 
seen a decrease of 11.9 per cent from 556 in 2005 to 491 in 2011. 
 
The type of sentence handed down by courts varied depending on whether the 
offender was an adult or a juvenile. In 2011, 61.7 per cent of adults were sentenced 
to immediate custody, compared to 13.8 per cent of juveniles. In contrast, 80.9 per 
cent of juveniles were sentenced to community sentences, compared to 22.7 per 
cent of adults. 
 
Figure 4.11 – Sentence outcomes by age band (adults and juveniles), 2011 
 
 
Adults (5,464 offenders)
   Suspended sentence
9.5%
  Community sentences
22.7%
   Immediate custody
61.7%
   Other disposals
3.9%
   Fines
2.2%
Juvenile (491 offenders)
   Community sentences
   Immediate custody
13.8%
   Other disposals
5.3%
80.9%
 
44

Chapter 5: Duration from offence to completion in 
criminal courts 
 
This section of the report contains statistics on the average duration of sexual 
offence cases, from offence to completion (i.e. sentencing or acquittal), across both 
magistrates’ and Crown tiers of the criminal courts, including the intermediate stages 
in that process.  
 
The majority of sexual offences will be serious offences which will be dealt with at the 
Crown Court. For those defendants whose case is sent or committed to the Crown 
Court, these statistics measure the entire duration from offence to completion in the 
Crown Court, including the time the case was initially dealt with in the magistrates’ 
courts before being passed to the Crown Court. 
 
Statistics in this publication relate to cases completed in either the magistrates’ or the 
Crown Court during the calendar year 2011. Statistics of this type for all offences are 
usually referred to as “timeliness statistics”, and are published on a quarterly basis in 
the Court Statistics Quarterly26 publication.  
 
Duration of sexual offence cases from offence to completion  
 
It is worth noting that in police recorded crime statistics an offence is recorded as 
taking place on the day that it is recorded by the police, regardless of the actual date 
the offence took place. However, the offence to charge or summons to court part of 
the analysis presented here is based on the actual (or estimated) date the offence 
took place, which is recorded on the court case management system at the point of 
charge or laying of information. 
 
It is not possible, from the information held on the court case management system, to 
split for each case the time taken between the date of the offence and the date the 
defendant was charged or summonsed to court into the time taken before and after 
the offences was recorded by the police. 
 
On average, the duration of a case from offence to completion varies substantially 
based on the offence committed. Criminal proceedings involving sexual or fraud and 
forgery offences, on average, take the longest time to conclude. 
 
Looking at all sexual offence cases, for defendants whose case completed during 
2011, the average offence to completion time was 496 days. This can be divided into: 
 
 
295 days between the date of the offence and the date the defendant was 
charged or summonsed to court;  
 
 
20 days between the date the defendant was charged or summonsed to court 
and the first listing of the case in a magistrates’ court;  
 
 
181 days between the first listing of the case in a magistrates’ court to completion 
(i.e. sentencing or acquittal). 
 
                                                
26 www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/courts-and-sentencing/judicial-quarterly  
 
45

The majority of the time in sexual offence cases is spent between the date of the 
offence and the date the defendant was charged or summonsed to court. This is 
likely to be caused by a number of reasons, one being that these offences are often 
being reported to the police some time after the actual offence took place or take 
some time to detect. 
 
Fraud and forgery cases are similar in duration, taking 511 days on average from 
offence to completion in 2011, with the majority of time spent between the date of the 
offence and the date the defendant was charged or summonsed to court. In contrast, 
cases involving offences such as theft and handling stolen goods and violence 
against the person were completed much more quickly on average (82 days and 162 
days, respectively). 
 
As shown in Figure 5.1 below, there are also variations in the average time taken for 
different types of sexual offence case. For comparison, the chart also includes the 
average time taken to complete all criminal cases and those cases involving violence 
against the person. A more detailed breakdown of the average time taken for the 
completion of sexual offence cases is shown in Table 5.2. 
 
Figure 5.1 – Average number of days taken from offence to completion for 
sexual offences compared to all criminal offences, England and Wales, 2011 
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
All criminal offences
Violence against the person
Total sexual offences
Other sexual offences
Sexual activity with minors
Sexual Assault
Rape
Days from offence to completion
Offence to charge or laying of information
Charge or laying of information to first listing
First listing to completion
 
The overall offence to completion time for rape cases in 2011 was 675 days. Almost 
two-thirds of this time is taken to reach the point where the case is charged. On 
average, around a third of the time is court time, from the point where the case is first 
listed to the conclusion in the Crown Court. 
 
Sexual assault cases take less time on average, with 438 days from offence to 
completion in 2011. Offences involving sexual activity with minors take 575 days from 
offence to completion on average. As with rape cases, a similar proportion of the time 
taken is from offence to charge and from first listing to completion.  
 
In comparison, the average offence to completion time for cases involving violence 
against the person was 162 days, of which almost two-thirds of this time is court time. 
For all criminal cases, the average offence to complete time was 154 days and over 
half of this time is taken to reach the point where the case is charged. 
 
46

Duration of rape offence cases from offence to completion by case 
conclusion and plea type 
 
Looking specifically at rape cases, there are other factors which may influence the 
time a case takes to complete, including the type of disposal and whether the 
defendant pleads guilty or not guilty. 
 
Figure 5.2 shows the average duration of rape cases, split by the type of disposal. In 
cases where there has been a conviction for rape, the average time from offence to 
completion is 722 days. In cases where the result has been an acquittal or the case 
has been dismissed, the average duration is around 90 days quicker at 630 days. 
 
Figure 5.2 – Average number of days taken from offence to completion for rape 
cases by type of disposal, England & Wales, 2011 
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Other
Conviction
Acquittal/Case dismissed
Offence to completion time (days)
Offence to charge or laying of information
Charge or laying of information to first listing
First listing to completion
 
Note: ‘Other’ category includes death of defendant, case withdrawn, etc. 
 
The type of plea a defendant enters can also make a difference to the time a case 
takes to conclude. Figure 5.3 shows that, on average, a rape case in which the 
defendant pleads guilty at the Crown Court takes 596 days to complete, which is over 
100 days less than if the defendant pleads not guilty (702 days). In terms of court 
time (the time from first listing to completion), the difference between a guilty and not 
guilty plea is just under 50 days on average. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
47

Figure 5.3 – Average number of days taken from offence to completion for rape 
cases by type of plea, England & Wales, 2011 
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Other
Not Guilty
Guilty
Offence to completion time (days)
Offence to charge or laying of information
Charge or laying of information to first listing
First listing to completion
 
Note: ‘Other’ category includes unfit to plea, no plea taken, etc.
 
48

Chapter 6: Offender management 
 
This chapter provides key statistics relating to offenders who are in prison or under 
Probation Service supervision for sexual offences.  It covers the caseload of both 
services at specific points in time. 
 
The offence categories available in the prison population data are rape, gross 
indecency with children and other sexual offences.  Sexual assault is not available as 
an offence category in the prison population dataset. 
 
Prison population27 
 
On 30th June 2011, there were 10,935 prisoners in custody for sexual offences, an 
increase of 3,984 (57 per cent) compared to 30th June 2005 when the population was 
6,951 and an increase of 4 per cent since 30th June 2010 when the population was 
10,536. This coincides with the trend of an increasing number of offenders being 
sentenced to immediate custody for sexual offences over the period. 
 
The overall prison population has risen consistently over the same time period but 
the number of prisoners in custody for sexual offences has been increasing at a 
faster rate and now comprises 14 per cent of the overall prison population compared 
with 9 per cent in 2005. 
 
Figure 6.1 shows that the rise in the number of prisoners in custody for sexual 
offences since 2005 comprised of increases in both the immediate custodial 
sentenced population and the remand population.  However, the one year increase 
from 2010 has been driven wholly by an increase in the immediate custodial 
sentence population whilst the remand population saw a decrease. 
 
Figure 6.1 – Population in prison for sexual offences, 2005 to 2011 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2009 (1)
2010
2011
Year
Population
Remand
Immediate custodial sentence
(1) Due to the introduction of a new prison IT system, the prison population data from 2010 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.
 
                                                
27 As at 30 June in each reporting period. 
 
49

The number of prisoners on remand for sexual offences rose by 319 (42 per cent) 
between 2005 and 2011 from 766 to 1,085. However, between 2010 and 2011, the 
remand population fell by 147 (12 per cent) from 1,232 to 1,085.   
 
The sentenced population rose by 3,665 (59 per cent) from 6,185 in 2005 to 9,850 in 
2011. Over the most recent year, the sentenced population increased by 546 (6 per 
cent) from 9,304 in 2010 to 9,850 in 2011. 
 
Offenders in prison for sexual offences tend to spend more time in prison than for 
other offence groups. In 2011, sex offenders spent on average 32 months in prison, 
including time spent on remand, compared to an average of 10 months for all other 
offences. 
 
Offence group 
 
An increasing proportion of prisoners sentenced for sexual offences are serving 
sentences for other sexual offences28 rather than for rape or gross indecency with 
children. 
 
In 2011, 42 per cent of those prisoners sentenced for sexual offences had committed 
other sexual offences, an increase from 25 per cent in 2005. In contrast, the number 
serving sentences for gross indecency with children has fallen steadily between 2005 
and 2008 and remained relatively stable until 2011, now comprising 8 per cent of 
those prisoners sentenced for sexual offences, compared with 19 per cent in 2005. 
Similarly, the proportion of prisoners sentenced for sexual offences that had 
committed an offence of rape was 50 per cent in 2011, compared with 56 per cent in 
2005.  
 
This trend can also be seen in the number of prisoners on remand for sexual 
offences.  The number of prisoners on remand for an offence of gross indecency with 
children has been consistently low; the majority of these prisoners serve immediate 
custodial sentences. 
 
Characteristics of prisoners in custody for sexual offences 
 
Gender 
 
In 2011, there were 10,832 male prisoners in custody for sexual offences, a rise of 4 
per cent since 2010. There were 103 female prisoners in custody for sexual offences, 
a fall of 15 per cent since 2010. 
 
Although there has been a general upward trend in the number of female prisoners in 
custody for sexual offences, it remains very low and is a very small proportion of the 
overall female prison population (2 per cent).  For both the remand and the 
immediate custodial sentenced populations of prisoners in custody for sexual 
offences, the vast majority have an offence type of other sexual offences. 
 
Ethnic group 
 
In 2011, 82 per cent of offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence for sexual 
offences were White – this proportion has remained steady since 2005.  There are 
proportionately more white offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence for 
                                                
28 ‘Other sexual offences’ include sexual assault. 
 
50

sexual offences than in the overall prison population – in 2011, white prisoners 
comprised 73 per cent of the total prison population. 
 
Of the other offenders serving an immediate custodial sentence for sexual offences, 
8 per cent were Black, 5 per cent were Asian, 2 per cent were of mixed or other 
ethnicity, and the remaining 2 per cent were not stated or unrecorded. 
Foreign national prisoners 
 
In line with the rise in the overall number of offenders sentenced for sexual offences, 
the number of foreign national offenders sentenced for sexual offences almost 
doubled between 2005 and 2011, from 575 to 1,034 respectively.  Again in line with 
the overall population, this rise has been driven by the number of offenders 
sentenced for other sexual offences which has seen a threefold increase over this 
period, with much of the increase occurring between 2005 and 2008.  There has 
been a steady increase in the number of foreign national prisoners serving immediate 
custodial sentences for rape over the same time period. 
 
Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences 
 
The number of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for sexual offences (either 
a life sentence or an Indeterminate sentence for Public Protection – an IPP) 
increased rapidly between 2005 and 2008 (from 677 to 1,824).  Although the 
indeterminate sentenced population has continued to increase reaching 2,469 in 
2011, the rate of year-on-year growth has slowed considerably following the changes 
introduced in the CJIA 2008 which restricted the use of IPPs. 
 
In 2011, 98 per cent of offenders serving indeterminate sentenced for sexual 
offences were adults, i.e. aged 21 and over.   
 
Offenders supervised by the Probation Service 
 
Since the introduction of new court orders, in particular the Suspended Sentence 
Order (SSO) in 2005 (under the Criminal Justice Act 2003), there has been an 
increase in the number of offenders being supervised in the community under 
community orders and suspended sentence orders for sexual offences. 
 
Figure 6.2 shows that there was a sharp increase in both community orders and 
SSOs from 2005 reflecting the fact that these orders were introduced for offences 
committed after 4th April 2005. 
 
 
Following a further sharp increase between 2006 and 2007, there has been a 
steady year on year increase in the number of offenders being supervised in the 
community under community orders given for sexual offences. 
 
 
This increase partly reflects the length of orders given for sexual offences (e.g. 
they will generally be longer than community orders for other offences) and the 
trend seen in community order starts (Table 6.6) which, after a sharp increase in 
2006, increased slowly between 2006 and 2009. Further sharp increases were 
seen in the number of community starts in 2010 and 2011, mirroring the trend in 
sentencing data – as a result, the future caseload is likely to continue to increase 
over time. 
 
 
The number of offenders supervised under suspended sentence orders has also 
increased over the same time period but the growth has slowed in recent years 
 
51

 
The increase in the number of offenders being supervised under community orders 
and SSOs for sexual offences is in line with the trend in the overall probation 
caseload - an increasing number of offenders with convictions for indictable offences 
are being supervised in the community.  By the end of 2011, 54 per cent of those on 
the community order caseload and 69 per cent of those on SSOs had been convicted 
of an indictable offence (compared to 50 and 57 per cent respectively in 2006). 
 
Despite this increase, given the serious nature of sexual offences, the number of 
offenders supervised in the community under either community orders or SSOs are 
relatively low.  They represent just 2 per cent of the total number of offenders 
supervised under community orders (1,901 out of 84,168) and SSOs (681 out of 
41,766). 
 
The number of offenders being supervised under post release supervision for sexual 
offences has remained relatively stable over the last seven years (ranging between 
2,750 and 3,024). However, as a proportion of all offenders supervised on licence, 
the number has fallen from 11 and 12 per cent in 2005 and 2006 respectively, to just 
7 per cent in each of the last two years.  
 
Figure 6.2 – Sexual offenders supervised by the Probation Service under 
Community Orders and Suspended Sentence Orders, 2005 to 2011 
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,400
1,600
1,800
2,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Number of offenders
Community Order
Suspended Sentence Order
 
Characteristics of offenders supervised under community orders or SSOs for sexual 
offences 
 
Almost all (99 per cent) of those offenders supervised by the Probation Service under 
community orders or SSOs for sexual offences are male.  Similarly, a large 
proportion (88 per cent) are adults, i.e. aged 21 and over.  For those supervised 
under post release supervision, the proportion of females is also very small, but has 
risen from 0.6 per cent to 1.5 per cent between 2005 and 2011. 
 
The ethnic profile of offenders supervised under community orders or SSOs for 
sexual offences is very similar to those in custody for sexual offences: 82 per cent of 
those serving a community order for sexual offences were white; for SSOs, 79 per 
cent were white.  This mirrors the total probation caseload ethnic profile.  
 
52

Chapter 7: Offender histories 
 
This chapter provides key statistics about the previous offending of offenders 
convicted for sexual offences. The data are drawn from the Police National Computer 
(PNC) which, as a large administrative data source maintained by police forces, 
holds slightly different figures from those held in the court proceedings database. As 
such, the overall conviction and sentencing numbers presented here will differ slightly 
from those in chapter 4. Data in this chapter cover the period 2005 to 2011.  
 
Previous cautions or convictions for sexual offences 
 
The large majority of offenders sentenced for sexual offences in 2011, 83.7 per cent, 
had not previously been cautioned or convicted for a sexual offence. This proportion 
is down slightly on 2010, but 3.3 percentage points higher than the equivalent figure 
for 2005. 
 
3.4 per cent of offenders sentenced for sexual offences in 2011 had been previously 
cautioned or convicted for five or more sexual offences. This proportion has been 
fairly stable over the last three years but has decreased since 2005 and 2006. 
 
Figure 7.1 – Offenders sentenced for sexual offences, by previous 
cautions/convictions for sexual offences, 2005 to 2011 
0
20
40
60
80
100
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
Percentage
No previous cautions/convictions for sexual offences
Previous cautions/convictions for 1 sexual offence
Previous cautions/convictions for 2 sexual offences
Previous cautions/convictions for 3 sexual offences
Previous cautions/convictions for 4 sexual offences
Previous cautions/convictions for 5+ sexual offences
 
 
A larger proportion of offenders sentenced for rape have no previous cautions or 
convictions for sexual offences (86.4 per cent in 2011) than for other types of sexual 
offence. Similarly, a smaller proportion of offenders sentenced for rape have previous 
cautions or convictions for five or more sexual offences than for other offence types.  
 
53.9 per cent of offenders with no previous cautions or convictions for sexual 
offences who were sentenced for sexual offences in 2011 received an immediate 
custodial sentence. This increases to 77.9 per cent for the group of offenders with 
cautions or convictions for five or more previous sexual offences. 
 
 
53

The increase in the custody rate for offenders with larger numbers of previous sexual 
offences is particularly apparent for those sentenced for sexual assault, where the 
custody rate increases from 45.1 per cent of offenders with no previous cautions or 
convictions for sexual offences, to 78.2 per cent for offenders with previous cautions 
or convictions for five or more sexual offences. Custody rates for rape are higher 
than all other types of sexual offence, as outlined in earlier chapters. 
 
Figure 7.2 – Percentage of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for 
sexual offences, by offence type and previous cautions/convictions for sexual 
offences, 2011 
0
20
40
60
80
100
Zero
1
2
3
4
5 or more
Number of previous cautions/convictions for sexual offences
Percentage
Rape
Sexual assault
Sexual activity with minors
Other sexual offences
 
 
 
54

Background to the criminal justice system 
 
The following is an extract from the ‘Background to the criminal justice system’ 
section of “A Guide to Criminal Justice Statistics”, updated on a quarterly basis and 
available on the Ministry of Justice website29. More information on crime, detection, 
court procedures and sentencing can also be found on the gov.uk website30.   
Reporting crime  
 
This section relates to crimes that are reported to the police and recorded by them. 
The Criminal Justice System (CJS) cannot work without the support of the 
community. In particular, victims and witnesses play a vital part in the justice process. 
If crimes aren't reported, offenders can't be brought to justice.  
 
Investigation  
 
The police are responsible for responding to allegations that a person has committed 
a crime, deciding whether an investigation is required and subsequently conducting 
the investigation, with their role being to identify suspects to arrest and question. 
Once their investigations are complete, the police will either:  
 
 
Charge the suspect, in conjunction with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS); 
 
Apply for a summons for the suspect to appear at court;  
 
Deal with them by using an out-of-court disposal (an alternative to prosecution);  
 
Resolve the matter informally (e.g. the victim agrees to informal resolution or 
restorative justice approach);  
 
Release the individual without charge on the basis they should not face criminal 
action.  
 
Offences not prosecuted by the police 
 
Not all offences under law are investigated or prosecuted by the police.  For example 
television licence evasion is investigated by the TV licensing authority, and offences 
relating to benefits were prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office 
(RCPO) which was an independent prosecuting authority reporting to the Attorney 
General.  The RCPO was merged into the Crown Prosecution Service from 1 
January 2010.  
 
Deciding what happens with a case  
 
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires that the decision to charge a person in all but 
the most minor or routine offences is now undertaken by the Crown Prosecution 
Service (CPS). However, the police investigate the alleged offence and in some 
cases will decide whether to administer an out-of-court disposal or charge the 
individual.  
 
In the most serious cases, Crown Prosecutors will decide whether to charge a person 
with a criminal offence, and will determine the appropriate charge or charges. The 
CPS will decide whether or not to prosecute by applying the Code for Crown 
                                                
29 www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-justice-statistics-guide-sept-
2012.pdf (September 2012 edition) 
30 www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/index.htm 
 
55

Prosecutors31 to the facts of the particular case. In those less serious cases where 
the police determine the charge, they apply the same principles.  
 
When a file is received from the police, a Crown Prosecutor will decide whether or 
not there is enough evidence against the suspect and if it is in the public interest to 
bring that person to court. Prosecutors are responsible for making charging decisions 
in the most serious cases, ensuring pre-charge decisions are timely, and identifying 
cases appropriate for out of court disposals prior to charge.  In police charged cases 
these are made prior to the first hearing.  These arrangements allow for strong cases 
to be built from the start and cases where there is not enough evidence to bring a 
prosecution are sifted out as quickly as possible.  
 
The CPS will continue to review cases after a Charging Decision has been made and 
throughout the court process in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. If 
as part of this on-going review, the CPS considers there is no longer sufficient 
evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction or that prosecution is no longer in the 
public interest, it may discontinue the proceedings at any time before the start of the 
trial or committal. If the Crown Prosecutor is thinking of changing the charges, i.e. 
downgrading the original offence, or stopping the case, they will contact the police 
wherever possible. This gives the police the chance to provide more information that 
may affect the decision.  
 
Although the police and the CPS work closely together, both organisations are 
independent of each other, and the final responsibility for the decision as to whether 
or not to proceed with an offence that has been charged rests with the CPS.  
 
Out of court disposals 
 
When deciding whether a case should be prosecuted, the police and Crown 
Prosecutors consider the alternatives to prosecution, i.e. out-of-court disposals, in 
appropriate circumstances. These include:  
 
 
Reprimand (for young people aged 10-17 years); 
 
Final warning (for young people aged 10-17 years).  
 
Fixed Penalty Notice (for driving offences); 
 
Penalty Notice for Disorder;  
 
Cannabis warning;  
 
Simple caution; 
 
Conditional caution;  
Cautions 
 
A caution can be administered when there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic 
prospect of a conviction and it is not considered to be in the public interest to institute 
criminal proceedings. Additionally, the offender must admit guilt and consent to a 
caution in order for one to be given. A formal caution may be given by, or on the 
instructions of, a senior police officer. 
 
Cautions are intended for low level, often first time, offending, and have traditionally 
been mostly used for juvenile and first time offenders. A system of reprimands and 
final warnings replaced cautioning for juveniles in June 2000. There are two types of 
cautions – simple cautions and conditional cautions.  
                                                
31 www.cps.gov.uk/publications/directors_guidance/dpp_guidance_4.html 
 
56

 
Simple Cautions 
 
A 'simple caution' is used to deal quickly and simply with those who commit less 
serious crimes.  It aims to divert offenders away from court, and to reduce the 
likelihood that they will offend again. If you are given a simple caution you will be 
officially warned about the unacceptability of your behaviour, that the simple caution 
forms part of your criminal record and may be disclosed, and the likely consequences 
of committing further crimes will be explained to you. Young people, aged 10-17, 
cannot get simple cautions but are instead given similar reprimands and warnings 
which can also involve interventions to prevent further offending 
  
Simple cautions are currently available for all offences.  The decision to offer a 
simple caution is made by the police except in indictable only offences where the 
decision must be made by a Crown Prosecutor.  
 
Conditional Cautions 
 
A ‘conditional caution’ is a caution with conditions attached. 
 
Examples of conditions might be: 
 
 
Rehabilitation – conditions that help to change the behaviour of the offender,  
reduce the likelihood of re-offending or help to reintegrate the offender into 
society such as an alcohol treatment programme;  
 
 
Reparation - conditions that aim to repair the damage done by the offender such 
as an apology to the victim or to physically repair any damage caused. 
 
Currently conditional cautions are only available for summary (non-motoring) 
offences and a few either way offences such as criminal damage and theft. 
Conditional cautions are available for adults aged 18 or over and in some areas for 
young people aged 16-17. The decision to administer a conditional caution is 
currently made by the Crown Prosecution Service. 
 
Like simple cautions, conditional cautions aim to keep lower level offenders from 
overburdening the court system. They also address the needs of both victims and 
offenders by dealing with the offender's behaviour quickly, and allowing action to be 
taken to rehabilitate the offender or to repair the damage caused by the offence. 
 
Court proceedings 
 
If an out of court disposal is not deemed to be appropriate, the next step is for court 
proceedings to be initiated.  
 
Once an accused person is charged, the law requires that they are brought before a 
magistrates’ court as soon as possible. There are three main methods of ensuring 
the defendant attends court: 
 
 
they have been held in custody by the police to appear as soon as practicable;  
 
they may have been released on bail to attend court; 
 
they have been summoned to appear in court.  
 
 
57

Court jurisdiction 
 
Magistrates’ courts: Virtually all criminal cases start in magistrates’ courts and 95 
per cent of cases finish there.  As well as hearing criminal cases magistrates deal 
with family matters. Cases in magistrates’ courts are usually heard by a panel of 
three magistrates (Justices of the Peace) supported by a legally qualified Court 
Clerk. There are also around 130 district judges. They are experienced barristers or 
solicitors who sit alone and deal with more complex or sensitive cases. Magistrates 
cannot normally order sentences of imprisonment that exceed six months (or 12 
months for consecutive sentences), or fines exceeding £5,000. In cases that are 
triable-either-way (in either magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court) the offender may 
be committed by the magistrates to the Crown Court for sentencing if a more severe 
sentence is thought necessary.  
 
The Crown Court: The Crown Court deals with more serious criminal cases such as 
murder, rape or robbery, some of which are on appeal or referred from magistrates’ 
courts. Trials are heard by a Judge and a 12 person jury. Members of the public are 
selected for jury service or may have to go to court as witnesses. The Crown Court is 
based at 77 centres across England and Wales. It deals with cases transferred from 
magistrates’ courts. It also hears appeals against decisions of magistrates’ courts, 
and deals with cases sent for sentence from magistrates’ courts. Penalty levels vary 
depending on the court trying the offence. 
 
Youth courts: Young people aged between 10 and 17 are mainly dealt with in the 
youth courts by specially trained magistrates. In youth courts, no person is allowed to 
be present unless authorised by the court, except for the members and officers of the 
court, parties to the case (normally including parents/guardians), their legal 
representatives, witnesses and bona fide representatives of the media. Proceedings 
may be reported in the press but the young person may not generally be identified.   
 
Conviction and sentencing  
 
The section below details the main purposes of sentencing and describes some of 
the major disposals presented in this publication – more guidance can be found on 
the Crown Prosecution Service’s website32. 
 
When an offender is convicted, in either a magistrates’ or the Crown Court, the court 
can either pass sentence immediately or if further information is required they may 
adjourn to a later date.  
 
The Criminal Justice Act 2003 set out the five main purposes of sentencing for 
adults: 
 
 
The punishment of offenders; 
 
The reduction of crime (including its reduction by deterrence); 
 
The reform and rehabilitation of offenders; 
 
The protection of the public; 
 
The making of reparation of offenders to persons affected by their offences.  
 
                                                
32 www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_-_general_principles/ 
    www.cps.gov.uk/legal/s_to_u/sentencing_manual/ 
 
58

While courts are obliged to have regard to these principles, sentence will generally 
be determined according to seriousness of the offence. Seriousness is made up of 
the harm caused by the offence and the culpability of the offender in committing it.  
 
There is also a statutory aggravating which provides that recent and relevant 
previous convictions make an offence more serious. There are thresholds of penalty 
based on seriousness:  
 
 
Offences that are so serious that neither a fine alone nor a community sentence 
can be justified;  
 
Offences that are serious enough to warrant a community sentence.  
 
If neither of these thresholds is reached then a fine or a discharge will be appropriate. 
 
Disposals given in court  
 
Immediate Custody  
 
Adults aged over 21 will be sentenced to imprisonment, adults aged 18–20 will be 
sentenced to detention in a young offenders institution.  Maximum penalties are 
specified for all offences according to the seriousness of the offence. 
 
One of the characteristics of the criminal law in England and Wales is that offences 
are defined very broadly. Hence sentences imposed tend to cluster much lower than 
the maxima. 
 
Short sentences – Under 12 months: Those sentenced to under 12 months (made 
under the Criminal Justice Act 1991) spend the first half of their sentence in prison 
and are then released and considered ‘at risk’ for the remaining period. This means 
they are under no positive obligations and do not report to the probation service but, 
if they commit a further imprisonable offence during the at risk period, they can be 
made to serve the remainder of the sentence in addition to the punishment for the 
new offence. The exception to this is those aged 18–20 who have a minimum of 
three months’ supervision on release.  
 
Sentences of 12 months or over: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 created a distinction 
between standard determinate sentences and public protection sentences. 
Offenders sentenced to a standard determinate sentence serve the first half in 
prison and the second half in the community on licence and subject to conditions. 
Offenders convicted of a sexual or violent offence may be sentenced to a public 
protection sentence. In such cases, the court has to determine whether the 
offender is dangerous to the extent that there is a significant risk to the public of 
serious harm through the commission by him or her of a further sexual or violent 
offence. If the court does consider that to be the case, it may impose a public 
protection sentence. There are two such sentences:  
 
Imprisonment or detention for public protection: (IPP – sections 225 and 226 of the 
Criminal Justice Act 2003) – where the maximum for the offence is ten years or more 
and where a life sentence is not available or appropriate. An IPP is an indeterminate 
sentence; an offender will serve the tariff (minimum term) as set by the judge and 
then is eligible to be released if considered safe by the Parole Board. The only 
significant distinction between life and IPP is that, whereas life sentences last for the 
whole of the offender’s life, the Parole Board can bring an IPP licence to an end after 
a minimum of 10 years in the community following release.  
 
 
59

Extended sentence: (EPP – section 227 of the 2003 Act) – where the maximum for 
the offence is less than 10 years. An extended sentence comprises the normal 
determinate custodial period plus an extended period on licence. The offender may 
be released at any time between the half way point and the end of the normal 
custodial period and is on licence until the end of the extension period.  
 
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 changed the provisions so as to 
give judges more discretion over the use of public protection sentences; they were to 
be restricted to offences for which two years real time is justified; and for release 
from an extended sentence to be automatically at the half way point of the custodial 
period with licence extending from then until the end of the extension period. These 
changes apply to cases sentenced on or after 14 July 2008.  
 
Licence: For the duration of the licence, an offender is obliged to comply with the 
terms of that licence. These may include requirements to report to the probation 
service, restrictions as to where he may live and what work he may undertake, and 
requirements to attend programmes. If an offender breaches his licence he is liable 
to be recalled to prison, potentially until the end of his sentence. 
 
Life Sentence  
 
The main types of life sentence and the respective age related variants are as 
follows:  
 
Mandatory Life Sentences  
 
 
Imprisonment for Life – this is the only sentence that can be imposed on anyone 
over the age of 21 who is convicted of murder.  
 
 
Detention during Her Majesty’s Pleasure – this is the mandatory sentence for a 
person convicted of murder who was aged 10 or over but under 18 at the time of 
the offence.  
 
 
Custody for Life – this is the mandatory sentence for a person aged 18 or over 
but under 21 at the time of the offence who is convicted of murder and sentenced 
while under 21.  
 
Discretionary Life Sentences  
 
 
Imprisonment for Life – this is the maximum sentence for those over 21 convicted 
of certain serious offences, e.g. manslaughter, attempted murder, rape, armed 
robbery, arson etc.  
 
 
Detention for Life – this is the maximum sentence for a person aged 10 or over 
but under 18, who is convicted of offences other than murder for which a 
discretionary life sentence may be passed on a person over 21.  
 
 
Custody for Life – this sentence may also be imposed where a person aged 18 or 
over but under 21 at the time of the offence is convicted of any other offence for 
which a discretionary life sentence may be passed on an adult.  
 
Under any life sentence the court determines the minimum term to be served in 
custody before the offender can be considered for release by the Parole Board.  If 
 
60

and when the offender is released he or she remains on licence, and subject to recall 
to custody, for the rest of their lives. 
 
Suspended sentence orders  
 
These sentences were introduced under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and are 
available for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. They enable a court which 
passes a custodial sentence of 12 months or less 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).  If the offender breaches the requirements there is a 
presumption that the custodial sentence will be given effect. 
 
Community Sentences  
 
Since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, there has been a single 
community order that can comprise up to 12 requirements depending on the offence 
and the offender. These are:  
 
 
Unpaid work (formerly community service/community punishment) – a 
requirement to complete between 40 and 300 hours’ unpaid work;  
 
Activity – e.g. to attend basic skills classes;  
 
Programme – there are several designed to reduce the prospects of reoffending;  
 
Prohibited activity – requirement not to do something that is likely to lead to 
further offending or nuisance;  
 
Curfew – electronically monitored;  
 
Exclusion – not much used as no reliable electronic monitoring yet available;  
 
Residence – requirement to reside only where approved by probation officer;  
 
Mental health treatment (requires offender’s consent);  
 
Drug rehabilitation (requires offender’s consent);  
 
Alcohol treatment (requires offender’s consent);  
 
Supervision – meetings with probation officer to address needs/offending 
behaviour;  
 
Attendance centre – three hours of activity, usually on Saturday afternoons, 
between a minimum of 12 hours and a maximum of 36 in total.  
 
Typically, the more serious the offence and the more extensive the offender’s needs, 
the more requirements there will be. Most orders will comprise one or two 
requirements but there are packages of several available where required. The court 
tailors the order as appropriate and is guided by the probation service through a pre-
sentence report. 
 
Fines  
 
Fines are available to punish all offenders (other than where mandatory minimum 
sentences apply, such as for murder). In general, the maximum fine that can be 
imposed by magistrates’ courts is defined in terms of level. 
 
 
 
61

There are five levels, currently set as follows:  
 
 
Level 1  £200  
 
Level 2  £500  
 
Level 3  £1,000  
 
Level 4  £2,500  
 
Level 5  £5,000  
 
In practice, fine levels are generally much less than the maximum as courts must 
take account of offenders’ means when deciding on the amount to impose.  
The Crown Court may fine an unlimited amount.  
 
Discharges  
 
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 is convicted of a further offence within 
whatever period the court specifies (but not more than three years).  
 
Compensation  
 
In cases involving death, injury, loss or damage, the courts are required to consider 
making a compensation order, and to give reasons where no such order is made. A 
compensation order can also be made in addition to any other sentence or order, or 
can be the only sentence imposed for a particular offence. Magistrates’ courts can 
order compensation up to a maximum of £5,000 per offence, but there is no such 
limit in the Crown Court. However, courts are required to have regard to the means of 
the offender when deciding whether to make a compensation order and when 
deciding on its amount. When the defendant makes payments against financial 
penalties, compensation orders are paid off before fines.  
 
Further sentences and orders  
 
Other punishments are used to a lesser extent. These include binding over orders, 
confiscation orders, exclusion orders and disqualification from driving. When a 
defendant stands convicted before the Crown Court of a drug trafficking offence, the 
Court is required to determine whether he has benefited from drug trafficking at any 
time, and if so, to make a confiscation order. The amount to be recovered is what the 
court assesses to be the value of the defendant’s proceeds from drug trafficking, or 
that which can be realised. The courts have general power to penalise a defendant 
by making an order for the forfeiture of property associated with the offence. 
 
Sentences specifically for juveniles  
 
Sentencing for juveniles is bound by the provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 
1998 and the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. More details are presented in 
the ‘Background to the criminal justice system’ section of “A Guide to Criminal Justice 
Statistics”. 
 
 
 
 
62

Explanatory notes  
 
This section describes the data sources used in the compilation of this publication, 
providing further detail to build on the introductory information presented at the start 
of each chapter or section. It also covers the symbols and conventions that have 
been used throughout the tables in the publication. 
 
Data sources and quality 
 
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. 
However, these data have been extracted from survey and 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 data presented is largely from published government statistical releases and 
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 Departments 
contributing information for this publication. For further technical data and quality 
statements relating to the various data sources utilised, see sections below and the 
relevant parent publications. 
 
Crime Survey for England and Wales 
 
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), formerly known as the British 
Crime Survey (BCS), is a face-to-face victimisation survey in which people resident in 
households in England and Wales are asked about their experiences of a range of 
crimes in the 12 months prior to the interview. The key aim of the CSEW is to provide 
robust trends for the crime types and population it covers; the survey does not aim to 
provide an absolute count of crime. The CSEW does not cover the population living 
in group residences (e.g. care homes or halls of residence) or other institutions, nor 
does it cover crime against commercial or public sector bodies. For the crime types 
and population it covers, the CSEW provides a better reflection of the true extent of 
crime experienced by the population resident in households in England and Wales 
than police recorded statistics because the survey includes crimes that are not 
reported to, or recorded by, the police.  
 
A self-completion module on intimate violence, which includes questions33 on sexual 
assault, was first included in the CSEW in 2001 and then on a continuous basis since 
2004/05. Intimate violence is a collective term used to refer to a number of different 
forms of physical and non-physical abuse consisting of partner abuse, family abuse, 
sexual assault and stalking. The term reflects the intimate nature either of the victim-
offender relationship or of the abuse itself. Sexual assault in CSEW is the only one 
of these categories deemed to be a sexual offence. It consists of ‘serious’ sexual 
offenses (rape or assault by penetration) and ‘less serious’ offences (indecent 
exposure, sexual threats or unwanted touching carried out by any person). 
 
The chapter ‘Crime Survey for England and Wales: Sexual offence victimisation’ 
presents the key findings of questions relating to experiences of sexual assault 
among males and females aged 16 to 59 resident in households in England and 
                                                
33 More information on the questions asked in the CSEW can be found at: 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/crime-statistics-methodology/crime-survey-
for-england-and-wales-2011-12-adult-questionnaire.pdf  
 
63

Wales. More information on CSEW sampling and classifications can be found in 
ONS’s User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales34. 
 
CSEW uses two measures of sexual assault. One relates to experiences since the 
age of 16 and the other is limited to those experiences in the last 12 months. To 
allow for better comparison with the rest of this report, the 12 month measure is used 
for the majority of the chapter. To help put these figures into context, a short section 
at the end of the chapter discusses some of the trends since the age of 16. Due to 
the relatively low number of incidents of sexual assaults compared with other offence 
types covered by the survey, multiple survey years have been combined to produce 
most of the figures presented in the chapter. 
 
Police recorded crime 
 
When a potential crime comes to the attention of the police, they will record it as such 
if the circumstances reported amount to a crime defined in law and there is no 
credible evidence to the contrary. 
 
Police recorded crime is based upon the notifiable offence list, a list of all offences 
that could possibly be tried by jury plus a few additional closely-related summary 
offences which are dealt with by magistrates. Police recording practice is governed 
by Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) and the National Crime Recording Standard 
(NCRS). These provide a national standard for the recording and classifying of 
notifiable offences by police forces in England and Wales35. 
 
This police recorded crime dataset is supplied to the Home Office by the 43 territorial 
police forces of England and Wales, plus the British Transport Police. The Home 
Office supplies these data to the Office for National Statistics who have had 
responsibility for the publication of crime statistics since April 2012.  
 
Police recorded sexual offences are part of this notifiable offence dataset. Police 
recorded sexual offences are grouped together into two sub-categories; most 
serious sexual crime, which encompasses rape, sexual assault and sexual activity 
with children, and other sexual offences, which cover unlawful sexual activity, 
mostly involving consenting adults, and is therefore particularly influenced by police 
activity in investigating such crime. It includes, among other offences, exploitation of 
prostitution and soliciting, but not prostitution itself (which is not a notifiable offence).  
 
In this publication, in order to mirror Ministry of Justice presentation of court statistics, 
police recorded crime are also aggregated into six sub sections; rape (male and 
female), sexual assault (male and female), sexual activity with minors and other 
sexual offences.  
 
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (introduced in May 2004), changed the coverage of 
police recorded sexual offences. The definitions were altered for rape, sexual assault 
and sexual activity with children.  The Act also added other offences, most notably 
sexual grooming. Indecent exposure was included as a sexual offence, having 
previously been classified under other offences.  
 
                                                
34 www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/crime-statistics-methodology/user-guide-
to-crime-statistics.pdf 
35 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/science-research/research-statistics/crime/counting-rules (2011) 
 
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After the introduction of the NCRS in April 2002, the Audit Commission carried out a 
series of audits and found that compliance with the NCRS was not instantaneous but 
improved gradually over the following years. Despite the cessation of the full national 
audit programme in 2007/08, ongoing work on crime recording continues to consider 
data quality issues and the National Crime Recording Steering Group36 continues to 
promote consistent recording practice between forces. 
 
More recently, HMIC have reviewed crime recording in The Crime Scene: A review of 
police crime and incident reports37 (25 January 2012). While this review looked at all 
recording of crime rather than just sexual offences it gives an indication of the 
compliance of crime recording by forces. The review found that of the 44 police 
forces, 18 forces made correct decisions in 95 per cent and above of incidents 
checked; 15 forces in 90–94 per cent of incidents; and 11 forces in 86–89 per cent of 
incidents. HMIC plan to release more detailed reports regarding crime recording in 
the future, including the examination of individual forces looking at how they record 
sexual offences.  
 
No crimes 
 
Sometimes police forces record some crimes which are subsequently ‘no-crimed’ – 
this means that the police judged that no crime actually took place. This may be for a 
number of reasons, including where a crime has been recorded in error or where, 
having been recorded, additional information following investigation shows that no 
crime was committed. 
 
The Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) set out circumstances under which a crime 
report may be ‘no crimed’. These include situations where a crime is considered to 
have been recorded in error or where, having been recorded, additional verifiable 
information becomes available that determines that no crime was committed, which 
can include details uncovered during investigations, retractions of allegations and 
occasions where it is later determined the offence took place under another force’s 
jurisdiction. The level of evidence needed to ‘no crime’ is higher than for the 
recording of a crime as it requires information to be available that determines that the 
offence did not happen, rather than the ‘balance of probabilities that a crime did 
happen. For further information see the ‘general rules’ section of the HOCR38. 
 
Crime reports that are ‘no crimed’ are removed from police crime data and thus from 
the police recorded crime statistics. ‘No crimes’ are therefore the first stage where a 
criminal offence can drop out of the criminal justice system once a crime has been 
initially recorded by the police. Counts of ‘no crimes’ are published and further 
information on no crimes can be found in the ONS User Guide to Crime Statistics39. 
 
In the HMIC Crime Scene report, a small number of no crime decisions (less than 
5,000 across England and Wales) were analysed and it was found that in 87 per cent 
of cases, the ‘no crime’ decision was correct. More specifically for rape offences, in a 
joint investigative report, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) and Her 
                                                
36 The National Crime Recording Group meets regularly to review the Counting Rules and is attended by 
the Home Office, Force Crime Registrars and Statistics Officers, and representatives of ACPO and Her 
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary. 
37 www.hmic.gov.uk/publication/review-police-crime-incident-reports-20120125/ 
38 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-
research/counting-rules/count-general?view=Binary 
39 www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/crime-statistics-methodology/user-guide-
to-crime-statistics.pdf 
 
65

Majesty’s Inspectorate for the Crown Prosecution Service (HMCPSI) examined ‘no 
crime’ reports in their report Forging the Links: Rape investigation and prosecution40. 
Information from this report is presented in the ‘No crimes’ section in Chapter 3.  
 
Detections 
 
The Home Office collates information on whether recorded crime are detected by the 
police, and if so, how they are detected. Detected crime is a term that describes 
notifiable offences that have been ‘cleared up’ by the police.  
 
The police may use one of several methods to count a crime as detected. They fall 
into two broad categories; sanction and non-sanction detections.  Once a detection 
has been claimed, any identifiable victim must be informed that the crime has been 
detected, or in the case of a child, their parent or guardian.  
 
Sanction detections are where a formal sanction is issued to an offender and can be 
in the form of a charge or summons, a caution, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) 
and offences that are asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs).  
 
Non-sanction detections are where the offence was cleared up but either no further 
action was taken against an offender, for example, where the alleged offender has 
died, where the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) by virtue of their powers under the 
Criminal Justice Act 2003 decided not to prosecute or in certain cases the offence 
was cleared up by the use of a form of locally based community resolution.41 Given 
the serious nature of many sexual offences, the uptake for community resolutions for 
sexual offences are relatively low compared with police recorded crime overall. 
Further information on detections can be found in Crimes Detected in England and 
Wales 2011/12.42  
 
Cautions and criminal histories (Police National Computer) 
 
The statistics presented in this bulletin in relation to cautions issued and criminal 
histories of offenders sentenced for sexual offences are taken from an extract of the 
Police National Computer (PNC) held within the Ministry of Justice. The PNC is a 
large administrative database of offenders and their criminal histories and is 
maintained by police forces through a combination of automatic and manual 
processes, As with any large scale administrative system, the PNC is subject to error 
and is regularly updated by the police as more information about individual cases 
becomes available. 
 
There are two data sources for the number of cautions issued by the police: those 
sent to the Home Office as part of the detections statistical return; and data taken 
from the PNC which are routinely published by the Ministry of Justice in ‘Criminal 
Justice System Quarterly Bulletin’ publications.  
 
Although both data sources cover cautions issued by the police, there are differences 
between the datasets. The main reason for the differences is that the Home Office 
data are counted on a victim basis, while Ministry of Justice data are on an offender 
                                                
40 www.hmic.gov.uk/publication/forging-the-links-rape-investigation-and-prosecution/ 
41 From April 2011, the Home Office has collected data (supplied on a voluntary basis by 22 police forces) on crimes 
‘cleared up’ by the application of locally based community resolutions or by the application of Restorative Justice (RJ) 
techniques. For  more information see Detections in England and Wales 2011/12: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0812/ 
42 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0812/ 
 
 
66

basis. For example, if one person is assaulted by two people and these two people 
are cautioned for the offence, the Home Office figures will show one crime, detected 
by one caution, while the Ministry of Justice figures will show two cautions for the two 
separate offenders. 
 
Additionally, there may be differences in the data in what the caution is issued for. 
For police recorded crime, the crime is recorded according to the Home Office 
Counting Rules, and stays recorded as this crime unless there is further evidence to 
the contrary. However, the police may decide to issue a caution for a lesser offence 
(given that the offender has to agree to accept the caution). Ministry of Justice figures 
from the PNC will show the caution issued for the lesser offence.  
 
Lastly, due to different production schedules, the cautions data may be extracted at 
different times from the police via the detections statistical return and from the PNC. 
Given that the systems where the data are coming from are live operational 
databases, this can affect the exact numbers of cautions in any time period.  
 
Court proceedings database (prosecutions, convictions and sentencing) 
 
The Ministry of Justice collates data on court proceedings via data extracts from 
court database administrative systems. 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 includes offences where there has been no police 
involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by government departments, 
private organisations and individuals (mentioned for completeness only, as not 
relevant to sexual offences, which will always have police involvement). From July 
1995 all Crown Court data on trials and sentences has been received directly from 
the Court Service's CREST computer system and from November 2008 all 
magistrates’ courts data has been provided by the LIBRA case management system. 
Prior to November 2008, the police reported on magistrate court proceedings. 
 
The statistics presented on court proceedings 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. 
 
The figures given relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal 
offence for which they were dealt with.  When a defendant has been found guilty of 
two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty 
is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the 
offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most 
severe. 
 
The offence shown in the conviction statistics 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). The sentence shown is the most severe sentence or 
order given for the principal offence (i.e. the principal sentence), secondary 
sentences given for the principal offence and sentences for non-principal offences 
are not counted in the tables. 
 
The complexities of the criminal justice system and the constraints on resources in 
collating and processing data limit the amount of information collected routinely, so 
only the final outcome of proceedings at magistrates' courts and the Crown Court 
(where applicable) is recorded. 
 
67

 
Duration of cases (‘timeliness’) from offence to completion 
 
Statistics on the duration of criminal cases completed in the criminal courts are 
sourced from linking together extracts taken from the Crown Court case management 
system (CREST) and the magistrates’ court case management system (Libra MIS).  
The datasets are produced by firstly collecting all Crown Court cases disposed of in 
the specified quarter and looking for a match for the defendant with the same offence 
in the magistrates’ court data. Records are linked based on a combination of 
variables including given name, middle name, family name, date of birth, sex, 
postcode, a committal date, and two identifiers: the Arrest/Summons Number (ASN) 
and Pre-Trials Issue Unique Reference Number (PTIURN). Where the case is fully 
disposed in the magistrates’ courts during the specified time period, the timeliness 
data for such cases is collected from the Libra MIS extract and added to the dataset. 
 
A range of quality assurance measures have been carried out on the data. These 
include ensuring the data are complete, case events follow a logical date sequence 
with recorded offence information, and all breach cases are excluded. Times are 
analysed for anomalies or error, including the removal of cases with recorded 
durations of over ten years to ensure the average times reported are not distorted by 
incorrect data. Data cleaning is also carried out prior to matching the magistrates’ 
court and the Crown Court datasets to ensure that minor differences between the 
recording of similar entries on the two systems do not materially affect the ability to 
match records. 
 
The CREST system and Libra MIS reports provide good quality data and a high rate 
of data linking, with typically around 95 per cent of Crown Court records on CREST 
being successfully linked to a defendant recorded at a magistrates’ court case on the 
Libra MIS extract. 
 
Offender management 
 
Prison flows and population 
 
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 feeds through to a central computer database, 
called the Inmate Information System (IIS), from which data extracts are used to 
produce the various analyses of prison population, receptions, discharges and time 
served in custody. 
 
Until June 2009, the prison population data used for analysis was 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 was 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 is now drawn from a single source, removing the need for the scaling 
process used previously. All prison population data from July 2009 onwards is taken 
from this new data source. For all annual tables showing the prison population over 
 
68

time, this means the 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. 
 
Symbols and conventions  
 
The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin:  
 
- = Nil 
* = Not applicable 
.. = Not available 
(R) = Revised data  
(P) = Provisional data  
 
 
69

Links to other resources 
 
Statistics references 
 
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. These reports are published on the individual websites of the Office 
for National Statistics, the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice, as follows: 
 
Crime Statistics (National Statistics publications presenting the most recent crime 
statistics from the Crime Survey of England and Wales and police recorded crime) – 
Office for National Statistics 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/index.html 
 
User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales – Office for National Statistics 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/method-quality/specific/crime-statistics-
methodology/user-guide-to-crime-statistics.pdf 
 
Trends in crime: a short story 2011/12 – Office for National Statistics 
www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-march-
2012/trends-in-crime--a-short-story.html 
 
Crime - research and statistics publications (including police recorded crime open 
data tables, crimes detected, ‘no crimes’ data amongst others) – Home Office 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-
statistics/crime-research/ 
 
Criminal Justice Statistics (Official Statistics quarterly bulletins) – Ministry of Justice 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/criminal-justice/criminal-justice-statistics 
 
A Guide to Criminal Justice Statistics, Ministry of Justice – 29 November 2012 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/criminal-justice-stats/criminal-justice-
statistics-guide-nov-2012.pdf 
 
Court Statistics (Official Statistics quarterly bulletins) – Ministry of Justice 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/courts-and-sentencing/judicial-quarterly 
 
Offender management statistics (Official Statistics quarterly bulletins) – Ministry of 
Justice 
www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/prisons-and-probation/oms-quarterly 
 
Offender management statistics: definitions and measurement – Ministry of Justice 
www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/prison-probation/oms-definitions-
measurement.pdf 
 
Research references 
 
A gap of a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases – Home Office Research Study 
293, February 2005  
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110218135832/rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rd
s/pdfs05/hors293.pdf 
 
 
70

The Stern Review: A report by Baroness Vivien Stern CBE of an independent review 
into how rape complaints are handled by public authorities in England and Wales –
Home Office, 2010 
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110608160754/http:/www.equalities.gov.
uk/PDF/Stern_Review_acc_FINAL.pdf 
 
Providing anonymity to those accused of rape: an assessment of evidence – Ministry 
of Justice Research Series 20/10, November 2010 
www.justice.gov.uk/publications/research-and-analysis/moj/2010/anonymity-rape-
assessment-evidence 
 
 
 
71

Contacts 
 
Feedback on this first publication of a system wide overview of sexual offending in 
England and Wales is welcomed by each of the contributing Departments. If you 
have any feedback, questions or requests for further information about this statistical 
bulletin, please direct them to the appropriate contact given below – split by subject 
chapters. 
 
 
Chapter 2 
 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Office for National Statistics media relations 
office: 
 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx  
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed the Crime Statistics and 
Analysis Team at the Office for National Statistics:  
 
John Flatley  
1 Drummond Gate  
London  
SW1V 2QQ  
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Office for National Statistics can be 
e-mailed to: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
 
Chapter 3 (aspects regarding police recorded crime and detections) 
 
Press enquiries should be directed to the Home Office press office:  
 
Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to:  
 
David Blunt 
Chief Statistician 
Home Office 
5th Floor Peel 
2 Marsham Street 
London 
SW1P 4DF 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Home Office can be e-mailed to: 
xxx@xxx.xx 
 
 
 
 
 
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73
Chapters 3 (aspects regarding cautions) and 4 to 7 
 
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 the Justice Statistics  
Analytical Services division of the Ministry of Justice:  
 
Mike Elkins 
Chief Statistician  
Ministry of Justice  
7th Floor  
102 Petty France  
London  
SW1H 9AJ  
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be e-mailed 
to: xxx@xxx.xx 
 
 
General statistical information 
 
General information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from: 
www.statistics.gov.uk 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice, Home Office & the Office for National Statistics 
Alternative formats are available on request from 
xxx@xxx.xx