Criminal justice statistics quarterly: December 2014
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

Criminal Justice Statistics. The reports presents the main trends on the latest 12 months of activity in the criminal justice system (CJS) for England and Wales. For each process a brief description of the function is included with an explanation of some of the main procedures involved.

/ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Criminal Justice Statistics  
2014 
 
England and Wales 
 
Ministry of Justice  
Statistics bulletin 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Published 21 May 2014 

 
2
Contents 
 
Contents .................................................................................................................... 2 
 
Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3 
 
Key Findings .............................................................................................................. 7 
 
1. Overview of the Criminal Justice System ............................................................... 8 
 
2. Out of Court Disposals ......................................................................................... 11 
 
3. Court Proceedings and Convictions ..................................................................... 15 
 
4. Remands ............................................................................................................. 20 
 
5. Sentencing ........................................................................................................... 21 
 
6. Motoring offences ................................................................................................ 24 
 
7. Offending Histories .............................................................................................. 25 
 
Revisions Policy ....................................................................................................... 28 
 
Explanatory Notes .................................................................................................... 29 
 
Symbols and conventions ........................................................................................ 29 
 
Guidance on tables and supplementary volumes ..................................................... 29 
 
Contacts .................................................................................................................. 29 

 
3
Introduction 
 
This report presents the key statistics on activity in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) for 
England and Wales. It provides information for the latest twelve months (January 2014 to 
December 2014) with accompanying commentary, analysis and presentation of longer term 
trends. 
The data provides users with information about proven offending and its outcomes in 
England and Wales. The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to government policy 
makers in the development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation. 
Others will be interested in the way different crimes are dealt with in the CJS. Where 
appropriate, comparisons are made with different sources covering activity in the CJS – in 
particular, numbers of crimes recorded by the police, often the starting point for crimes dealt 
with by other CJS agencies1. 
In this publication, criminal offences are divided into four main offence groups: 
 
Indictable proceedings cover the more serious offences such as violent and sexual 
offences and robbery. Initial proceedings are heard at magistrates’ courts but they then 
may be passed on to the Crown Court, either for sentencing, or for a full trial with a 
judge and jury. They are split into two categories: 
 
 Indictable only offences, which can only be tried on indictment in the Crown Court 
by a judge and jury2; and  
 
Triable-either-way offences, which are triable either summarily in a magistrates’ 
court or on indictment in the Crown Court; 
 
Summary proceedings which cover less serious offences are almost always handled 
entirely in the magistrates’ courts when dealt with in court, with the majority completed at 
the first hearing. They are split into two categories: 
 
Summary non-motoring proceedings, such as TV license evasion and less serious 
criminal damage; and 
 
Summary motoring proceedings, such as speeding and driving whilst disqualified. 
The majority of information presented in this publication is reported on the principal offence 
and principal sentence. Where proceedings involve more than one offence, the principal 
offence is reported. The basis for the selection of the principal offence is as follows:  
 
Where a defendant is found guilty of one offence and acquitted of another, the offence 
selected is the one for which they are found guilty;  
                                               
1 Findings from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and recorded crime data are published together in 
statistical bulletins by the Office for National Statistics. 
2 Note the youth court can deal with all offences committed by a child or young person (someone aged 10-17 
years old), subject to the following exceptions which mean that the offence must be dealt with  by the Crown 
Court : homicide; grave crimes where the youth court has determined that, if convicted,  a sentence beyond its 
powers should be available;  firearms possession by 16-17 year olds; offences that would attract at least four 
years custody under the dangerousness provisions; and where it is necessary in the interests of justice to try a 
youth and adult together. 

 
4
 
Where a defendant is found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the 
one for which the heaviest sentence is imposed;  
 
Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is 
the one for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.  
The offence shown for each court proceeding 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. Unless otherwise stated, 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 (unless otherwise stated).   
Data Sources 
This report draws on data from the following data sources: 
 
Data on PNDs from 2013 onwards is drawn from the PentiP system, prior to this data 
were collected from individual police forces 
 
From April 2011 all cautions data are collected from the Police National Computer 
(PNC), prior to this data were collected from individual police forces. Cautions and 
sentencing data within the criminal histories section are also collected from the PNC. 
 
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. Prior to 
November 2008 the police reported on magistrate court proceedings. 
 
Data on cannabis warnings and TICs are supplied by the Home Office. 
A technical document titled “A Guide to Criminal Justice Statistics” is available alongside 
this bulletin, which provides users with detailed information on the concepts and methods 
used in compiling this bulletin, including the quality of the data, along with guidance on 
statistical revisions and forthcoming changes. A copy of the technical document can be 
found at: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2014 
 
Changes to data presentation within the report 
Following user consultation3 a number of changes have been made to the presentation of 
data within this report compared with previous reports.  
 
Interactive data tools have been included for Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), 
cautions, proceedings and convictions, remands, sentencing and motoring data, 
replacing many old tables included in the last report. This will enable users to extract 
the specific detail they require. 
                                               
3 The consultation note and consultation response can be found at  
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/changes-to-criminal-justice-statistics  

 
5
 
Alongside the CJS Outcomes by Offence interactive data tool, this year an 
interactive data tool has been produced for both magistrates and Crown Court 
outcomes.  
 
Following user feedback the “indictable” offence category has been split into 
“indictable only” and “triable either way” offences in the tables within the 
proceedings, remands and sentencing chapters. This split is also available within the 
interactive data tools. 
 
A new table has been included within the Overview chapter providing selected 
quarterly information. 
The producers of this report have carried out a review of the way offences are grouped 
within the Outcome by Offence table, data tools and CSV datasets. This has resulted in a 
number of changes to the offence groups used. Topics of interest have been split into more 
granular group whilst offences with very small numbers of proceedings have been grouped 
up with other offences. A detailed list of all offences published within this report can be 
found the Offence Group Classifications document at:  
 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2014 
 
 
In line with the rest of the publication, the motoring tables and interactive data tool 
are now presented on a principal offence basis.  
 
For the first time, on an experimental basis, offence level information on drug 
offences has been provided. 
Data revisions 
Following a data cleansing exercise undertaken by the producers of this report, a small 
number of revisions have been made to 2004 – 2012 data. This has resulted in some minor 
changes to some of the totals. More substantial changes have been made to 2013 and 
2014 data as the result of data improvement work. We estimate that the improved data 
cleansing will have accounted for about 14,000 additional proceedings (and about 7,000 
sentences) to 2013 data. This means that there is a small discontinuity in the series 
between 2012 and 2013 data and care should be taken when comparing trends across this 
period. 
Additionally changes have been made to the “Otherwise dealt with” sentence disposal 
category. Compensation as a primary disposal has been separately presented (affecting 
6,000 to 12,000 records per year), whilst a specific disposal formerly categorised as 
“Otherwise dealt with” has been reclassified as a “Community Sentence” (affecting about 
2,000 records in 2012 and 2013 and a smaller number of records in earlier years). 

 
6
Interpretation 
 
Further guidance on the symbols and conventions used in the bulletin is provided in the 
‘Explanatory notes’ section. 
Feedback requested 
  
This publication presents information for the latest 12 month period (the twelve 
months ending December 2014) alongside the same rolling 12 month periods 
for the previous ten years. The comparison of 12 rolling month periods has the 
advantage over reporting on shorter timeframes – for example, covering only the 
latest quarter – of avoiding misinterpretation of short-term fluctuations caused by 
seasonality (for example, reduced court volumes every December when many of 
the courts are closed over the Christmas period), and enables the presentation of 
longer-term trends across comparable reporting periods. 
 
In this publication: 
 
the “latest year” refers to the 12 months ending December 2014; 
 
the “previous year” refers to the 12 months ending December 2013; and 
 
any other reference period will be referred to explicitly. 
The Ministry of Justice is seeking feedback on this publication so that we 
can assess how well it meets our users’ needs and make improvements 
where possible. We would be grateful please if you could complete a short 
five minute survey. 
Alternatively if you have any feedback, questions or requests for further 
information about this statistical bulletin, please direct them to the appropriate 
contact given at the end of this report. 

 
7
Key Findings 
 
Out of court disposals and court proceedings 
The total number of individuals (which includes people and companies) who have been 
dealt with formally by the CJS in England and Wales, has been declining since 2007, and is 
now at a record low level (period 1970 to 2014) with 1.73 million individuals dealt with in 
2014.  
However in the latest year, whilst the use of out of court disposals has continued to 
decrease, there was a 2% increase in the number of defendants proceeded against at the 
magistrates’ courts. This reversed a trend of almost year on year decreases in defendants 
proceeded against at the magistrates’ court since 2004; the first increase since 2010. The 
increase in 2014 has been driven by rises in both summary non-motoring and summary 
motoring offences, whilst the number of indictable offences fell. 
Similarly the number of offenders convicted and sentenced increased by 3% and there was 
a small increase in the conviction ratio to 83 from 82 in 2013. 
The increased proportion of sentences for summary offences has led to a small decrease in 
the overall custody rate from 7.9% in 2013 to 7.6% in 2014, whilst the custody rate for 
indictable offences has increased in each year since 2010. The average custodial sentence 
length (ACSL) in 2014 was 15.6 months, an increase of 0.1 months from 2013. 
Criminal histories 
The number of first time entrants dealt with by the CJS continues to decline and has fallen 
by 52% since 2007. The reduction has been much sharper for juveniles (81% over the same 
period) than adults. 
The number of offenders progressing from their 15th to their 16th conviction or caution has 
declined since 2009, and during 2014 there was also a fall in the number of offenders with 
16 or more previous convictions or cautions. 
The number of adult offenders given a suspended sentence for an indictable offence 
increased in 2014, driven by an increase in the number of adult offenders given fully 
suspended sentences despite having 15 or more previous cautions or convictions. 
Sexual offences 
Prosecutions for sexual offences are the highest in the decade and increased by 9% in the 
latest year. Offenders sentenced for sexual offences had an ACSL of 62.0 months, a rise of 
2.9 months compared with 2013. 
 
 
 
 
 

 
8
1. Overview of the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 1.1: Flows through the CJS, 2014 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
9
The total number of individuals (which includes people and companies) who have been 
dealt with formally by the CJS in England and Wales, has been declining since 2007, and is 
now at a record low level (period 1970 to 2014) with 1.73 million individuals dealt with in 
2014.  
However in the latest year, whilst the use of out of court disposals has continued to 
decrease, there was a 2% increase in the number of defendants proceeded against at the 
magistrates’ courts. This reversed a trend of almost year on year decreases in defendants 
proceeded against at the magistrates’ court. The increase in 2014 has been driven by rises 
in both summary non-motoring and summary motoring offences, whilst the number of 
indictable offences fell. 
Figure 1.2: Individuals dealt with formally by the CJS4, 2004 to 2014 
0
250
500
750
1,000
1,250
1,500
1,750
2,000
2,250
2,500
2,750
3,000
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total individuals dealt with (thousands)
Issued out of court disposal
Proceeded against at magistrates' courts
 
Comparisons with crime5 
Latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that, for the 
offences it covers, there were an estimated 6.9 million incidents of crime against 
households and resident adults (aged 16 and over) in England and Wales. This is a 7% 
decrease compared with the previous year’s survey, and the lowest estimate since the 
CSEW began in 1981. The CSEW covers a broad range of victim based crimes and 
includes crimes which do not come to the attention of the police. 
In contrast to the CSEW, there was a 2% increase in recorded crime compared with the 
previous year. The renewed focus on the quality of crime recording is thought to have led to 
improved compliance with national recording standards, leading to proportionally more 
crimes reported to the police being recorded by them. This is thought to have particularly 
affected violence against the person (up 21%) and public order offences (up 14%). The 
number of defendants proceeded against for these offence groups rose, increasing by 6% 
and 5% respectively. Although care should be taken when making comparisons between 
crime data, counted on a crime basis, with MoJ data, counted on a defendant basis. 
                                               
4 Individuals includes people and companies. A single individual can be counted more than once in a given year 
if they are dealt with by the CJS on more than one separate occasion. Excludes individuals dealt with by way of 
a community resolution. 
5 See Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2014 www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-
statistics/year-ending-december-2014/crime-in-england-and-wales--year-ending-december-2014.html  

 
10
Sexual Offences 
Prosecutions for sexual offences are the highest in the decade and increased by 9% in the 
latest year (this compares to a 32% increase in recorded crime). The increase in recorded 
crime and prosecutions for sexual offences is likely to be partly due to the Operation 
Yewtree investigation, connected to the Jimmy Savile inquiry and the resulting media 
attention. This investigation has led to a greater number of victims coming forward to report 
sexual offences to the police. Improved compliance with the recording standards for sexual 
offences in some police forces may also be a factor.  
Sexual offence convictions increased by 10% in the latest year and sexual offence ‘trials’ at 
Crown Court have increased by 17%. The conviction ratio (number of convictions as a 
proportion of the number of proceedings) for sexual offences has increased slightly from 52 
in 2013 to 53 in 2014. The conviction rate for sexual offences at the Crown Court (number 
of convictions at the Crown Court as a proportion of the number of trials at the Crown Court) 
was 61% in 2014 – a two percentage point fall compared with 2013. 
Of those sentenced for sexual offences in 2014, 59% were sentenced to immediate custody 
and the immediate custody rate for sexual offences continues to be the second highest of all 
the main offence categories. Only robbery (at 66%) has a higher custody rate. 
Offenders sentenced for sexual offences had an ACSL of 62.0 months, a rise of 2.9 months 
compared with 2013 and reflects a wider increase over the past 10 years. 
For those convicted of a sexual offence in 2014, just under half also had a first offence for 
the same offence category and for just 5% of offenders all of their previous convictions and 
cautions were for sexual offences.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
11
2. Out of Court Disposals6 
The out of court disposals available to the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) up 
to the end of 2014 included7: cannabis warnings, Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), 
simple and conditional cautions8; and community resolutions.  
Community resolutions data are not currently available within this bulletin, therefore the 
section below covers PNDs, cautions and cannabis warnings only. 
The use of out of court disposals (excluding community resolutions) has decreased in the 
last year by 20%, down to 266,400 in 2014.  This continues the decline in the use of out of 
court disposals since 2007, which has 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.  
This decrease is also linked to the introduction of community resolutions in 2009. With the 
agreement of the victim a community resolution can be issued by the police, by which an 
appropriate manner for the offender to apologise or make reparations is set out. Indicative 
figures published by the Home Office for April and May 2014 from a subset of police forces 
suggest that approximately 4% of recorded crimes assigned an outcome were dealt with by 
means of a community resolution. In comparison about 5% were dealt with through a 
caution and 1% through a PND. 
Figure 2.1: Out of court disposals issued (excluding community resolutions), 2004 to 
2014  
 
Police cautions 
There were 150,700 cautions administered in 2014, representing a 17% decrease 
compared with 2013. The use of cautions has been decreasing year on year since the peak 
in 2007 and in 2014 was less than half that in 2007. 
                                               
6 A pilot scheme was implemented from early November in Leicestershire and Staffordshire police forces and 
from late November in West Yorkshire to reduce the types of out of court disposals available for adult offenders. 
In the pilot areas, the only out of court disposals available are community resolutions and conditional cautions.  
7 Note that cautions, written warnings and all fixed penalties for summary motoring offences are not covered in 
this volume but are published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin ‘Police powers and procedures’. 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales  
8 Available to adults only until 8th April 2013, previous reprimands and warnings were available for youths.  

 
12
Figure 2.2: Offenders cautioned by offence type, 2004 to 2014 
 
Two offence groups accounted for 74% of all indictable cautions administered in 2014: 
theft offences (35%) and drug offences (39%).  
There were 16 cautions administered for rape offences in 2014, compared with 20 cautions 
in 2013. 14 of these were administered to juveniles and 2 were administered to 18 year 
olds.  
Of the 16 cautions administered in 2014: 
 
One was for rape of a female aged under 16; 
 
Six were for rape of a female child under 13 by a male (including one administered 
to an 18 year old); 
 
Seven were for rape of a male child under 13 by a male (including one administered 
to an 18 year old); 
 
One was for attempted rape of a female child under 13 by a male and 
 
One was for attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male. 
Cautioning rates 
Cautioning rates present the proportion of offenders either cautioned or convicted that are 
given a caution. This gives a measure of the share of all offenders either admitting guilt or 
being found guilty in a given year who are dealt with by a caution out of court as opposed to 
being processed through the courts. 

 
13
The overall cautioning rate for 2014 was 17%, which has declined from a peak of 31% in 
2007.  This coincided with the replacement in April 2008 of a target to increase offences 
brought to justice with more emphasis targeted on serious crime. 
Figure 2.3: Cautioning rates by offence type, 2004 to 2014 
 
The cautioning rate varies across offence group and is higher for indictable offences than 
summary offences. In 2014, the cautioning rate for indictable offences was 21% and for 
summary offences, 14%. It is worth noting that many summary offences (such as TV license 
evasion) will not have police involvement and therefore cautions are not applicable. 
For indictable offences in 2014, the cautioning rates were highest for criminal damage and 
arson at and drug offences (both 36%). The lowest cautioning rates were for robbery (2%) 
and miscellaneous crimes against society (9%).    
The cautioning rates have decreased across all indictable offences groups since 2007, with 
violence against the person offences showing the largest decrease of 38 percentage points 
between 2007 and 2014. Over the last year, all indictable offence groups saw decreases in 
cautioning rates. 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) are commonly known as ‘on the spot fines’ - a fixed 
penalty of £60 for lower tier offence or £90 for higher tier offence (raised from £50 and £80 
respectively from 1 July 2013 onwards). From 8th April 2013, PNDs are no longer available 
for under 18s. This has contributed to the fall in PNDs issued in the most recent years. 
There were 65,400 PNDs issued in 2014, a decrease of 23% compared with 2013 and a 
decrease of 68% when compared with the peak of 207,500 PNDs issued in 2007. There has 
been a year-on-year decrease in the number of PNDs issued since their peak in 2007. This 
decreasing trend has been observed in all offence groups 
In 2014, similar to 2013, four offences accounted for about 90% of all PNDs issued namely:  
 
‘Drunk and disorderly’ (23,700), 

 
14
 
‘Retail theft of goods under the value of £100’ (15,700),  
 
‘Possession of cannabis’ (11,400), 
 
‘Behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress’ (8,200). 
PNDs issued for the possession of cannabis decreased for the third year running since the 
peak of 2011 (16,300) to 11,400 in 2014. The same has been seen in cannabis warnings 
which have decreased year on year since 2008 peak (108,300) to 50,300 in 2014. One new 
PND offence was introduced from 24 June 2014 - ‘Khat possession. Ten PNDs were issued 
for Khat possession in 2014. 
Figure 2.4: Penalty Notices for Disorder issued, 2005 to 2014 
 
Once a PND has been issued the recipient has 21 days, the Suspended Enforcement 
Period (SEP)9, in which to either pay the penalty or request a court hearing. No admission of 
guilt is required and by paying the penalty the recipient discharges liability for conviction for 
the offence. Rather than paying the penalty, PND recipients can request a court hearing. If a 
recipient fails to pay a PND or elect a court hearing within the SEP, a fine of one and half 
times the penalty amount is registered by the court.  
In 2014, 51% PNDs were paid in full – an increase of two percentage points compared with 
2013. 34% of all PNDs issued in 2014 were registered for a fine whilst 13% of were 
cancelled. 
                                               
9 In 2012, a number of forces moved to a new system for reporting data on PNDs issued and their outcomes. 
Due to technical problems, for these forces, it is not possible to separate between those PNDs paid in full within 
21 days and those paid in full outside the 21 day period in 2012 and 2014. Also due to technical problems there 
is a backlog of unprocessed PND payments which has resulted in a very large figure for “outcome unknown”.  
 

 
15
3. Court Proceedings and Convictions 
Virtually all criminal court cases start in a magistrates’ court and less serious offences can 
be handled entirely within this court. In 2014 there were 1.47 million defendants proceeded 
against at the magistrates’ courts, a 2% increase compared with 2013. Prior to this 
prosecutions had declined almost year on year between 2004 and 2013, particularly driven 
by decreases in prosecutions for summary motoring offences.   
The increase from 2013 to 2014 occurred across both summary non-motoring and summary 
motoring offences. For the former this true for several offences while the main drivers for the 
increase in summary motoring cases were speeding offences as well as particular vehicle 
offences. The latter type of offences includes keeping a vehicle which does not meet 
insurance requirements which became a criminal offence in 2011 as part of the Continuous 
Insurance Enforcement and has increased year on year to be the fifth most common 
summary motoring offence in 2014.   
Figure 3.1:  Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts by type of offence, 
2004 to 2014 
 
Conviction ratios and volumes 
Trends in the number of offenders convicted – that is, defendants who plead or are found 
guilty – and sentenced at all courts are driven by two factors, namely the number of 
individuals dealt with through the courts (the trend in prosecutions) and the proportion of 
those individuals who are found guilty.  
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 offenders found guilty in a 
given year may well have been proceeded against in previous year. Further, defendants 
may be found guilty of a different offence to that for which they were originally proceeded 
against. 

 
16
In line with prosecutions the number of offenders found guilty at all courts broadly declined 
between 2004 and 2013, however increased in the latest year. The decline in convictions 
between 2004 and 2008 was not as steep as for proceedings, therefore the conviction ratio 
increased from 77 in 2004 to 83 in 2008, and has since remained broadly stable, ranging 
between 82 and 83. The complex nature of the CJS means there are a number of possible 
factors contributing to this change in the conviction ratio over time – for example, changes in 
guilty plea rates, the mix of cases handled in and out of court, impacts of operational 
changes, and so on – and it is difficult to separately identify the impacts of different factors.  
Figure 3.2:  Prosecutions at magistrates’ courts and convictions at all courts, with 
conviction ratio, 2004 to 2014 
 
Indictable offences 
The number of defendants prosecuted for an indictable offence fluctuated between 2004 
and 2010 after which it has fallen. The largest decreases were for theft, drug offences, 
miscellaneous crimes and violence against the person offences albeit the later increasing 
between 2013 and 2014.   
The greatest proportion of indictable prosecutions and convictions are for theft offences. A 
high proportion can be accounted for by shoplifting offences which represented 58% of all 
indictable theft prosecutions in 2014. The proportion of defendants prosecuted for 
shoplifting is higher now than it has been over the past 11 years increasing by 7 percentage 
points between 2011 and 2014 despite overall numbers falling during this period. This is 
consistent with increases in recorded crime for shoplifting. 
Although most indictable offence categories have seen declines in prosecutions since 2004, 
there have been broad increases in prosecutions for drug offences, sexual offences and 
public order offences during this period. They have increased by 30%, 25% and 10% 
respectively. Most prosecutions for drug offences concern cannabis and its derivatives. For 
example the drug offence for which defendants are most commonly prosecuted for is having 
possession of cannabis and its derivatives, the number prosecuted in 2014 was double that 

 
17
in 2004. The increase in cannabis related prosecutions is in contrast to reductions in 
cannabis warnings PNDs and cautions issued for the possession of cannabis.      
The highest conviction ratios for indictable offences in 2014 were for public order offences, 
drug offences and theft offences.  
Cases heard in the Magistrates’ courts and Crown Court 
There are two types of offence that may be sent by a magistrate to be tried in the Crown 
Court. Indictable only offences are offences that are considered to be of such gravity that 
they can only be dealt with at the Crown Court10. Triable-either-way offences can be dealt 
with at the magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court, and the magistrates’ courts will decide 
whether it can deal with the case or whether it needs to be sent to the Crown Court  
In 2014, 80% of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts were dealt with 
entirely within the magistrates’ court and 7% were sent for trial at the Crown Court. The 
remaining defendants were cases that were discontinued, where the charge was withdrawn 
or where the defendant failed to appear.   
Defendants sent for trial to the Crown Court accounted for a greater proportion of all 
proceedings in 2014 at 7% compared with 4% in 2004. A high proportion of these were for 
either-way offences and this has increased gradually from 64% to 72% over the same 
period.   
The abolition of committal hearings was introduced nationally on the 28th May 2013 as part 
of wider measures to speed up justice and improve efficiencies in the justice system11. This 
resulted in cases being sent straight to the Crown Court as soon as it is clear the matter is 
serious enough, rather than having to await a committal hearing. Prior to the abolition the 
number of defendants committed for trial had fallen in the two years previous however since 
its introduction this has increased year on year albeit at a slower rate between 2013 and 
2014.  
                                               
10 Note the youth court can deal with all offences committed by a child or young person (someone aged 10-17 
years old), subject to the following exceptions which mean that the offence must be dealt with  by the Crown 
Court : homicide; grave crimes where the youth court has determined that, if convicted,  a sentence beyond its 
powers should be available;  firearms possession by 16-17 year olds; offences that would attract at least four 
years custody under the dangerousness provisions; and where it is necessary in the interests of justice to try a 
youth and adult together. 
11 www.gov.uk/government/news/faster-justice-as-unneccessary-committal-hearings-are-abolished   

 
18
Figure 3.3: Defendants sent for trial for either way offences, 2004 to 2014 
 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Percentage (%)
Number of defendants (thousands)
Percentage Committed for trial 
relative to number of 
prosecutions
Defendants committed for trial 
at CC
Abolition of 
Committals
 
The number of defendants appearing in the Crown Court for trial increased between 2004 
and 2010 by just over a third. Since then, the number of defendants tried at the Crown Court 
had been declining due to both falls in the number of proceedings as well as in the 
proportion sent for trial, however this also increased to 85,900 in 2014 from 82,600 in 2013. 
This increase is mirrored in caseload statistics12 presenting volumes of disposals at the 
Crown Court. 
Conviction trial rate  
The conviction trial rate is the number of offenders convicted divided by the number of 
offenders tried. 
A higher proportion of offenders that are tried at the Magistrates court go on to be convicted 
compared with offenders at the Crown Court. For example in 2014 the conviction trial rate 
was 98% at the Magistrates Court this compares with 82% at the Crown Court. The 
difference in the rate is likely to be due to the different nature of offences that are dealt with 
at each court. At both types of court the conviction trial rate has broadly increased meaning 
that in 2014 a trial is more likely to lead to a conviction than in 2004.  
Juvenile and Adult proceedings13 
The number of prosecutions for juvenile defendants has decreased by over two thirds in the 
past 11 years, greater than for adults which broadly fell by just under a quarter over the 
same period. It has led to juveniles accounting for a smaller proportion of all defendants 
prosecuted at the magistrates’ court falling from 7% in 2004 to 3% in 2014. The recent 
                                               
12 See Table 3.2 in ‘Court statistics (quarterly)’ bulletin, published on the Ministry of Justice website: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2014  
13 Statistics for gender and race in the Criminal Justice System can be found at the following links 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/women-and-the-criminal-justice-system 
www.gov.uk/government/collections/race-and-the-criminal-justice-system  
 

 
19
increase in the overall number of prosecutions between 2013 and 2014 has been evident 
for adults however juvenile numbers have continued to fall.   
The number of young adults (18-20 years of age) prosecuted at the magistrates’ courts has 
declined by over a half in the past decade leading to this age group accounting for a smaller 
proportion of all adult defendants.     
The falling number of juvenile prosecutions has been evident across all offence groups, but 
they continue to be most commonly prosecuted for summary non-motoring offences. This 
offence group has accounted for between 33% and 39% of all juvenile prosecutions over 
the past 11 years.  
Similarly to proceedings the number of convictions for juvenile offenders has decreased by 
over two thirds in the past 11 years this compares to just under a fifth for adults over the 
same period.   
Failure to appear warrants 
Failure to appear (FTA) warrants are issued by courts when defendants do not attend court 
on a specified date, having either been summonsed or granted bail at an earlier stage. In 
the latest year14, police forces in England and Wales received a total of 70,000 FTA 
warrants from the courts, of which 85% were executed.  
The number of outstanding FTA warrants fell year-on-year, between the end of December 
2008 and the end of December 2012. However, in more recent years, increases have been 
noted. There were a total of 17,800 FTA warrants outstanding at the end of December 
2014, an increase of 4.5% compared with the position at the end of December 2013.  
Figure 3.4: Number of outstanding Failure to Appear warrants, as at end of December 
2010 to 2014 
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
As at end of Dec
Category A
Category B
Category C
 
 
                                               
14 Figures include data from Lincolnshire constabulary for up to and including Q3 2014. Q4 2014 figures were 
unavailable. 

 
20
4. Remands  
Police remands are decisions made by a police officer, on whether to detain or bail a 
defendant pending their first appearance in court, or send a notice summoning them to 
appear in court. In the latest year, there were 1.53 million defendants directed to appear at 
magistrates’ courts (including those who failed to appear). The proportion of defendants 
remanded in custody by the police was 11% in the latest year, remaining broadly stable with 
the previous five years when this varied between 11% and 12%. The proportion of 
defendants arrested and bailed by police decreased to 27% in the latest year, from 29% in 
the previous year, whilst the proportion being summonsed increased from 60%, to 62%. 
Court remands are the court’s decision on whether a defendant charged with a criminal 
offence should be held in custody, or released on bail during the period up to and including 
the trial, or while awaiting sentence. In the latest year, bail was granted to 22% of 
defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts, while 5% were remanded in custody 
and the remaining 74% had their case concluded at the magistrates’ courts without being 
remanded.  
Defendants are more likely to be remanded in custody for indictable offences than summary 
offences – as a result, the proportion of defendants remanded in custody at the Crown 
Court is higher than at magistrates’ courts. In the latest year, the proportion of defendants 
tried at the Crown Court who were remanded in custody was 37% (up from 35% in the 
previous 12 month period) and the proportion remanded on bail was 47% (the same as the 
previous 12 month period). Of those remanded in custody at the Crown Court, 71% were 
convicted and sentenced to immediate custody (compared to 73% in the previous year). 

 
21
5. Sentencing  
In 2014, there were 1.22 million offenders sentenced following a criminal conviction, 3% 
more than the previous year. This reflects that more defendants are being proceeded 
against and more found guilty over the same period. 
The most common sentence given to all offenders at all courts is a fine, accounting for 70% 
of offenders sentenced in 2014. This is due mainly to the large number of fines issued for 
summary offences at the magistrates’ courts. However, sentencing outcomes vary by 
offence group, with indictable offences more likely to carry heavier penalties such as an 
immediate custodial sentence, a suspended sentence or a community sentence. Offenders 
sentenced for summary offences accounted for about three quarters of all sentences issued 
in 2014.  
Overall, the way in which offenders have been sentenced has remained broadly consistent 
over the last decade, with around two thirds of offenders being sentenced to a fine in the 
2004 to 2014 period. 
Figure 5.1:  Sentencing outcomes (percentages of all offenders sentenced) at all 
courts, from 2009 to 2014 
 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
2004
2009
2014
Fine
Immediate 
custody
Community 
sentence
Suspended 
sentence
Other 
disposals
 
 
Indictable offences 
A different distribution is observed for indictable offences. The most common sentence in 
2014 for indictable offences was immediate custody, accounting for 27% of the total 
sentenced. In comparison, 21% of offenders received community sentences, 19% a fine, 
and 14% a Suspended Sentence Order (SSO)  
The proportion of community sentences has decreased steadily since 2009. By contrast, the 
use of suspended sentence orders (SSOs) increased year on year since 2005. These 
changes come as a result of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which made SSOs more readily 
available. More recently, the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment Offenders Act 2012 
made further changes to the availability of SSOs, contributing to a 22% increase in SSOs 
for indictable offences between 2012 and 2014 (10% increase in the most recent year).  
 

 
22
Figure 5.2:  Sentencing outcomes (percentages of all offenders sentenced) at all 
courts, from 2004 to 2014 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Offenders sentenced (%)
Suspended sentence
Fine
Other  disposals
Immediate custody
Community sentence
Within the indictable offence category, there were also differences in the distribution of 
sentences between those sentenced for an indictable only offence and those sentenced for 
a triable-either-way offence. In 2014, 73% of offenders sentenced for an indictable only 
offence were sentenced to immediate custody, 12% to community sentences and 11% to a 
Suspended Sentence Order (SSO), reflecting the severity of the offences involved. In 
contrast, 24% of offenders sentenced for a triable either way offence were sentenced to 
immediate custody, 21% to a community sentence and 20% a fine. 
Figure 5.3: Sentencing outcomes for indictable only and triable-either-way offences, 
2014 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Indictable Only
Triable-either-way
Offenders sentenced (%)
Immediate custody
Suspended sentence
Community sentence
Fine
Other
 

 
23
Immediate Custodial Sentences 
The number of persons given an immediate custodial sentence decreased by 2% between 
2013 and 2014, reflecting a slight fall in the overall immediate custody rate.   
However, the custody rate for indictable offences in 2014 was 27%, the highest in the period 
from 2004 to 2014 and it has increased in each year since 2010. The custody rate remains 
highest for robbery (66%), sexual offences (59%) and violence against the person offences 
(42%). 
The average custodial sentence length (ACSL), which excludes life and indeterminate 
sentences, has increased over the last decade, particularly between 2012 and 2013 when it 
increased by 1.0 months. In the most recent year the ACSL increased by 0.1 months from 
15.5 months in 2013 to 15.6 months in 2014.  
The large increase in the ACSL between 2012 and 2013 can largely be attributed to the 
LASPO Act, which was passed on 3rd December 2012, which abolished IPPs and Extended 
Sentence for Public Protection (EPP) and replaced them with new Extended Determinate 
Sentences (EDS). EDSs are included within the ACSL calculation, whilst IPPs and EPPs 
were previously excluded.  
As well as the introduction of the LASPO Act there are several other factors that have 
contributed to the increase in ACSL over the last decade, from 12.9 months in 2004 to 15.6 
months in 2014: 
 
A change in the case-mix of people getting custodial sentences. In 2004 indictable 
offences, (which have a higher ACSL compared with summary offences) accounted 
for 75% of all immediate custodial sentences compared with 83% in 2014. 
 
The introduction of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act (CJIA) in 2008 restricted 
the use of indeterminate sentences for Public Protection (IPPs), which as mentioned 
are excluded from ASCL. Following this, there has been an increase in long 
determinate sentences (defined as for 10 years or more). 
 
Further legislative changes have made sentence lengths longer for certain offences 
– for example, the powers to sentence offenders convicted of a third domestic 
burglary offence to a mandatory minimum sentence of three years custody, as 
introduced by the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 for offences committed after 30th 
November 1999, have been used increasingly in the last decade. 
Offenders sentenced for sexual offences have a consistently higher ACSL. In 2014, the 
ACSL was 62.0 months, compared with 59.1 months in 2013 and 40.0 months in 2004. 
Due to recording issues, an estimate has been made, using both sentencing and prison 
population data, of the number of persons sentenced to immediate custody since 3rd 
December 2012 who were given an EDS. The best current estimate is that 1,359 offenders 
were sentenced to an EDS between 3rd December 2012 and 31st December 2014, with an 
ACSL of 8.2 years.   
 

 
24
6. Motoring offences 
 
The number of prosecutions for all motoring offences has increased by 4.5% over the last 
year, from 566,000 in 2013 to 591,000 in 2014. 
The largest increases were seen in speed limit offences (a 26% increase in prosecutions 
from 127,000 in 2013 to 159,000 in 2014) and vehicle insurance offences (an 8% increase 
in prosecutions from 134,000 in 2013 to 144,000 in 2014). 
Most other offences saw decreases. The offence group with the largest decline was vehicle 
registration and excise licence offences, which fell by 16%, from 71,000 in 2013 to 60,000 in 
2014. Drink-driving, careless driving, using a mobile phone whilst driving and driving licence 
offences also all saw decreases. 
The majority of the most serious motoring offences saw decreasing prosecutions over the 
last year, but causing death by dangerous driving saw an increase from 144 prosecutions in 
2013 to 176 in 2014, reversing the decreasing trend observed since 2007. Causing death by 
careless driving saw a decrease from 234 in 2013 to 205 in 2014.  
Prosecutions for causing serious injury by dangerous driving (introduced as an offence for 
the first time in December 2012) more than doubled, from 92 prosecutions in 2013 to 212 in 
2014. 
Overall, the custody rate for all motoring offences remained stable at around 1% from 2013 
to 2014, although it increased slightly for causing death by careless driving under the 
influence of drink or drugs (93% to 96%), causing death by careless driving (28% to 30%) 
and causing serious injury by dangerous driving (64% to 73%). 
The use of fines as a sentence outcome increased from 93% to 94% of principal disposals 
from 2013 to 2014.  
The total number of offenders disqualified continued to decrease from 65,000 in 2013 to 
58,000 in 2014, but the total number of offenders endorsed without disqualification (i.e. 
receiving points only) increased for the first time since 2009, from 291,000 in 2013 to 
311,000 in 2014, an increase of 7%. 

 
25
7. Offending Histories 
First Time Entrants (FTE) 
A first time entrant (FTE) to the criminal justice system is an offender residing in England 
and Wales at the time of the offence, who has been recorded on the Police National 
Computer (PNC) by an English or Welsh police force as having received their first 
conviction, caution or youth caution15.  
The number of new entrants to the criminal justice system has continued to fall since its 
peak in 2006. This decline has been much sharper for juveniles than for adults; however 
during 2014 the decline slowed for both groups of offenders.  
Figure 7.1 Change in number of juvenile and adult first time entrants to the criminal 
justice system, 2004 (index=100) to 2014 
Criminal Histories 
An offender’s criminal history counts the number of occasions on which an offender has 
previously received a conviction, caution or youth caution for any offence and has been 
recorded on the PNC, including some offences committed outside of England and Wales16. 
In 2014 the number of offenders with no previous convictions and cautions sentenced for 
indictable offences increased by 4%, with increases in all the main offence types except, 
robbery, theft and criminal damage. 
                                               
15 Offences resulting in a Penalty Notices for Disorder are not counted as first offences. 
16 Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, only the primary offence as recorded on the PNC would be 
counted. 

 
26
Following a ruling by the Court of Appeal in January 2013 there was a change in the rules 
that govern the disclosure of spent cautions and convictions under the Exceptions Order to 
the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. From May 2013 ex-offenders are no longer 
required to disclose certain old and minor spent cautions of convictions. For those convicted 
in 2013 there is the potential of around 86,000 offenders who could be covered by this rule 
in the future.    
In the latest period just over 102,600 adult offenders convicted of an indictable offence had 
15 or more previous convictions or cautions (long criminal records - on average 33 previous 
sanctions). Around 2 in every 5 adults convicted had a long criminal record compared to just 
under a quarter in the same period 10 years ago. However during recent years there has 
been a decline in prolific offenders. Offender’s progressing from their 15th to their 16th 
conviction or caution has declined since 2009, and during 2014 there was also a fall in the 
number of offenders with 16 or more previous convictions or cautions.  
Two-fifths of those convicted of an indictable offence with 15 or more previous convictions 
and cautions were convicted for offences related to theft – by comparison, only 23% of 
those with no previous convictions or cautions were convicted for theft offences.  
For those convicted of a sexual offence in 2014, just under half also had a first offence for 
the same offence category and for just 5% of offenders all of their previous convictions and 
cautions were for sexual offences.  
Figure 7.2 Percentage of offenders convicted of indictable offences, by number of 
previous convictions or cautions, 2004 to 2014 
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Number of offenders convicted
12 months ending December
15 or more previous convictions/cautions
11-14 previous convictions/cautions
7-10 previous convictions/cautions
3-6 previous convictions/cautions
1-2 previous convictions/cautions
0 previous convictions/cautions
 
As might be expected, given that sentencing decisions will typically take into account 
previous offending history, the proportion of offenders receiving immediate custody for an 
indictable offence is higher for those groups of offenders with longer criminal histories.  

 
27
In the latest period, 39% of adults with 15 or more previous convictions or cautions received 
an immediate custodial sentence compared to 12% for adults with no previous history of 
offending. The equivalent figures for juveniles were 37% and 2% respectively.  
The most common disposal given in the latest period for offenders committing an indictable 
offence with no previous criminal history was a caution, with this accounting for 69% of 
juveniles in this group and 56% of adults.  
Despite having long criminal records there has been a 35% increase in adults with 15 or 
more previous convictions or cautions receiving a suspended sentence following a 
conviction for an indictable offence. This rise was driven by theft and public order offences 
and nearly two-fifths of previous offences committed by offenders with 15 or more previous 
convictions or cautions were theft offences.   
The increase seen in the number of suspended sentences, especially for the offenders with 
15 or more previous convictions or cautions coincided with changes made under LASPO, 
which allowed judges to suspended custodial sentence of up to 2 years.  

 
28
Revisions Policy 
In accordance with Principle 2 of the Code of Practice for Office Statistics, the Ministry of 
Justice is required to publish transparent guidance on its policy for revisions.  A copy of this 
statement can be found at:  
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/statistics/mojstats/statistics-revisions-policy.pdf 
The Ministry of Justice aims to avoid the need for revisions to publications unless they are 
absolutely necessary and put systems and processes in place to minimise the number of 
revisions.  
Within the Ministry of Justice’s statistical publications there can be three main reasons for 
statistics to be revised:  
 
Changes in how either source administrative systems collect information or a 
change in statistical methodology to improve accuracy and measurement. 
 
Receipt of subsequent information which alters our understanding of previous 
periods (for example – late recording on one of the administrative IT systems 
used operationally). 
 
Errors in our statistical systems and processes.  
Our policy in handling revisions is to be transparent with users about:  
 
The need for revisions.  
 
How and when to expect revisions as part of our standard processes. 
 
The processes by which other revisions will be communicated and published.  
To meet these commitments, all of our statistical publications will:  
 
Ensure that the need for major revisions for any series are pre-announced on the 
Ministry of Justice website. 
 
Include a detailed revisions policy within every release.  
 
Detail how users will be informed of the need for revisions.  
 
Give detailed and full explanations as to why the revisions were necessary.  
In addition, the annual report from the Head of Profession to the National Statistician 
will: 
 
Provide information on how many revisions were required to our publications and 
the reasons for these.  
 
Publish a time-series of revisions due to errors in our statistical processes and 
procedures so we can monitor the quality of our outputs.  

 
29
Explanatory Notes 
The statistics in this bulletin relate to cases in the Crown and magistrates’ courts in England 
and Wales during 12 months ending December 2014. This bulletin subsumes a number of 
previous bulletins including Criminal Statistics: England & Wales, Quarterly Sentencing 
Statistics, and Young people aged 10-17 receiving their first reprimand, warning or 
conviction.  
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  
Guidance on tables and supplementary volumes 
This bulletin is supported by a range of Excel spreadsheet workbooks, interactive data tools 
and CSV files, presenting statistics for the latest calendar year, alongside back series for 
previous comparable years where applicable. These workbooks, pivot tables and CSV files 
can be accessed at: 
www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2014 
 
Contacts 
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:  
Emily Barnett, Senior Statistical Officer, Criminal Court Outcome Statistics 
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 information about the official statistics system of the UK is available from: 
www.statistics.gov.uk 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
Alternative formats are available on request from xxx@xxx.xx