Offender management statistics quarterly: July to September 2017
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Offender Management Statistics. Key statistics relating to offenders who are in prison or under Probation Service supervision.

It covers flows into these services (receptions into prison or probation starts) and flows out (discharges from prison or probation terminations) as well as the caseload of both services at specific points in time.

1 
 
 
 
25 January 2018 
Offender Management statistics quarterly, England and 
Wales 
Quarter: July to September 2017, Prison population: 31 December 
2017 
1. Main points 
The prison population has been relatively stable for the past five years. This differs to the increasing 
prison population trend that was observed between the 1950's and early 2000's (see Figure 1). Our 
most recent extracts indicate that there were: 
84,373 prisoners in England and 
Wales as at 31 December 2017 
 
The total prison population is essentially unchanged compared 
to the same point in the previous year.  
35,567 admissions of which 
21,335 were first receptions into 
prison in the latest quarter   
 
Admissions and first receptions decreased by 2% on the same 
quarter last year but were similar to the previous quarter 
(changed by less than 1%).  
47,863 adjudication outcomes in 
the last quarter 
 
The number of adjudications increased by 9% on the same 
quarter of the previous year. 5,091 of these resulted in awards 
of additional days added to prisoners’ sentences, an increase 
of 22% compared with the same quarter in 2016. 
265,047 offenders on probation 
as at 30 September 2017    
 
The number of offenders on probation at the end of September 
2017 was 1% higher than the same point in the previous year. 
5,509 offenders recalled to 
prison in the latest quarter  
 
This is a 1% decrease compared to the same quarter in the 
previous year and a 2% increase on the previous quarter. 
17,897 releases of which 17,611 
were from determinate 
sentences in the last quarter 
 
The number of releases decreased by 4% compared with the 
same point in the previous year. 
This publication gives offender management statistics for the latest date available and provides 
comparison with fixed points of time in the previous year. For full and detailed commentary which 
looks into longer term trends, please refer to the annual publication, published in July, and 'The Story 
of the Prison Population: 1993 - 2016'. For technical detail please refer to the accompanying guide, 
'Guide to offender management statistics’. 
 
 

2 
 
2. Prison Population 
 
The prison population stood at 84,373 on 31 December 2017. 
The sentenced prison population stood at 73,789 (87% of the prison population); the remand prison 
population stood at 9,639 (11%) and the non-criminal prison population stood at 945 (1%). 
 
Figure 1: Prison population, September 1997 to 2017 (Source: Table 1.1) 
 
 
Remand 
The remand population has increased by 4% (388) compared with the same point 12 months earlier. 
The number of males remanded in custody increased by 4% (to 9,062) whilst the number of females 
increased by 5% (to 577). 
More than half (54%) of those remanded in custody were being held for either: 
Violence against the person (22% of the remand population), Drug offences (17%) or Theft Offences 
(15%). 
Sentenced 
In line with the long term trend, the sentenced population has increased by 201 in the year leading up 
to 31 December 2017. Figure 1 shows that the total prison population has increased in line with the 
growth of the sentenced prison population since December 1997, however in more recent years the 
sentenced and total prison population has remained as a relatively constant level. Broadly speaking, 
there have been decreases in the number of prisoners serving determinate sentences of less than 4 
years and increases in those serving determinate sentences of 4 years or longer. The number of 
prisoners serving determinate sentences of 14 years or more has increased by 8% (to 3,833) in the 12 
months to 31 December 2017. 

3 
 
Sex offenders 
The rise in the long determinate sentenced population is in line with the increasing number of 
sentenced sex offenders. As at 31 December 2017 there were 13,534 prisoners serving sentences for 
sexual offences, which represented 18% of the sentenced prison population. 
The number of prisoners serving immediate custodial sentences for sexual offences is now at its 
highest level since at least 2002. This is consistent with the latest ONS 'Crime in England and Wales' 
bulletin which reports on the number of sexual offences recorded by the police in the year ending June 
2017. 
A recent Crown Prosecution Service report highlighted that 2016/17 saw the highest ever number of 
convictions for rape and other sexual offences. 
'Violence Against the Person (VATP)' and 'Possession of Weapons' offences 
One in every four sentenced prisoners is in prison for a VATP offence. This proportion has remained 
stable for the past 12 months. The number of those sentenced to a 'Possession of Weapons' offence 
increased by 11% (to 2,470) compared to the same time last year. This substantial increase can be 
attributed to a range of factors, including more targeted police operations against knife crime. However 
this offence group only accounts for 3% of the sentenced prison population. 
Extended Determinate Sentences (EDS) 
EDSs were made available for courts to impose from 13 April 2015 and on 31 December 2017, 4,302 
prisoners were serving such sentences; a 2% increase compared to the previous quarter and a 28% 
increase compared to the same time last year. 
Indeterminate sentences 
As at 31 December 2017, there were 10,173 (9,833 male; 340 female) indeterminate sentenced 
prisoners (those serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences and life sentences) in the 
prison population. This represents an annual decrease of 8%. 
There were 3,029 IPP prisoners as at 31 December 2017 which represents a decrease of 18% in the 
last 12 months. This figure has decreased by 50% since the June 2012 peak of 6,080, however the 
number of IPP prisoners who have been recalled to custody continues to increase; in the past year the 
recalled IPP population has grown by 18% (to 831). 
The proportion of the IPP population who are post-tariff continues to increase; 87% of IPP prisoners 
were post-tariff as of 31 December 2017 compared to 84% at the same time the previous year. 
The number of life sentenced prisoners (7,144) has decreased by 3% compared to 31 December 
2016. There were 61 whole-life prisoners at the end of December 2017, with 4 additional life prisoners 
being treated in secure hospitals. 
Recall to custody 
The prison population who have been recalled to custody (6,138 prisoners) decreased by 7% over the 
year leading up to 31 December 2017. On this date, there were 1,034 prisoners recorded as being in 
custody following a recall under the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 (ORA); representing 17% of the 
total recall population. 
Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) 
There were 9,340 (1,585 remand, 6,892 sentenced and 863 non-criminal) foreign nationals held in 
custody and HMPPS-operated Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) as at 31 December 2017; 
representing 11% of the total prison population. The number of FNOs in the prison (and HMPPS IRC) 

4 
 
population has decreased by 4% compared to 31 December 2016. The most common nationalities 
after British Nationals in prisons are Polish (9% of the FNO prison population), Irish (8%), Albanian 
(8%), Romanian (7%) and Jamaican (5%). 
3. Prison receptions and admissions 
 
In total there were 35,567 admissions to custody in the latest quarter. 
14,116 remand admissions, 16,170 sentenced admissions, 5,215 recall admissions and 66 non-
criminal admissions. 
 
 
21,335 offenders were received into custody as first receptions in the latest quarter. 
11,471 remand first receptions, 9,810 sentenced first receptions and 54 civil non-criminal first 
receptions. 
 
The number of first receptions decreased by 1% on the previous quarter, this is consistent with a 2% 
decrease in the number of first receptions compared with the same quarter in 2016. 
There was a 4% increase in the number of untried admissions (to 8,926), a 2% increase in the number 
of convicted unsentenced admissions (to 5,190) and a 4% decrease in the number of sentenced 
admissions (to 16,170) compared with the same quarter in 2016. 
Adult (aged 21+) remand admissions have increased by 3% and young adult (18-20 year olds) 
remand admissions have increased by 3%. Adult sentenced admissions have decreased by 3% and 
young adult sentenced admissions have decreased by 7%, compared with the same quarter last year. 
Almost half of all sentenced admissions during the quarter were for sentences of six months or less 
(7,613, 47% of sentenced admissions). This sentence length band has seen a 5% decrease in the 
number of admissions when compared with the same quarter last year. 
By comparing this quarter with the corresponding quarter in 2016 it can be seen that immediate 
custodial sentenced admissions for 'Fraud Offences' and 'Drug offences' decreased by 22% and 9% 
respectively, however the number of sentenced admissions for 'Public order offences' and 'Possession 
of weapons' has increased by 11% and 7% respectively compared to the same quarter in the previous 
year. 
Former members of the Armed Forces 
Former members of the Armed Forces accounted for 463 of the matched first receptions for July to 
September, 2017. This equates to approximately 3% of offenders who responded to the question 
asked, which has been at the same level of response for the five previous quarters. 
4. Adjudications 
 
There were 47,863 adjudication outcomes in the latest quarter. 

5 
 
66% of these adjudications were proven 
 
One in three (33%) of proven adjudications were for offences of disobedience or disrespect; the 
number of proven disobedience offences increased by 2% on the same quarter of the previous year. 
The total number of proven adjudications increased by 13% over the same time period, predominantly 
due to a large increase in proven adjudications for unauthorised transactions. 
There were 5,091 punishments where additional days were awarded for offences committed by 
prisoners in the quarter ending September 2017. The average number of punishments per offence 
was 1.68. This is broadly consistent with figures seen in the previous quarter. 
5. Releases 
 
17,897 offenders were released from custody in the latest quarter. 
17,611 releases from determinate sentences and 286 from indeterminate sentences. 
 
Prison releases from custodial sentences 
The total number of releases during the quarter ending September 2017 represents a 4% decrease 
compared to the same quarter in 2016. 
The number of prisoners released from sentences of '12 months to less than 2 years' and '2 years to 
less than 4 years' decreased by 11% and 6% respectively. Similarly the number of prisoners released 
from sentences of ‘4 years or more’ has decreased by 4%. 
There were 286 releases from indeterminate sentences between July and September 2017, a 15% 
increase from the same period in 2016. The majority (174) were offenders released from IPP 
sentences. 
Releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) 
2,246 offenders were released on HDC during the latest quarter. The number of HDC releases 
remained steady compared to the same quarter in 2016. 
Releases on Temporary Licence (ROTL) 
There were 90,749 incidences of ROTL during the quarter ending September 2017, which is a 3% 
increase on the same quarter last year. 
Compared to the quarter ending September 2016, the number of ROTL incidences increased by 1% 
for females (to 8,139) and increased by 3% for males (to 82,610). 
The number of individuals given at least one incidence of ROTL between July and September 2017 
was 4,044, which represents an increase of 4% since the same quarter of the previous year. 
There were 82 recorded Temporary Release Failures (TRFs) between July and September 2017. This 
is a decrease of 7 compared with the previous quarter and an increase of 14 compared with the same 
period the previous year. TRFs as a proportion of temporary release incidences remain at a low level, 
with approximately only 1 in every 1,100 incidences of temporary release resulting in a failure between 
July and September 2017. 

6 
 
Prisoner transfers 
There were a total of 22,897 recorded incidences of prisoner transfer during the latest quarter. The 
majority of these (68%) were routine inter-prison transfers; 89 (under 1%) incidences of transfer were 
a result of overcrowding drafts. 18,758 prisoners had at least one incidence of a transfer in the quarter 
ending September 2017. 
6. Probation 
 
The total number of offenders on probation was 265,047 at the end of September. 
This was a 1% increase in the total probation caseload (court orders and pre- and post- release 
supervision) compared with 30 September 2016.
 
Figure 2: Number of offenders under Probation Service supervision, 31 December 2007-2016 
and 30 September 2017 (Source: Table 4.7) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The overall court order caseload remained stable between the quarters ending September 2016 and 
2017, with the Community Order (CO) caseload decreasing by 4% but the Suspended Sentence 
0
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Number of offenders
Community sentences
Suspended sentences

7 
 
Order (SSO) caseload increasing by 5%. The number of offenders starting COs decreased by 8% 
over this period, while the number of offenders starting SSOs with requirements decreased by 4%. 
The overall caseload of offenders supervised before or after release from prison increased by 2% 
between the end of September 2016 and 2017, with those supervised on post release alone rising by 
4%.  
Regarding the number of requirements started under court orders, increases can be seen in the 
combination of the rehabilitation requirement with unpaid work across both COs and SSOs, despite 
the general fall in requirement numbers commensurate with the fall in numbers of orders. There have 
also been rises generally in the number of accredited program requirements over the latest period.  
Of the court orders terminated in the quarter ending September 2017, 71% of community orders were 
terminated successfully; for the supervision periods of suspended sentence orders, 70% were 
terminated successfully over this period. 
The number of court reports prepared by the Probation Service decreased by 12% between the 
quarter ending September 2017 and the same quarter in the previous year, to reach 31,656. Sixty nine 
per cent of immediate custodial sentences proposed in Pre-Sentence Reports resulted in that 
sentence being given in the latest 12 month period. 
7. Licence Recalls 
 
The number of licence recalls between July and September 2017 was 5,509. 
The number of recalls decreased by 1% compared with the same period in 2016. 
 
Offenders who have been sentenced to more than a day in prison will receive at least 12 months of 
supervision on release, as a result of the implementation of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 
(ORA) in February 2015, which for the first time allows offenders sentenced to less than 12 months in 
prison to be released on licence and subject to recall during their supervision period. This only affects 
those sentenced from 1 February 2015. Recalls of offenders who breach conditions of their licence 
following a sentence of less than 12 months are called ORA recalls. 
Between July and September 2017, there were 2,222 ORA recalls, a 12% increase compared with the 
same period in 2016 and 10 more than in the previous quarter. 
The number of non-ORA recalls has generally been falling in recent years. There were 3,287 non-
ORA recalls between July and September 2017, a 9% decrease compared with the same period in 
2016, although a 3% increase when compared with the previous quarter. 
The most common reason for offenders being recalled between July and September 2017 was for 
non-compliance, with 68% of recalls having ‘non-compliance’ recorded as one of the reasons for 
recall. ‘Further charge’ was recorded as a reason in 43% of licence recalls. There could be more than 
one reason for a recall. 
Between July and September 2017, 77 offenders serving Indeterminate sentence for Public Protection 
(IPP) and 45 offenders serving a life sentence were re-released having previously been returned to 
custody for breaching their licence conditions. 
Offenders not returned to custody 
Of all recalled offenders between April 1999 and September 2017, 1,608 are not shown to have been 
returned to custody as at 31 December 2017. 

8 
 
Also, 18 offenders recalled between 1984 and 1999 are not shown to have been returned to custody 
as at 31 December 2017. Overall, the total number of offenders not returned to custody as at 31 
December 2017 following recall between 1984 and 30 September 2017 is 1,626. These figures 
include some offenders believed to be dead with their deaths yet to be confirmed or living abroad. 
Of the 1,626 not returned to custody by 31 December 2017, 255 had originally been serving a prison 
sentence for violence against the person offences and a further 55 for sexual offences. 
 
 

9 
 
Further information 
This publication presents quarterly data trends. For annual figures, and longer-term trends, please 
refer to our annual bulletin published in July each year. 
Accompanying files 
As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release: 
• 
A 'Guide to Offender Management Statistics', which provides comprehensive information about 
data sources and quality, as well as key legislative changes. 
• 
A document outlining the 'Users of Offender Management Statistics' 
• 
A set of data tables, covering each section of this bulletin, including a prison population data tool. 
National Statistics status 
National Statistics status means that official statistics meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, 
quality and public value. All official statistics should comply with all aspects of the Code of Practice for 
Official Statistics. They are awarded National Statistics status following an assessment by the 
Authority's regulatory arm. The Authority considers whether the statistics meet the highest standards 
of Code compliance, including the value they add to public decisions and debate. 
It is the Ministry of Justice's responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for 
National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the 
appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics 
status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated 
when standards are restored. 
Contact 
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: 
Nick Mavron, Head of Prison, Probation, Reoffending and PbR Statistics 
Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ 
Email: xxx@xxx.xx 
Next update: 26 April 2018 
URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly 
© Crown copyright Produced by the Ministry of Justice  
Alternative formats are available on request from xxx@xxx.xx