Statistics on women and the criminal justice system 2009/10
Source: data.gov.uk (2018-05-25)

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

Statistics on Women and 
the Criminal Justice System 
A Ministry of Justice publication under 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 
 
 
 
November 2010 

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Crown copyright 
Produced by the Ministry of Justice 
 
Alternative format versions of this report are 
available on request from xx-xxxx-xxxx or 
xxx@xxx.xx 
 
 
 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Contents 
Acknowledgements 
3 
Criminal Justice Act 1991 – Section 95 
4 
List of tables and figures in the publication 
5 
Summary 
8 
Chapter 1 – Introduction 
17 
Chapter 2 – Women as victims of crime 
19 
Chapter 3 – Women as suspects 
27 
Chapter 4 – Women as defendants 
32 
Chapter 5 – Women as offenders: under supervision or in custody 
45 
Chapter 6 – Women as practitioners in the Criminal Justice System 
57 
Bibliography 
61 
Appendix A – Glossary 
63 
Appendix B – Data sources 
72 
 
 
1 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
 
2 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Acknowledgements 
Acknowledgement is made of the contributions from Louise Moore, James 
Riley, Hana Rohan and Emma Williams. We are also grateful for the input 
received from colleagues in the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office and 
agencies across the Criminal Justice System. 
The authors would like to express their thanks to members of the Women’s 
Independent Advisory Group and the Race and Women’s Programme Board 
for their advice during the preparation of this report. 
3 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Criminal Justice Act 1991 – Section 95 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 states that: 
“The Secretary of State shall in each year publish such information as he 
considers expedient for the purpose of facilitating the performance of those 
engaged in the administration of justice to avoid discriminating against any 
persons on the ground of race or sex or any other improper ground.” 
This report brings together statistical information on the representation of 
women as suspects, offenders and victims within the Criminal Justice System 
and as employees/practitioners within criminal justice agencies. 
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and 
complete. However, these data have been extracted from large administrative 
data systems generated by the courts, police forces and other agencies. As a 
consequence, care should be taken to ensure the limitations of these data are 
taken into account. 
The basic statistical information in this document should be considered in 
conjunction with the parent statistical publications and research reports that 
are now available on related issues. Most of these reports are now published 
on websites such as the Home Office website, 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/index.htm, and the Ministry of Justice website, 
www.justice.gov.uk. 
The data presented is largely from published government reports, but on 
occasion has been supplied by criminal justice agency colleagues. It is 
presented either in terms of calendar years, financial years or other relevant 
time periods, reflecting the reporting cycles and data collection of the agencies 
contributing information for this publication. For further technical data and 
quality statements see appendices here and in the parent publications. 
4 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
List of tables and figures in the publication 
Figure A: 
Females and males administered with pre-court disposals and 
dealt with at magistrates’ court and the Crown Court, for all 
offences, England and Wales 2009 
Figure B: 
Proportion of male and female arrests by offence type, 2008/09 
Figure C: 
Number of males and females issued pre-court or court 
sanctions, by gender, 2005–2009 
Figure D: 
Court disposals for indictable offences, by gender, 2009 
Figure E: 
Prison population including foreign nationals by gender,  
2005–2009 
Figure 2.01: 
Prevalence of any intimate violence in the last year, by sex, 
2009/10 BCS 
Table 2.01: 
Percentage of homicide offences by gender of victim and 
whether principal suspects known/unknown, 2004/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 2.02: 
Percentage of respondents satisfied (completely, very or fairly) 
with their overall contact with the criminal justice system 
(WAVES cases closed in 12 months to December 2009) 
Table 3.01: 
Number of arrests of juveniles and adults by gender,  
2004/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 3.02a: Number of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence group, 
by gender, 2008/09 
Table 3.02b: Percentage of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence group, 
by gender, 2008/09 
Table 4.01: 
Numbers of pre-court and court disposals by gender,  
2005–2009 
Table 4.02: 
Pre-court sanctions issued to males and females, 2009 
Table 4.03a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
indictable offences, by gender, 2009 
Table 4.03b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary offences (excluding motoring), by gender, 2009 
Table 4.03c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary motoring, by gender, 2009 
5 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.03d: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, by gender, 2009 
Figure 4.01: 
Percentage of persons proceeded against, by offence group 
and gender, 2009 
Table 4.04a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
shoplifting, by gender, 2009 
Table 4.04b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for ABH, by 
gender, 2009 
Table 4.04c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
possession of a Class A drug, by gender, 2009 
Table 4.05: 
Concordance between sentences proposed and given where a 
pre-sentence report (PSR) was written, by gender, 2009 
Table 4.06: 
Custody length for females and males found guilty of a criminal 
Offence, 2009 
Table 5.01: 
Persons supervised by Probation Service under community 
orders and Suspended Sentence Orders by length of order and 
gender, 2005–2009 
Figure 5.01: 
Proportionate probation tiers for men and women, 2009 
Figure 5.02: 
Percentage of reception prisoners (men and women) under 
sentence, by sentence length, 2009 
Figure 5.03: 
Percentage of male and female receptions (immediate custodial 
sentence) by offence type, 2009 
Table 5.02: 
Population in prison establishments under sentence by sex, 
2005–2009 
Figure 5.04: 
British male and female prisoners by offence type, 
30 June 2009 
Table 5.03: 
Number of female and male prisoners released on Home 
Detention Curfew (HDC) and proportion eligible for HDC who 
were released on HDC, 2005–2009 
Table 5.04: 
Offences punished per 100 population in prison establishments 
by type of offence and sex, 2005–2009 
Table 6.01: 
Percentage of police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by 
gender, as at 31 March 2005/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Table 6.02: 
Percentage of senior police officers in post (full-time 
equivalents) by gender, as at 31 March 2005/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
6 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.03: 
Percentage of magistrates by gender, as at 31 March 2005/06–
2009/10 
Table 6.04: 
Percentage of NOMS Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2006–
2010 
Table 6.05: 
Percentage of NOMS Senior Civil Servants by gender, as at 
31 March 2005–2010 
Table 6.06: 
Percentage of All staff and Senior Civil Service staff in Crown 
Prosecution Service by gender, 2008/09 and 2009/10 
7 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Summary 
This report provides information about how women and men in England and 
Wales were represented in the Criminal Justice System both in 2009, and in 
each of the last five years. Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 
requires the Government to publish statistical data to assess whether any 
discrimination exists in how the CJS treats women and men. 
The contents of the report will be of interest to government policy makers, the 
agencies that comprise the CJS, and others who want to understand better 
how experiences of the CJS differ between men and women. It is important to 
note that the data presented highlight areas where there are differences and 
where practitioners and others may wish to undertake more in-depth analysis. 
This should not be equated with discrimination as there are many reasons why 
apparent disparities may exist. 
The data presented in this report suggest that there continue to be differences 
in the experiences of men and women. For example: 
 
The British Crime Survey 2009/10 showed that men were at greater risk of 
personal crime and violence than women. Women were at higher risk of 
theft from the person and intimate violence. 
 
In 2009, there were differences in the types of sanctions issued to men 
and women at court. A higher proportion of female defendants received 
fines than males (77% compared with 63%), but lower proportions of 
female defendants received community sentences (10% compared with 
16%), suspended sentences (2% compared with 4%), and immediate 
custody (3% and 9% respectively). 
 
In 2009, newly received women in prison were serving proportionately 
shorter custodial sentences than men. Almost half (48%) of newly received 
men in prison were serving sentences lasting longer than six months 
compared to two-fifths (38%) of newly received women. 
 
Men and women’s behaviour in prison also differed. In 2009, the rate of 
punishment in prison establishments was higher for women (150 
adjudications per 100 prisoners) than for men (124 adjudications per 100 
prisoners). More than one in three female prisoners (37%) self-harmed 
compared with fewer than one in ten males (7%). As in previous years, 
men accounted for the majority of self-inflicted deaths in custody (57 of the 
total 60 recorded in 2009). 
8 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
The most recent mid-year population estimates for 2009 show that, of the total 
48,417,349 population of England and Wales aged over ten years, women 
comprised 51% and men 49%.1 
Figure A below shows flows through the CJS for all males and females dealt 
with at magistrates’ and Crown Court in 2009. These figures are based on 
known ‘males’ and ‘females’. 
                                                
1 2009 Mid Year Population Estimates taken from Office for National Statistics (2010) 
‘2009 population estimates analysis tool’, 
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14060. These data show that 
juveniles or those aged 10–17 accounted for 5,249,932 of this total, and comprised 49% 
females and 51% males. Adults or those aged 18 and over represented 43,167,417; 51% of 
these were females and 49% males. 
9 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
10 
 
Fined
Custody
Other 
disposal
Fined
Custody
F: 241,764
F: 4,565
F: 24,654
F: 175
F:3,533
F: 788
M: 660,248
M: 43,494
M: 87,940
M: 1,941
M:48,268
370,520
1,265,144
Defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts
Females
Pre-court 
disposals
Figure A: Females and males administered with pre-court disposals and dealt with at magistrates' court and the         
Crown Court, for all offences, England and Wales 2009
(1)
Cautioned (2)
Females
Males
Males
215,539
Females
75,106
Penalty Notices for Disorder
Court proceedings
Number committed for trial at the Crown Court
Males
90,252
11,817
Number found guilty at the Crown Court
Females
Males
8,499
Females
Males
Number found guilty at magistrates' courts
978,953
306,226
Females
Females
Females
Males
1,883
16,781
Number committed for sentence at Crown Court
68,624
2.3 months
2.7 months
304,343
962,172
Males
at magistrates' courts
Total sentenced to custody
Males
91,762
F: 29, 860
Females
32,396
Number sentenced by the Crown Court
Number sentenced by magistrates
Suspended 
sentence
Suspended 
sentence
Males
Females
M:16,497
Average custodial sentence length
M: 3,765
8,098
Average custodial sentence length
Other 
disposal
M: 148,758
Total sentenced to community sentences
          M: 21,732
Community 
sentence
Community 
sentence
F: 2,536
F: 3,252
F: 3,500
   M:13,638
Females
Males
at the Crown Court
Females
Males
162,396
Males
128,394
41,999
Females
24.6 months
19.6 months
Males
10,284
84,109
 
(1) These figures are based on known ‘males’ and ‘females’. Following the introduction of the Libra case 
management system during 2008, offenders at magistrates’ courts can now be recorded as sex ‘Not 
Stated’. These figures have been excluded from the table. 
(2) From 1 June 2000 the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 came into force nationally and removed the use of 
cautions for persons under 18 and replaced them with reprimands and warnings. These figures are 
included in the totals. 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Specific findings 
Victims 
There are differences in the types of personal crimes experienced by men and 
women as victims and in their relationship with the offender. While there are 
some common risk factors for violence, other characteristics increased the risk 
of violence for men but not for women and vice versa. 
 
Overall, a greater proportion of men were victims of British Crime Survey 
(BCS) personal crime than women. While men were at increased risk of 
violence, a greater proportion of women experienced theft from the person 
and intimate violence (BCS 2009/10). 
 
Women were at higher risk of violence by someone they knew well (0.4% 
of women had experienced domestic violence and 0.2% of men) and men 
were at greater risk of ‘stranger’ violence (2.2% of men were victims 
compared to 0.6% of women in 2009/10). 
 
Risk factors for violence for both men and women included being aged 16 
to 24 and being single, separated or divorced. Being unemployed, and 
being a student were found to be associated for men only; and living in 
privately rented accommodation was found to be associated only for 
women (BCS 2009/10). 
 
As in previous years, 2008/09 data from the Homicide Index showed that 
fewer females (192) than males (459) were victims of homicide (murder, 
manslaughter or infanticide). Around three in four female victims knew the 
principal suspect compared to half of male victims. Of these, a greater 
proportion of female victims than male victims were killed by their partner 
or ex-partner. 
 
Data on victims involved in cases closed in the 12 months to December 
2009 showed that a greater proportion of female victims were satisfied with 
their overall contact with the CJS than their male counterparts (Witness 
and Victim Experience Survey). 
Suspects 
Fewer than one in five of all arrests recorded by the police in 2009 involved 
females. While the most common offence group for which both males and 
females were arrested was the same – violence against the person – there 
were some differences between the offences for which adult and juvenile 
males and females were arrested. 
 
Between 2007/08 and 2008/09, there was a decrease of just less than 2% 
in the number of arrests of females (from 251,910 to 247,127) and a 
decrease of under 1% in the number of arrests of males (from 1,223,356 to 
1,215,012). 
11 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2008/09, 34% of all females arrested and 31% of all males arrested 
were suspected of committing violence against the person, which was 
consistent with trends since 2006/07. 
 
The volume of arrests for violence against the person decreased in 
2008/09 compared with the previous year. Between 2007/08 and 2008/09, 
there was a reduction of almost 6% in the number of females arrested for 
violence against the person and a 2% decrease for males. 
Figure B: Proportion of male and female arrests by offence type, 2008/09 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Violence
against the
person
Sexual
Offences
Robbery
Burglary
Theft and
handling
stolen
goods
Fraud and
forgery
Criminal
damage
Drug
offences
Other
offences
Offence Group
Percentage
Male
Female
offences
 
 
In 2008/09, the second most common offence group for which both males 
and females were arrested was theft and handling stolen goods (31% and 
21% of all those arrested for females and males respectively). 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the largest offence group for juvenile 
females arrested in each of the last five years. Violence against the person 
was the largest offence group for juvenile males arrested in 2007/08 and 
2008/09 (closely followed by theft and handling stolen goods). In the three 
years prior to that, theft and handling stolen goods was the most common 
offence for juvenile males. 
 
In 2008/09, numbers of juveniles, both female and male, arrested for 
violence against the person were at their lowest for five years. 
12 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Defendants 
Just over one in five of all pre-court and court sanctions were issued to 
females in 2009, which closely mirrors the proportion of all arrests accounted 
for by females. It should be noted, however, that court data cover a different 
time period and group of offences than arrests, which may account for 
variations in some of the findings between these sources. 
Data on those proceeded against (excluding instances at the magistrates 
court where gender was not stated) showed there were differences in the 
types of sanctions issued to men and women at court, and also in the 
sentence lengths received by those sentenced to immediate custody. More 
women received fines than men, and women given an immediate custodial 
sentence received shorter average sentence lengths for indictable offences 
than men. These differences are likely to be dependent on a range of factors 
including variations in the types of offences committed by males and females. 
 
In 2009, over two million pre-court and court sanctions were issued. 
Twenty-three per cent of these were to females and 77% to males. 
 
In each of the last five years (2005 to 2009), a slightly higher percentage of 
all females dealt with (24% in 2009) than all males dealt with (21% in 
2009) were issued pre-court sanctions rather than court sanctions. 
Figure C: Number of males and females issued pre-court or court 
sanctions, by gender, 2005–2009 
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
1,800,000
2,000,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Number of males and females issued pre-court and court 
sanctions 
Male
Female
 
13 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2009, 77% of females dealt with at court received fines, 10% received 
community sentences, 2% suspended sentences, and 3% immediate 
custody. In comparison, 63% of all males dealt with at court received fines, 
16% community sentences, 4% suspended sentences and 9% immediate 
custody. These patterns were broadly consistent in each of the last five years. 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the most common indictable offence 
group for which both males and females were prosecuted in 2009 (44% of 
all females were prosecuted for this offence type compared to 28% of 
males). This was also the most common indictable offence group in each 
of the last five years. 
 
In 2009, a greater percentage of females sentenced for an indictable 
offence had no previous cautions or convictions than males (16% and 9% 
respectively). 
 
In 2009, a lower proportion of women who had a pre-sentence report that 
recommended immediate custody went on to receive this sentence than 
men (83% compared with 90% for males). For all other sentence options 
recommended in pre-sentence reports (Suspended Sentence Order, all 
community sentences or fines), a higher proportion of males received 
custodial sentences than females. 
 
In 2009, women given an immediate custodial sentence for indictable 
offences received shorter average sentence lengths than men (11.0 
months compared to 17.0 months for males).2 These differences in 
sentence length were also evident in each of the last five years, and may 
be attributable to a range of factors including differences between the 
offences committed by females and males. 
Figure D: Court disposals for indictable offences, by gender, 2009 
Community 
sentence
33%
Suspended 
sentence
9%
Immediate 
custody
27%
Fine
17%
Otherwise 
dealt with
3%
Absolute or 
conditional 
withdrawl
11%
 
Suspended 
sentence
11%
Immediate 
custody
14%
Absolute or 
conditional 
withdrawl
20%
Otherwise 
dealt with
3%
Fine
14%
Community 
sentence
38%
 
                  Males (N=275,827)                                Females (N=48,844) 
                                                
2 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. 
14 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Offenders 
Females were serving proportionately shorter sentences than men both in the 
community and in prison. Again, this is likely to be attributable to a range of 
factors including differences in the types of offences committed by men and 
women. 
In terms of prisoners’ behaviour in custody, the rate of adjudications in prison 
per 100 prisoners was higher for women than for men; more women self-
harmed; and men accounted for the vast majority of deaths in prison custody. 
 
In 2009, nearly 10% of women had a community order of under a year, 
whereas for men the corresponding proportion was over 5%. 
 
Women were more often assigned to Probation Tiers 1 and 2 than men 
(just over 64% of women were assigned to the lower tiers compared to 
50% of men), suggesting that women were more often classified as being 
at lower risk of harm and reoffending. 
 
In 2009, the total prison population (including foreign nationals) in England 
and Wales stood at 81,831. Women made up 4,221 of this total (5%), and 
men made up 77,610 (95%). 
 
Women constituted around one-tenth (9%) of receptions into prison in 
each year between 2005 and 2009. 
 
Overall, there was a 5% decrease in the number of first receptions into 
prison between 2008 and 2009. Women’s prison receptions decreased by 
9% between 2008 and 2009; men’s receptions decreased by 5%. 
 
In 2009, 48% of newly received men were serving sentences lasting longer 
than six months compared to 38% of women. 
 
In 2009, a higher proportion of foreign national women were in prison for drug 
offences (48%) and fraud and forgery (24%) than British national women. 
 
The offence profile for foreign national women had changed over time. The 
proportion of foreign national women in prison for drug offences decreased 
between 2005 and 2009 (from 68% to 48%), while the proportion of foreign 
national women in prison for fraud and forgery increased over the same 
period (from 11% to 24%, with a peak of 28% in 2008). 
 
In 2009, the rate of adjudications (punishment for disciplinary offences) in 
prison was 150 adjudications per 100 prisoners for women and 124 
adjudications per 100 prisoners for men. However, trend data indicate that the 
2009 rate for both female and male prisoners represented a five-year low. 
 
In 2009, more than one in three (37%) female prisoners self-harmed 
compared with fewer than one in ten (7%) male prisoners. As in previous 
years, men accounted for the majority of self-inflicted deaths in custody in 
2009 (57 of the total 60 recorded in 2009). 
15 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure E: Prison population including foreign nationals by gender,  
2005–2009 
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
90,000
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year
Prison population
Males
Females
 
Reoffending 
 
In 2008, women had a lower frequency of reoffending rate than men per 
100 offenders (150.5 compared to 156.2). While frequency of reoffending 
rates for men increased by 4% (from 149.9 per 100 offenders) between 
2007 and 2008, those for women increased by 16% (from 129.4 per 100 
offenders). 
Practitioners 
Women’s representation as practitioners in CJS agencies varied substantially; 
and women were less well represented in senior positions in the individual 
CJS agencies than in each of the agencies overall. 
 
Women represented 66% of Crown Prosecution Service staff as at 
31 March 2010, and 26% of police officers. The Magistracy comprised 
approximately equal numbers of men and women. 
 
Women represented 66% of Crown Prosecution Service staff overall, and 
37% of Senior Civil Servants in the organisation as at 31 March 2010; 
women accounted for 26% of total police officers, and comprised 13% of 
senior police officers; 42% of Senior Civil Servants at the Ministry of 
Justice were women compared to 68% of all staff. 
16 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 1 – Introduction 
Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 states that: 
“The Secretary of State shall in each year publish such information as he 
considers expedient for the purpose of facilitating the performance of those 
engaged in the administration of justice to avoid discriminating against any 
persons on the ground of race or sex or any other improper ground.” 
Documents fulfilling this requirement have been published since 1992. Other 
government reports that have recently been published on the treatment of 
women in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) include The Corston Report 
published in 2007, which recommended the development of a distinct 
approach to dealing with men and women within the CJS and a move towards 
alternative sanctions. 
This report brings together statistical information on outcomes across the CJS 
from a gender perspective to identify where differences exist. Data are 
presented on gender in relation to victims, suspects, defendants, offenders 
and employees within the criminal justice agencies. The publication also aims 
to identify trends in the CJS and how these vary between men and women 
and over time. The report is aimed at both members of the public and 
practitioners within the CJS. 
Following a consultation process with the Women’s Independent User Group 
and based on feedback from Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice 
System (2009), there have been several changes made to this year’s 
publication. The key changes are as follows. 
1. A more concise publication for users to understand the key messages with 
a simplified structure divided into five areas: 
 
Women as victims of crime 
 
Women as suspects 
 
Women as defendants 
 
Women as offenders: under supervision or in custody 
 
Women as practitioners in the Criminal Justice System 
2. An executive summary highlighting the key trends and provision of more 
detailed information in the individual chapters on changes over time than in 
previous reports. 
3. Provision of information as supplementary tables in Excel to allow easy 
re-use of data. 
4. A new appendix containing a glossary to aid understanding of the terms 
used in the definition and delivery of criminal justice. 
5. A new appendix containing information on the quality of the data sources 
drawn upon in this report. 
17 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented in this report are 
accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have 
been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by courts, 
police forces and other agencies. Consequently, care should be taken to 
ensure the limitations of these data are taken into account. Data are presented 
in terms of calendar and financial years and other periods, reflecting the 
reporting cycles and data collection of the agencies contributing information 
for this publication. Unless otherwise stated in the report, the data presented 
here apply to England and Wales. 
Revisions 
Statistics are by their nature subject to error and uncertainty. Initial estimates 
are often systematically amended to reflect more accurate and complete 
information provided by data suppliers. The data published here are the most 
up to date available and may differ from that previously published. Where 
possible, attempts have been made to highlight revisions to previously 
published data in the supplementary tables that accompany this report. 
Availability of the tables 
In addition to the data provided throughout the report, a range of raw data are 
available in the supplementary tables. These data are available from the same 
web page 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/womencriminaljusticesystem.htm 
18 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 2 – Women as victims of crime 
This chapter explores the nature, extent and risks of personal crimes reported 
in the 2009/10 British Crime Survey (BCS), and victims’ perceptions of their 
overall contact with the CJS as measured in the Witness and Victim 
Experience Survey (WAVES) for cases closed in the 12 months to December 
2009. It also looks at police recorded crime statistics on homicide from the 
2008/09 Homicide Index (the latest available). 
 
Overall, a greater proportion of men were victims of BCS personal crime 
than women. While men were at increased risk of violence, women were 
more at risk of experiencing theft from the person and intimate violence 
(BCS 2009/10). 
 
There were some key differences in the type of violence typically 
experienced by women and men. For example, a greater proportion of 
women had experienced violence by someone they knew well (0.4% of 
women had experienced domestic violence and 0.2% of men) and a 
greater proportion of men had been victims of ‘stranger’ violence (2.2% of 
men were victims compared to 0.6% of women in 2009/10). 
 
While some of the risk factors for violence were the same for men and 
women (being aged 16 to 24 and being single, separated or divorced), 
other characteristics were found to be associated with the risk of violence 
for men but not for women and vice versa. Being unemployed and being a 
student were found to be associated for men; and living in privately rented 
accommodation was found to be associated for women (BCS 2009/10). 
 
The BCS self-completion module showed that trends in the prevalence of 
intimate violence in the last year remained stable compared with 2008/09. 
Longer-term trends since 2004/05 (when the questions were introduced), 
showed a decrease for all categories of intimate violence for all adults. 
 
As in previous years, 2008/09 data from the Homicide Index3 showed that 
fewer females (192) than males (459) were victims of homicide. Around 
three in four female victims knew the principal suspect compared to half of 
male victims. Of these, a greater proportion of female victims than male 
victims were killed by their partner or ex-partner. 
 
WAVES data for victims involved in cases closed in the 12 months to 
December 2009 showed that a higher proportion of female victims of 
criminal damage and theft were satisfied with their overall contact with the 
CJS than their male counterparts. 
                                                
3 As the Homicide Index is continually updated with revised information from the police and 
courts, it is considered a better source of data than the main police recorded crime dataset. 
Latest data relate to offences recorded by the police during 2008/09. Data for 2009/10 are 
scheduled to be published in January 2011. 
19 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
What is the nature and extent of victimisation for women and 
men? 
As not all crimes are reported to the police, the main source of information 
about the risks of victimisation is the BCS. The BCS is a large nationally 
representative survey that asks people in detail about their experience of 
crime in the last 12 months. Because it includes crimes not reported to the 
police and has not been affected by changes to recording rules and practice 
over time, it provides the most reliable measure of the extent of victimisation 
and of national trends for the general population aged 16 and over.4 The main 
police recorded crime dataset for England and Wales does not currently 
include information about victim gender. 
The BCS findings described here come from two components of the survey: a 
core face-to-face interview with adults aged 16 and over and a separate self-
completion module completed only by adults aged 16–59. Due to the sensitive 
nature of questions on rape and sexual assault, these are not asked in the 
core interview but are covered in the self-completion survey. 
 
The 2009/10 BCS showed that 5.7% of adults were a victim of a BCS 
personal crime at least once in the 12 months before interview. Overall, 
6.5% of men and 4.9% of women were a victim of personal crime.5 
 
As in 2008/09, women were found to have a higher risk than men of 
becoming a victim of theft from the person (1.4% compared with 0.8%).6 
The differences between men and women also remained when other 
factors were controlled for using logistic regression (see supplementary 
tables for Chapter 2 for further information on variables included). 
 
In common with previous years, fewer women were the victim of violent 
crime in 2009/10 than men. Overall, 4.2% of men and 1.8% of women had 
been a victim of violent crime.7 Men accounted for two-thirds (66.6%) of all 
incidents of violence; women for one-third (33.3%). 
 
There were some key differences in the type of violence typically 
experienced by women and men. For example, a greater proportion of 
women had experienced violence by someone they knew well. In 2009/10, 
                                                
4 The BCS has until recently only provided a picture of crime for those aged over 16. 
Experimental statistics were released earlier this year for consultation, however, which were 
based on interviews with children aged 10 to 15 (Millard and Flatley, 2010). The main report 
for 2009/10 was based on adults aged 16 or over (Flatley et al, 2010). 
5 See Flatley et al (2010), Table 2.05. 
6 Incidents of theft from the person include stealth thefts (e.g. pick-pocketing) and snatch thefts 
(when force was used to snatch property away or no force was used but the victim was 
aware of the incident and holding the property). 
7 Violent crime contains the full spectrum of assaults from pushing and shoving that result in 
no physical harm, to murder. 
20 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
0.4% of women and 0.2% of men had experienced domestic violence.8 
A higher percentage of men had been victims of ‘stranger’ violence than 
women: 2.2% of men were victims compared to 0.6% of women in 
2009/10. Women accounted for 73.1% of victims in incidents of domestic 
violence, but only 21.0% of victims in incidents of stranger violence. 
 
The 2009/10 BCS self-completion module on intimate violence measured 
partner abuse, family abuse, sexual assault and stalking, reflecting either 
the intimate nature of the victim-offender relationship or of the violence or 
abuse.9 Evidence from this module (see Figure 2.01) showed that a higher 
proportion of women experienced intimate violence across all types of 
abuse in the last 12 months (6.5% compared with 3.7%) and since the age 
of 16 (27.3% compared with 14.7%). 
 
Trends in the prevalence of intimate violence in the last year remained 
stable compared with 2008/09. Longer term trends since 2004/05 (when 
the questions were introduced), showed a decrease for all categories of 
intimate violence for all adults. 
 
As in previous years, the majority of incidents of intimate violence against 
women (91%) involved a male offender.10 In a further 9% of incidents, the 
offender was female and, in less than 1% of incidents, women were 
victimised by a male and female offender at the same time. The offender-
victim gender relationship has remained stable over time; both in the short 
and longer-term. 
 
A greater proportion of women were sexually assaulted than men.11 In 
2009/10, 2.1% of women aged 16–59 years had experienced at least one 
or more sexual assaults in the last year (compared to 2.5% in 2008/09) 
and, as in the previous year, 0.4% of men. 0.4% of women aged 16–59 
years had experienced a serious sexual assault and 0.1% of men. 
                                                
8 Definition of domestic violence counts wounding and assaults which involves partners, ex-
partners, other relatives or household members. Figures for 2009/10 relate only to incidents 
reported in face-to-face BCS interviews, so any changes should be treated with caution due 
to the small numbers of sexual offences identified by the main BCS. Prevalence rates for 
domestic violence from the self-completion module were around five times higher for adults 
than those obtained from the face-to-face interviews on the BCS. 
9 Self-completion is used because of the sensitive nature of the questions in order to maximise 
response rates. As the information is collected in a different way to the main survey (self-
completion rather than face to face interviews) and uses different questions, it is not directly 
comparable to findings from the main survey. Definitions of partner abuse, family abuse, 
sexual assault and stalking can be found in the glossary at Appendix A. 
10 It is not possible to comment on the offender-victim gender relationship for males as only a 
small number of men reported that they had experienced any domestic abuse. 
11 This included indecent exposure, sexual threats and unwanted touching, and rape or assault 
by penetration including attempts. 
21 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 2.01: Prevalence of any intimate violence in the last year, by sex, 
2009/10 BCS 
0.0
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
Partner abuse
(non-sexual)
Family abuse
(non-sexual)
Any sexual
assault
(including
attempts)
Stalking
Any domestic
abuse 
Percentage
Women 
Men 
All
 
Note: ‘Any intimate violence’ represents all respondents who experienced any type of abuse. As respondents 
may have experienced more than one type of abuse, it is not equivalent to the sum of the other bars. 
The BCS does not include data on homicides. However, information on the 
gender of victims and suspects of these offences are available from the 
Homicide Index. Data for 2008/09 showed: 
 
Fewer females (192) than males (459) were victims of homicide (murder, 
manslaughter or infanticide), consistent with historical trends. Female 
victims accounted for 29% of all recorded homicides between 2004/05 and 
2008/09. 
 
As in previous years, a greater proportion of female homicide victims were 
acquainted with the principal suspect12 (76% of females compared to 50% 
of males). The type of relationship between victim and principal suspect 
also differed for female and male victims (see Table 2.01). In cases where 
the principal suspect was known to the victim, over two-thirds of females 
were killed by a partner/ex-partner13 (69% of homicides where the principal 
suspect was known to the female victim compared to 14% for male victims), 
while over two-thirds of males were killed by a friend/acquaintance (70% of 
homicides where the principal suspect was known to the male victim). 
                                                
12 For the purposes of the Homicide Index, a suspect is defined as (i) a person who has been 
arrested for an offence initially classified as homicide and charged with homicide or (ii) a 
person who is suspected by the police of having committed the offence but is known to have 
died or committed suicide prior to arrest/being charged. As more than one suspect may be 
tried for an offence and sometimes no suspect is ever brought to trial, the number of 
suspects is not the same as the number of offences. 
13 Includes partners of the same sex. 
22 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Principal suspects were strangers14 for 12% (23) of female homicides and 
37% (170) of male homicides. In 12% (23) of female homicides and 13% 
(60) of male homicides, there was no suspect.15 
Table 2.01: Percentage of homicide offences by gender of victim and 
whether principal suspects known/unknown, 2004/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08 
2008/09
Total female 
victims 
230
242
196
204 
192
Suspect known 
76%
58%
70%
76% 
76%
Suspect not 
known* 
24%
42%
30%
24% 
24%
Total male 
victims 
550
469
520
549 
459
Suspect known 
47%
43%
47%
51% 
50%
Suspect not 
known* 
53%
57%
53%
49% 
50%
Total victims 
780
711
716
753 
651
Note: This table is based on data taken from Smith et al (2010) Table 1.05, as recorded at 24 November 2009. 
These figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and courts, or as further 
information becomes available. 
*’Suspect not known’ comprises homicides where the principal suspect was a stranger, where the 
relationship type was not known and where there was no suspect. 
What are the main risk factors for women and men? 
The BCS allows analysis to be undertaken to explore whether there are 
differences in the risk factors associated with different crime types for men and 
women. This section focuses on those factors that have been found to be 
associated with crimes of theft from the person, violence and intimate 
violence. 
Theft from the person 
Further analysis of the data relating to theft from the person has shown similar 
risk factors for men and women. 
 
In 2009/10, the risk of theft from the person was highest for young women 
aged 16 to 24 years (2.4%), and generally declined with age. 
 
For men, there was a similar pattern of declining risk with age but men had 
lower risks than women for all age groups. 
                                                
14 Includes cases where relationship type is not known. 
15 See Smith et al (2010). 
23 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
However, once other characteristics were accounted for using logistic 
regression analysis, age was not independently associated with the risk of 
becoming a victim of theft from the person. Factors such as marital status 
and the types of area in which the person lived were more important. 
Single adults had higher odds of being a victim of theft from the person 
than married or cohabiting adults and people living in areas classified as 
City Living had the highest odds.16 
Violence 
Analysis of the 2009/10 BCS data found that, in general, the risk factors 
associated with violence were similar for men and women.17 The 
characteristics that contributed most to explaining the risk of violence for both 
men and women were age and marital status. 
 
Both men and women aged 16 to 24 had the highest risk of being a victim 
of violence. 
 
Men and women who were single, separated or divorced were more at risk 
of being a victim of violence than those who were married. Viewed in 
isolation, single people appeared to have higher risk than other groups due 
to their younger age profile. When age was controlled for using logistic 
regression, the increased association with being separated or divorced 
became apparent. 
 
Some characteristics were found to be associated with the risk of violence 
for men, but not for women and vice versa. Being unemployed and being a 
student were found to be associated with a higher likelihood of being a 
victim of violent crime for men but not for women. Living in privately rented 
accommodation was found to be associated with the risk of violent crime 
for women but not for men. 
The 2008/09 report Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
looked at the risk of becoming a victim of intimate violence based on analysis 
of data from the 2007/08 BCS. A new analysis has not yet been undertaken. 
However, the 2007/08 analyses showed that increased risk of any domestic 
abuse in the last year was most strongly associated (i.e. contributing at least 
1% improvement in a logistic regression model) with the following 
characteristics: 
 
Marital status: Married men and women had lower odds of (non-sexual) 
partner abuse compared with men and women who were cohabiting, 
single, separated or divorced. 
                                                
16 See Flatley et al (2010). 
17 See Flatley et al (2010). 
24 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
Household type:18 Household type was associated with the overall 
measure of any domestic abuse for women and with the specific measures 
for (non-sexual) partner abuse and (non-sexual) family abuse.19 For (non-
sexual) partner abuse, both women living in households as a single adult 
with a child (or children) and women living in households with another 
adult and a child (or children) had higher odds of victimisation than those 
living in households with no children. For (non-sexual) family abuse, only 
women living in households with another adult and a child (or children) had 
higher odds of victimisation than those living in households with no 
children. Household type was also associated (although less strongly so) 
with any domestic abuse for men. 
What are women’s experiences of the CJS after being victims? 
Surveys such as the BCS and WAVES allow for a better understanding of 
victims’ experiences of the CJS and whether these differ between men and 
women. The BCS provides information about why victims of sexual violence 
choose not to report their experiences of crime to the police. Reponses to the 
2009/10 BCS suggested, for example, the following. 
 
Over one-third (38%) of women had not told anyone about their 
experience of sexual assault since age 16, and only 11% had reported to 
the police. The proportion reporting to the police has remained stable and 
is consistent with the proportion for 2005/06 (when questions were first 
included in the survey). 
 
The most common reasons for not reporting sexual assault to the police 
were that the victim did not want to experience further humiliation (28%) 
and/or that they did not think the police would believe them (23%). 
It is not possible to comment on trends for men as only a small number 
reported experiences of sexual assault. Therefore, the figures are subject to 
large variation between survey years. 
The Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) interviews victims and 
prosecution witnesses aged 18 and over whose cases resulted in a charge.20 
Therefore, these data provide an assessment of the experiences of those 
victims who do come into contact with the CJS. Responses provided by 
                                                
18 Household type refers to whether there were no children; adults and child(ren); or a single 
adult and child(ren). 
19 ‘Any domestic abuse’ is the collective term which covers partner abuse, family abuse, and 
sexual assault (see Povey et al., 2009). 
20 Sensitive cases, such as sexual offences, domestic violence, crimes involving a fatality, and 
any crime where the defendant is a member of the victim’s or witness’s household, are 
excluded on ethical grounds. 
25 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
victims only involved in cases closed in the 12 months to December 200921 
(see Table 2.02) suggested the following. 
 
The majority of victims (80%) were satisfied (completely, very or fairly) with 
their overall contact with the CJS. 
 
When comparing victims of similar crime types, WAVES data showed that 
a higher proportion of female victims of criminal damage (79%) and theft 
(82%) were satisfied than male victims (76% and 79% respectively). These 
differences were statistically significant. 
 
There were no statistically significant differences between the proportion of 
male and female victims who were satisfied in cases of violence22 and 
burglary. 
Table 2.02: Percentage of respondents satisfied (completely, very or 
fairly) with their overall contact with the criminal justice system (WAVES 
cases closed in 12 months to December 2009) 
Victims by crime type 
Males
Females
Total 
Violence 
78%
80%
79% 
Criminal damage 
76%
79%
77% 
Theft 
79%
82%
80% 
Burglary 
83%
85%
84% 
All victims 
79%
81%
80% 
Unweighted base (N) 
11,631
7,729
19,364 
Note: ‘Total’ figures include four respondents who did not state their sex or stated that they were 
transgender. These respondents have been excluded from the rest of the table. 
                                                
21 WAVES data, covering cases closed in the 12 months to March 2010, showing satisfaction of 
victims and witnesses with their overall contact with the CJS by sex, have also been 
published in the Criminal Justice System Information publication on the MoJ website and are 
available at: http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminal-justice-system-performance.htm 
22 Please note that the WAVES violence category includes robbery offences. 
26 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 3 – Women as suspects 
This chapter focuses on individuals who are suspected of committing an 
offence. The only data available by gender are police recorded statistics on 
arrests. Data on the gender of those who are either Stopped and Searched or 
asked to Stop and Account are not reported centrally. 
This chapter explores how arrests have changed over time including 
comparisons between 2007/08 and 2008/09, and trends for the last five years. 
 
Between 2007/08 and 2008/09, there was a decrease of just under 2% in 
the number of arrests of females (from 251,910 to 247,127) and a 
decrease of less than 1% in the number of arrests of males (from 
1,223,356 to 1,215,012). 
 
In 2008/09, the most common offence group for which both females and 
males were arrested was violence against the person (34% and 31% of all 
females and males arrested respectively), which is consistent with trends 
since 2006/07. 
 
The volume of arrests for violence against the person decreased in 
2008/09 compared with the previous year (82,983 in 2008/09 compared to 
88,139 in 2007/08 for females). Between 2007/08 and 2008/09, there was 
a reduction of almost 6% in the number of females arrested for violence 
against the person and a decrease of just over 2% for males. 
 
In 2008/09, the second most common offence group for which both males 
and females were arrested was theft and handling stolen goods (31% and 
21% of all those arrested for females and males respectively). 
 
In 2006/07, violence against the person overtook theft and handling stolen 
goods as the most common offence group that adult23 females were 
arrested for. Although this remains the most common offence group for 
adult females, the volume of adult females arrested for this offence fell 
slightly between 2007/08 and 2008/09. 
 
Violence against the person was also the most common offence group for 
adult males arrested for all years between 2004/05 and 2008/09. 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the largest offence group for 
juvenile24 females arrested in each of the last five years. Violence against 
the person was the largest offence group for juvenile males arrested in 
2007/08 and 2008/09 (closely followed by theft and handling stolen 
                                                
23 Suspects aged 18 and over. 
24 Suspects aged 10 to 17. 
27 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
goods). In the three years prior to that, theft and handling stolen goods 
was the most common offence group for juvenile males. 
 
In 2008/09, numbers of juveniles, both female and male, arrested for 
violence against the person were at their lowest for five years. 
How has the volume of arrests for females and males changed 
over time? 
Arrests refer to the power of police officers to deprive a person of his or her 
liberty in relation to the investigation and prevention of crime. Police officers 
have the power to arrest anyone who has committed an offence, is about to 
commit an offence, or is in the act of committing an offence. They also have 
the power of arrest when a person is suspected of involvement in an offence. 
Arrests data do not offer a full picture of offending behaviour, as they do not 
include those offences not identified by the police. Findings from the 
longitudinal analysis of the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003–06 
(Hales et al., 2009) suggested that an individual’s gender was associated with 
likelihood of offending. Self-report data from respondents aged 10 to 25 years 
showed that females were significantly less likely to have been offenders than 
males. 
Table 3.01 shows the number of arrests of males and females (juveniles and 
adults) between 2004/05 and 2008/09. Data for juveniles and adults were 
estimated for 2004/05 as age breakdowns were not available for all forces 
during this period. Table 3.02 shows the percentage of arrests by offence 
group for males and females (juveniles and adults) in 2008/09. Further 
information on arrests is available in the supplementary tables for Chapter 3. 
 
There were 1,462,139 arrests in 2008/09 – a 1% decrease compared to 
the previous year (1,475,266). 
 
Overall, there was a decrease of just under 2% in arrests of females (from 
251,910 in 2007/08 to 247,127 in 2008/09) and less than 1% in arrests of 
males (from 1,223,356 to 1,215,012). 
 
Five years trends showed an 8% rise in arrests compared to 2004/05. This 
was comprised of an increase of just over 6% for females and just over 8% 
for males. 
 
In 2008/09, a slightly greater proportion of all females arrested were 
juveniles compared with males (22% versus 18% for males). This has 
been approximately the case in each of the last five years. 
 
There were increases in the number of female adults and juveniles and 
male adults and juveniles arrested from 2004/05 to 2006/07. In 2007/08, 
there was a large divergence with the adult figures continuing to yield year-
on-year increases, while the juvenile figures showed large decreases. 
28 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 3.01: Number of arrests of juveniles and adults by gender, 
2004/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
Females 
Males 
 
Juvenile 
Adult 
Total 
Juvenile
Adult
Total 
Total 
2004/05 
67,000 
165,800 
232,800
266,500
854,100
1,120,600 
1,353,400 
2005/06 
70,201 
177,456 
247,657
279,028
903,100
1,182,128 
1,429,785 
2006/07 
71,285 
180,284 
251,569
282,531
948,056
1,230,587 
1,482,156 
2007/08 
64,823 
187,087 
251,910
250,741
972,615
1,223,356 
1,475,266 
2008/09 
55,142 
191,985 
247,127
218,210
996,802
1,215,012 
1,462,139 
Note: Figures for 2004/05 have been estimated as age breakdowns were not available for all forces. 
What offences are females and males arrested for? 
This section looks at the offences that males and females were arrested for 
over the last five years; and how this differed for adults and juveniles. 
 
As in 2006/07 and 2007/08, the most common offence group for which 
both females and males were arrested in 2008/09 was violence against the 
person (34% and 31% of females and males arrested respectively). Prior 
to this, the most common offence group was theft and handling stolen 
goods for females and violence against the person for males. 
 
The volume of arrests for violence against the person decreased in 
2008/09 compared with the previous year (82,983 in 2008/09 compared to 
88,139 in 2007/08 for females). There was nearly a 6% reduction in the 
number of females arrested for violence against the person between 
2007/08 and 2008/09 compared to a decrease of just over 2% for males 
over the same period. 
29 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 3.02a: Number of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence group, 
by gender, 2008/09 
 
Females 
Males 
Offence group 
Juvenile 
Adult 
Total 
Juvenile
Adult
Total 
Total 
Violence against 
the person 
18,147 
64,836
82,983
51,511
329,626
381,137 
464,120
Sexual offences 
121 
879
1,000
4,266
28,472
32,738 
33,738
Robbery 
1,677 
1,788
3,465
12,954
18,280
31,234 
34,699
Burglary 
2,194 
5,795
7,989
24,431
64,006
88,437 
96,426
Theft and handling 
stolen goods 
20,025 
57,554
77,579
50,253
199,587
249,840 
327,419
Fraud and forgery 
550 
7,977
8,527
1,326
24,688
26,014 
34,541
Criminal damage 
6,082 
12,250
18,332
35,804
86,184
121,988 
140,320
Drug offences 
1,370 
13,486
14,856
14,330
86,155
100,485 
115,341
Other offences 
4,976 
27,420
32,396
23,335
159,804
183,139 
215,535
Total 
55,142 
191,985
247,127
218,210
996,802
1,215,012 1,462,139
 
Table 3.02b: Percentage of arrests of juveniles and adults per offence 
group, by gender, 2008/09 
 
Females 
Males 
Offence group 
Juvenile 
Adult 
Total 
Juvenile
Adult
Total 
Total 
Violence against 
the person 
32.9 
33.8
33.6
23.6
33.1
31.4 
31.7
Sexual offences 
0.2 
0.5
0.4
2.0
2.9
2.7 
2.3
Robbery 
3.0 
0.9
1.4
5.9
1.8
2.6 
2.4
Burglary 
4.0 
3.0
3.2
11.2
6.4
7.3 
6.6
Theft and handling 
stolen goods 
36.3 
30.0
31.4
23.0
20.0
20.6 
22.4
Fraud and forgery 
1.0 
4.2
3.5
0.6
2.5
2.1 
2.4
Criminal damage 
11.0 
6.4
7.4
16.4
8.6
10.0 
9.6
Drug offences 
2.5 
7.0
6.0
6.6
8.6
8.3 
7.9
Other offences 
9.0 
14.3
13.1
10.7
16.0
15.1 
14.7
Total 
100 
100
100
100
100
100 
100
Note: Columns may not always sum to 100% due to rounding. 
30 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The second most common offence group for which both females and 
males were arrested in 2008/09 was theft and handling stolen goods (31% 
of females arrested and 21% of males), followed by other offences (13% of 
females versus 15% of males), criminal damage (7% of females and 10% 
of males) and drugs offences (6% of females compared to 8% of males). 
This is consistent with patterns in arrests for females in 2006/07 and 
2007/08; and for males in 2007/08. 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the largest offence group for juvenile 
females in each of the last five years. Theft and handling stolen goods was 
also the most common offence group for juvenile males from 2004/05 until 
2006/07. In 2007/08 and 2008/09, the number of arrests for violence 
against the person was slightly higher (in 2008/09, 24% of arrests of 
juvenile males were for violence against the person and 23% for theft and 
handling stolen goods). 
 
In 2008/09, numbers of juveniles, both female and male, arrested for 
violence against the person were at their lowest for five years (18,147 
juvenile females in 2008/09 compared to 19,400 in 2004/05). 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the most common offence for adult 
females arrested in 2004/05 and 2005/06. In 2006/07, violence against the 
person became and has remained the most common offence group for this 
group. Following the peak in 2006/07, the volume of adult females arrested 
for this offence type has declined, however (from 66,643 in 2007/08 to 
64,836 in 2008/09). 
 
Violence against the person was the most common offence group for adult 
males in each of the last five years. 
 
While sexual offences remained the smallest offence group for both 
juvenile and adult females over the last five years, fraud and forgery was 
the smallest offence group for juvenile males and robbery for adult males. 
31 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 4 – Women as defendants 
This chapter looks at outcomes for defendants25 in the CJS in 2009 and over 
the last five years. It contains information on the pre-court and court sanctions 
issued to males and females including the lengths and types of custodial 
sentences issued. Pre-court data on cautions and Penalty Notices for Disorder 
(PNDs) are reported centrally by the police. Court data are provided by the 
magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court. Any totals stated represent the total 
of males and females and exclude figures where the gender is not stated.26 
Therefore the totals may differ from those published elsewhere. 
While court data are presented for offence groups,27 these each include a 
range of offences that differ in seriousness and which may impact on the final 
disposal issued. This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about consistency 
in sentencing for males and females. To address this as far as possible with 
the available data, analyses are also presented in this chapter for three 
specific offence types. 
 
In 2009, over two million pre-court and court sanctions were issued. In 
each of the last five years (2005 to 2009), a slightly higher percentage of 
females (24% of all females dealt with in 2009) than males (21% of all 
males dealt with in 2009) were issued pre-court sanctions rather than court 
sanctions. 
 
In 2009, 77% of females sentenced at court received fines, 10% received 
community sentences, 2% suspended sentences, and 3% immediate 
custody. In comparison, 63% of all males dealt with at court received fines, 
16% community sentences, 4% suspended sentences and 9% immediate 
custody. These patterns were broadly consistent in each of the last five 
years. 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods was the most common indictable offence 
group for which both males and females were prosecuted in 2009 (44% of 
all females were prosecuted for this offence type compared to 28% of 
males). This was also the most common indictable offence group in each 
of the last five years. 
                                                
25 The figures stated are not a measure of individuals as it is possible for an individual to 
receive more than one sanction in a year. 
26 Following the introduction of the Libra case management system during 2008, offenders at 
Magistrates’ courts can now be recorded as sex ‘Not Stated’. These figures have been 
excluded from this report. 
27 These include: violence against the person; sexual offences; burglary; robbery; theft and 
handling stolen goods; fraud and forgery; criminal damage; drug offences; other indictable 
offences; and summary offences. 
32 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2009, a greater percentage of females sentenced for an indictable 
offence had no previous cautions or convictions than males (16% and 9% 
respectively). 
 
In 2009, a lower proportion of women who had a pre-sentence report that 
recommended immediate custody went on to receive this sentence than 
men (83% compared with 90% for males). For all other sentence options 
recommended in pre-sentence reports (Suspended Sentence Order, all 
community sentences or fines), a higher proportion of males received 
custodial sentences than females. 
 
In 2009, the average length of an immediate custodial sentence28 for 
females, for indictable offences, was 11.0 months compared to 17.0 
months for males. These differences in sentence length were also evident 
in each of the last five years and may be attributable to a range of factors 
including differences between the offences committed by females and 
males. 
Are there gender differences in the outcomes for defendants 
within the CJS? 
This section explores differences in the disposals received by male and 
female defendants in the CJS in 2009. It looks separately at those sanctions 
issued pre-court (PNDs and cautions) and those issued at court, and also 
considers the criminal histories of defendants and recommendations made in 
pre-sentence reports. It should be noted that data on pre-court and court 
sanctions are not strictly comparable with those on arrests presented in the 
previous chapter due to differences in the time periods covered and because 
the aggregated offence categories for these sources do not directly compare. 
Table 4.01: Numbers of pre-court and court disposals by gender,  
2005–2009 
 
Females 
 
Males 
 
Pre-court(1) 
Court(2)
Total 
system
Pre-court(1)
Court(2) 
Total 
system 
2005 
109,502  
348,612 
458,114 
335,924 1,532,981  1,868,905 
2006 
131,704  
335,548 
467,252 
419,467 1,432,630  1,852,097 
2007 
139,786  
345,105 
484,891 
430,647 1,376,390  1,807,037 
2008 
123,935  
339,507 
463,442 
380,117 1,264,025  1,644,142 
2009 
117,105  
370,520 
487,625 
343,933 1,265,144  1,609,077 
Note: (1) This includes PNDs and cautions. 
(2) This includes those who were prosecuted. 
                                                
28 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. 
33 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2009, 23% of all disposals (pre-court and court) issued by the CJS were 
to females (487,625 of the total 2,096,702). 
 
Overall, the number of disposals (pre-court and court) issued by the CJS 
decreased by 10% between 2005 and 2009 (from 2,327,019 to 2,096,702). 
 
In each year since 2005, females have accounted for a slightly higher 
proportion of pre-court and court disposals than in the previous year (in 
2005, women accounted for 20% of all sanctions). This is due to a 
reduction in the number of males (14% decrease) dealt with over the last 
five years as well as a slight increase in the number of females (6% rise) 
receiving pre-court and court disposals. 
 
In 2009, a slightly higher percentage of females (24% of all females dealt 
with) than males (21% of all males dealt with) were issued pre-court rather 
than court sanctions. This has been the case in each of the last five years. 
Pre-court sanctions 
Pre-court sanctions available to the police are PNDs and cautions. PNDs are 
used to deal with low-level criminal behaviour, but no criminal conviction or 
admission of guilt is associated with payment of the penalty. Cautions29 are 
formal warnings given by senior police officers to a person who admits to 
having committed a criminal offence which could have led to a prosecution. 
They cover a wider range of offences than PNDs. Due to the differences in 
offence categories, it is not possible to produce analyses for all pre-court 
disposals by offence group. Data for PNDs and cautions have therefore been 
presented separately. 
 
Of the 461,038 pre-court sanctions issued in 2009, 25% were issued to 
females and 75% to males. A similar split was present in each of the last 
five years (2005 to 2009). 
 
Of the 117,105 women receiving pre-court sanctions, 36% were issued 
with a PND and 64% were cautioned. The balance between PNDs and 
cautions has been narrowing for women in each of the last five years, with 
the split in 2005 being 26% PNDs compared with 74% cautions. 
 
Of the 343,933 men receiving pre-court sanctions, 37% were issued a 
PND and 63% were cautioned. This split has been fairly stable over the 
past five years. 
                                                
29 The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences 
for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been cautioned for two or more 
offences at the same time, the principal offence is the more serious offence. 
34 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.02: Pre-court sanctions issued to males and females, 2009 
 
PNDs
Cautions
Females 
24.6%
25.8%
Males 
75.4%
74.2%
Total (%) 
100%
100%
Total (N) 
170,393
290,645
 
 
A total of 170,393 PNDs were issued in 2009 (see Table 4.02). Of these, 
25% were issued to females (41,999) and the remaining 75% to males 
(128,394). There was an increase in the proportion of females issued 
PNDs in each of the last five years (19% issued to females and 81% to 
males in 2005). 
 
The number of PNDs issued peaked in 2007 for both females and males. 
 
In 2009, the most common outcomes30 for PNDs for adult and juvenile 
females and juvenile males were ‘Paid in full within 21 days’ and ‘Fine 
registered’. For adult males, there was a slightly higher percentage of 
‘Fine registered’ (41%) than ‘Paid in full within 21 days’ (39%). 
 
Retail theft has been the most common reason for females to be issued 
with a PND since 2005 (55% of PNDs issued to females were for this 
offence in 2009). In 2005, it was joint top with causing harassment, alarm 
or distress (both at 32%). The number of PNDs issued for retail theft has 
more than doubled between 2005 and 2009, from 9,039 to 22,921. 
 
Causing harassment, alarm or distress was the most common reason for 
males to be issued a PND in each of the last five years (29% in 2009). 
 
Females accounted for nearly 26% (75,106) of all those cautioned 
(290,645) in 2009. Whilst the volume of cautions issued has fluctuated 
over the last five years, the split between females and males has remained 
fairly constant. 
 
As for PNDs, the number of cautions issued peaked in 2007 for both 
females and males. The recent decreases in these disposals coincided 
with criminal justice agencies being asked to focus on improving 
performance in bringing to justice crimes involving serious violent, sexual 
and acquisitive offences. 
 
In 2009, summary offences – excluding motoring31 accounted for the 
largest proportion of cautions issued to females and males (41% of all 
                                                
30 Please refer to the data sources appendix for more details on PND outcomes. 
31 Often known as petty crimes, summary offences can be tried by magistrates’ courts without 
the right to a trial by jury. 
35 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
females and 47% of all males receiving a caution respectively). This was 
followed by the indictable offence32 theft and handling stolen goods for 
females (35%) and the indictable offence drug offences for males (18%). 
 
Theft and handling stolen goods has been the most common indictable 
offence group for which females have been issued a caution in each year 
since 2005. For men, the most common offence group has changed from 
violence against the person in 2005 and 2006; to theft and handling stolen 
goods in 2007; and to drug offences in 2008 and 2009. 
 
The number of cautions issued for violence against the person has nearly 
halved for both females and males in the last five years (from 12,964 to 
7,131 for females; 38,053 to 20,174 for males). 
Remand data 
Court remands are the court’s decision on whether a defendant charged with a 
criminal offence should be placed in custody or released on bail during the 
period up to and including the trial, or awaiting sentence. This section focuses 
on remands for those defendants sent for trial or sentencing at the Crown 
Court (more serious offences), and reports figures to the nearest hundred. 
Numbers may therefore not sum due to rounding. 
 
In 2009, 13,300 female defendants were tried at the Crown Court. Of these 
10,300 were sentenced, 2,700 were acquitted or not proceeded with and 
300 failed to appear. 
 
In 2009, 103,700 male defendants were tried at the Crown Court. Of these 
84,100 were sentenced, 17,000 were acquitted or not proceeded with and 
2,500 failed to appear. 
 
In 2009, 80% of females were bailed compared with 62% of males and 
20% were remanded in custody compared with 38% of males. The 
percentage remanded for both males and females is at a five-year low 
(in 2005, 28% of females were remanded and 43% of males). 
 
Of those remanded in custody, 66% of females were then sentenced to 
immediate custody in comparison with 75% of males. In 2005, 55% of 
females and 68% of males remanded in custody were then sentenced to 
immediate custody. 
Court disposals 
Once found guilty in a criminal court of law an individual can receive one of six 
broad disposals: an absolute/conditional discharge; a fine; a community 
sentence; a suspended sentence; a sentence to immediate custody; or they 
are otherwise dealt with. 
                                                
32 Indictable offences refer to more serious charges where the defendant has the right to trial by 
jury. 
36 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
This section focuses on disposals received by all those sentenced at court and 
by those suspected of committing indictable offences (or more serious 
offences where the defendant has the right to trial by jury). 
 
In 2009, 1,360,908 persons were sentenced. While the number of females 
sentenced increased by just over 11% between 2005 and 2009 (from 
282,614 to 314,627), the number of males sentenced decreased by just 
over 12% across the same period (from 1,190,661 to 1,046,281). 
 
In 2009, 77% of females sentenced at court received fines, 10% received 
community sentences, 2% suspended sentences, and 3% immediate 
custody. In comparison, 63% of all males dealt with at court received fines, 
16% community sentences, 4% suspended sentences and 9% immediate 
custody. These patterns were broadly consistent in each of the last five 
years. 
Table 4.03a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
indictable offences, by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
20.1%
11.1%
12.4% 
Otherwise dealt with 
3.3%
3.5%
3.4% 
Fined 
13.7%
17.4%
16.9% 
Community sentence 
37.8%
32.2%
33.1% 
Suspended sentence 
10.8%
9.3%
9.6% 
Immediate custody 
14.3%
26.5%
24.6% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
48,844
275,827
324,671 
 
Table 4.03b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary offences (excluding motoring), by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
6.1%
10.3%
8.9% 
Otherwise dealt with 
0.8%
2.4%
1.8% 
Fined 
85.2%
63.2%
70.8% 
Community sentence 
6.7%
17.5%
13.7% 
Suspended sentence 
0.6%
2.5%
1.8% 
Immediate custody 
0.6%
4.2%
3.0% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
168,755
321,490
490,245 
 
37 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.03c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
summary motoring, by gender, 2009 
Disposal  
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
1.3%
1.5%
1.4% 
Otherwise dealt with 
1.1%
1.0%
1.0% 
Fined 
94.2%
91.5%
92.0% 
Community sentence 
2.7%
3.9%
3.7% 
Suspended sentenced 
0.5%
1.0%
0.9% 
Immediate custody 
0.2%
1.1%
1.0% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
97,028
448,964
545,992 
 
Table 4.03d: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for all 
offences, by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
6.8%
6.7%
6.7% 
Otherwise dealt with 
1.3%
2.1%
1.9% 
Fined 
76.9%
63.3%
66.4% 
Community sentence 
10.3%
15.5%
14.3% 
Suspended sentence 
2.1%
3.7%
3.3% 
Immediate custody 
2.6%
8.8%
7.3% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
314,627
1,046,281
1,360,908 
 
 
As shown in Figure 4.01, theft and handling stolen goods was the most 
common indictable offence group for which both males and females were 
prosecuted in 2009 (44% of all females were prosecuted for this offence 
type compared to 28% of males). This was also the most common 
indictable offence group in each of the last five years. 
38 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 4.01: Percentage of persons proceeded against, by offence group 
and gender, 2009 
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Violence
against the
person
Sexual
Offences
Burglary
Robbery
Theft and
handling
stolen
goods
Fraud and
forgery
Criminal
damage
Drug
offences
Other
offences
Offence Group
Percentage
Female
Male
 
 
For all indictable offences in 2009, a lower percentage of females received 
a fine (14% compared with 17%) and a lower percentage of females were 
sentenced to immediate custody (14% compared with 26%) than males, 
but a higher percentage of females received community sentences (38% 
compared with 32%), and suspended sentences (11% compared with 9%). 
These patterns were broadly consistent with trends for the last five years. 
 
These patterns for indictable offences were also reflected for each of the 
following offence groups: violence against the person; burglary; theft and 
handling stolen goods; fraud and forgery; drug offences; and criminal 
damage. 
Specific offence type analysis 
Seriousness is a major consideration in the decision making process for 
sentencing and, therefore, differential outcomes within an offence group for 
males and females may be driven by the specific types of offence that have 
been tried. For example, within the violence against the person offence 
category, there were 376 sentences for murder. Of these, 356 (95%) 
sentences were issued to males and only 20 (5%) to females. 
To partially account for differences in the seriousness of offences, the 
following analysis looks at sanctions issued to males and females for three 
specific offences: shoplifting; assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH); 
and possession of a Class A drug. 
39 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Shoplifting 
 
Of the 72,313 disposals issued to those sentenced for shoplifting, 19,068 
(26%) were issued to females and 53,245 (74%) to males. 
 
In 2009, nearly one in five of all males (18%) sentenced for shoplifting 
received immediate custody compared to one in nine (11%) of all females 
sentenced for shoplifting. 
 
A greater proportion of females than males were sentenced to absolute or 
conditional discharge (30% compared with 23%) and community 
sentences (38% compared with 32%) for this offence. 
 
These patterns were evident in each of the last five years (2005 to 2009). 
Table 4.04a: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
shoplifting, by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
29.8%
23.3%
25.0% 
Fine 
13.8%
17.3%
16.4% 
Community sentence 
37.5%
32.0%
33.4% 
Suspended sentence 
4.9%
4.8%
4.8% 
Immediate custody 
11.0%
18.3%
16.4% 
Otherwise dealt with 
3.0%
4.3%
3.9% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
19,068
53,245
72,313 
 
Actual bodily harm (ABH) 
 
Of the 15,678 disposals issued to those sentenced for ABH, 2,002 (13%) 
were issued to females and 13,676 (87%) to males. 
 
In 2009, 60% of all females sentenced for ABH were given a community 
sentence compared to 38% of males. 
 
A substantial difference was also seen in the percentage of males and 
females given immediate custody for ABH (31% of all males sentenced for 
ABH compared with 12% of females). 
 
The differences in sentencing of males and females for ABH were also 
reflected in data for 2005–2008. 
40 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.04b: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for ABH, 
by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
4.1%
1.7%
2.0% 
Fine 
0.5%
1.5%
1.4% 
Community sentence 
59.6%
38.3%
41.0% 
Suspended sentence 
20.8%
25.6%
25.0% 
Immediate custody 
11.9%
30.9%
28.5% 
Otherwise dealt with 
3.0%
2.0%
2.1% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
2,002
13,676
15,678 
 
Possession of Class A drugs 
 
Of the 13,607 disposals issued to those sentenced for Possession of a 
Class A drug, 1,430 (11%) were issued to females and 12,177 (89%) to 
males. 
 
There were minimal differences in the percentage of males and females 
given immediate custody for possession of a Class A drug. There was less 
than one percentage point difference in 2009 (6% males compared to 5% 
females); and similar differences in each year since 2005. 
 
The greatest difference in disposals was for fines, accounting for 45% of 
sentences to males for possession of a Class A drug and 30% of 
sentences to females. This difference was evident in each of the last five 
years. 
Table 4.04c: Percentage of disposals issued to those sentenced for 
possession of a Class A drug, by gender, 2009 
Disposal 
Females
Males
Total 
Absolute or conditional discharge 
23.6%
12.6%
13.7% 
Fine 
30.0%
44.7%
43.1% 
Community sentence 
31.7%
30.1%
30.3% 
Suspended sentence 
2.8%
2.7%
2.7% 
Immediate custody 
5.2%
5.7%
5.7% 
Otherwise dealt with 
6.7%
4.3%
4.6% 
Total (%) 
100%
100%
100% 
Total (N) 
1,430
12,177
13,607 
 
41 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Previous criminal histories 
Criminal history figures33 are counts of separate previous occasions when 
offenders received a reprimand, final warning, caution or conviction. These 
data provide information on the offending backgrounds of those sentenced, 
which may also influence the sentence imposed. The percentages presented 
below were based on data for 46,754 females and 275,691 males extracted 
from the Police National Computer. 
 
In 2009, a greater percentage of females sentenced for an indictable 
offence had no previous cautions or convictions than males (16% 
compared with 9%). This was consistent in each of the last five years. 
 
In contrast, a greater percentage of males sentenced for an indictable 
offence had 15 or more previous convictions or cautions (29% compared 
with 21%), as was the case in each of the last five years. 
 
Of sentenced first-time offenders (7,320 females and 25,936 males), a 
greater percentage of males were sentenced to immediate custody than 
females (29% compared with 17%), which has been the case in each year 
since 2005. 
Pre-sentence reports 
Pre-sentence reports (PSRs) provide information to the court about the 
offender and offence(s) committed and assist the court in deciding on a 
suitable sentence. This section looks at the concordance between 
recommendations made in pre-sentence reports and sentences issued at 
court, and whether this differs between males and females. 
 
In 2009, a lower proportion of females who had a PSR recommending 
immediate custody went on to receive this sentence than males (83% 
compared with 90% for males). 
 
A higher percentage of recommended Suspended Sentence Orders (61% 
compared with 52%) and community sentences (75% compared with 69%) 
were issued to females than to males. 
 
For all other sentence options recommended in the PSR (Suspended 
Sentence Order; all community sentences; or fine), a higher proportion of 
males received custodial sentences than females. 
                                                
33 The figures for the previous criminal history of sentenced offenders presented in this chapter 
have been taken from the Ministry of Justice’s extract from the Police National Computer 
(PNC), the operational database used by all police forces in England and Wales. The PNC 
covers ‘recordable’ offences, which are defined as offences that can attract a custodial 
sentence plus some additional offences defined in legislation. Some non-recordable offences 
are also included on the PNC, particularly when they accompany recordable offences in the 
same case. A range of less serious summary offences are not recorded on the PNC. 
42 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 4.05: Concordance between sentences proposed and given where 
a PSR was written, by gender, 2009 
 
Sentenced proposed 
 
Sentence 
given 
Immediate 
custodial 
sentences 
Suspended 
Sentence 
Order 
Community 
sentences (1) 
Fine 
All 
  
F 
M 
F 
M 
F 
M 
F 
M 
F 
M 
Custody 
83% 
90% 
23% 
35% 
6% 
12% 
2% 
3% 
11% 
22% 
Suspended 
Sentence 
Order 
7% 
5% 
61% 
52% 
16% 
17% 
3% 
5% 
20% 
19% 
Community 
sentences 
4% 
3% 
13% 
11% 
75% 
69% 
20% 
19% 
64% 
55% 
Fine 
1% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
1% 
1% 
65% 
65% 
2% 
2% 
Absolute/ 
conditional 
discharge 
1% 
0% 
0% 
0% 
1% 
1% 
8% 
5% 
1% 
1% 
Other 
4% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
2% 
Total % 
100% 
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100% 100% 
100%
100%
Total N 
1,042 14,867
2,839 18,352 21,149 119,947
464 2,635 25,494
155,801
(1) Includes all pre-CJA community sentences. 
How do sentence lengths and types compare for men and women 
sentenced to immediate custody? 
This section compares the lengths and types of custodial sentences issued to 
men and women who have been found guilty of a criminal offence. Any 
observed disparities in sentence length between females and males could be 
related to a range of factors including differences in the specific offence type. 
Custodial sentence lengths 
 
Data for 2009 show that, as sentence length34 increased, females 
accounted for a reduced percentage of those sentenced to immediate 
custody. Females accounted for 10% of all those sentenced for less than 
six months and 4% of all those sentenced for over four years. Males 
accounted for 90% of all those sentenced for less than six months and 
96% of all those sentenced for over four years. 
 
In 2009, the average custodial sentence length (ACSL)35 for females, for 
indictable offences, was 11.0 months compared to 17.0 months for males. 
                                                
34 As measured by the four bandings: up to six months; over six months up to one year; over 
one year up to four years; and over four years 
35 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. 
43 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
These differences in ACSL between males and females were also evident 
in each of the last five years. 
 
Although ACSLs for females were shorter than those for males, it should 
be borne in mind that, traditionally, offenders completing a custodial 
sentence of less than 12 months have not received specific statutory 
support upon release, which may have implications for these individuals. 
 
The ACSL for males in 2009 was the highest in the last five years and, for 
females, the highest since 2005 (when it stood at 11.2 months). 
Table 4.06: Custody length for females and males found guilty of a 
criminal offence, 2009 
Custody length 
Females
Males
Total 
Up to 6 months 
5,442
51,588
57,030 
Over 6 months up to 1 year 
992
12,015
13,007 
Over 1 year up to 4 years 
1,367
21,785
23,152 
Over 4 years 
297
6,374
6,671 
Total 
8,098
91,762
99,860 
 
 
The greatest differences in ACSL by offence group were for sexual 
offences and robbery where, in 2009, males received 49.0 months and 
34.1 months respectively and females received 30.6 months and 25.5 
months respectively. 
 
The only offence group where females have consistently received a higher 
ACSL than males, in the last five years, was criminal damage (20.3 
months compared with 18.8 in 2009). 
Sentence types 
This section looks at those individuals given immediate custody for indictable 
offences. There are a range of sentence types that they can receive including: 
S90–92 Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act (PCC(S)) 2000; detention 
and training order; young offender institution; and unsuspended imprisonment. 
In 2009, the type of sentence received for an indictable offence was related to 
age and did not appear to differ by gender. 
 
Almost all (99%) females and males aged 10–17 received either S90–92 
PCC(S) Act 2000 or detention and training order. 
 
The majority of females (99%) and males (98%) aged 18–20 were 
sentenced to a young offender institution 
 
All females and males aged 21 or over received unsuspended 
imprisonment. 
44 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 5 – Women as offenders: 
under supervision or in custody 
This chapter looks at whether there are gender differences in the way that 
individuals are treated within the CJS, and how these individuals behave (both 
in terms of their compliance and safety in custody). It draws upon the Ministry 
of Justice publications, Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009, 
Safety in Custody Statistics 2009, and the Reoffending of Adults Cohort 2008. 
Data in this chapter on community sentences refer to individuals already 
undertaking probation supervision, rather than individuals being sentenced 
(as discussed in Chapter 4). The commentary concentrates on where there 
are meaningful differences between women’s and men’s experiences of the 
CJS. These differences may be attributable to a range of factors, including 
differences in the type or seriousness of the offences originally committed. 
Further data are available in the supplementary tables for Chapter 5. 
The key findings were as follows: 
 
The average length of all community sentences for men was longer than 
for women, reflecting the fact that women had higher proportions being 
supervised for shorter periods. In 2009, nearly 10% of women had a 
community order of under a year, whereas for men the corresponding 
proportion was over 5%. 
 
Women were more often assigned to Probation Tiers 1 and 2 of the 
Offender Management Tiering framework (just over 64% of women were 
assigned to the lower tiers compared to 50% of men),36 suggesting that a 
greater proportion of women were considered as being at lower risk of 
harm or reoffending. 
 
Overall, there was a 5% decrease in the number of first receptions into 
prison between 2008 and 2009. Women’s prison receptions decreased by 
9% between 2008 and 2009; men’s receptions decreased by 5%. 
 
In 2009, newly received women in custody were serving proportionately 
shorter sentences than newly received men in custody. Forty-eight per 
cent of men were serving sentences lasting longer than six months 
compared to 38% of women. 
 
In 2009, the total prison population (including foreign nationals) in England 
and Wales stood at 81,831. Women made up 4,221 of this total (5%) and 
men made up 77,610 (95%). 
                                                
36 Data where the probation tier was unknown were excluded. 
45 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
In 2009, a higher proportion of foreign national women were in prison for 
drug offences (48%) and fraud and forgery (24%) than British national 
women. The offence profile for foreign national women had also changed 
over time. The proportion of foreign national women in prison for drug 
offences decreased between 2005 and 2009 (from 68% to 48%), while 
those in prison for fraud and forgery increased over the same period (from 
11% to 24%, with a peak of 28% in 2008). 
 
The frequency of reoffending rate is a measure of the number of offences 
committed by a cohort of offenders in a one-year follow-up period. While 
the frequency of reoffending rate for men increased by 4% (from 149.9 to 
156.2 offences per 100 offenders) between 2007 and 2008, that for 
women increased by 16% (from 129.4 to 150.5 offences per 100 
offenders). 
 
Adjudications (the rate of punishment for disciplinary offences in prison) in 
2009 were higher for women (150 adjudications per 100 prisoners) than for 
men (124 adjudications per 100 prisoners). However, trend data indicate 
that the 2009 rate for both female and male prisoners represented a five-
year low. 
 
Between 2005 and 2009, incidents of self-harm for men per 1,000 
prisoners increased by 17% (from 150 to 175 incidents per 1,000), while 
those for women decreased by 17% (from 2,950 to 2,450 incidents per 
1000). However, more than one-third of female prisoners (37%) self-
harmed in 2009, compared with 7% of male prisoners. 
 
As in previous years, men accounted for the majority of self-inflicted 
deaths in custody in 2009 (57 of the total 60 recorded in 2009). 
What experiences do men and women have within the CJS? 
This section examines women’s and men’s experiences as offenders under 
probation supervision or in prison. It provides comparative details of women 
and men commencing community sentences drawn from the Offender 
Management Caseload Statistics. Sentences served in the community can 
comprise either community orders (CO) or Suspended Sentence Orders 
(SSO) and are supervised by the Probation Service. 
46 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Community sentences37 
 
In 2009, a total of 21,150 women and 119,946 men were under 
supervision as a result of a community order or Suspended Sentence 
Order. 
 
Men and women commencing these community sentences in 2009 had 
different age profiles, with proportionately more (56%) men under the age 
of 30, and proportionately more (53%) women over the age of 30 
commencing both types of community sentence. This pattern has been 
reflected in data on community sentences in each of the last five years. 
 
In 2009, nearly 64% of all community orders were for a year’s duration; the 
majority of Suspended Sentence Orders were for two years (nearly 65%). 
Table 5.01: Persons supervised by Probation Service under community 
orders and Suspended Sentence Orders by length of order and gender, 
2005–200938 
 
2005
2006
2007
2008 
2009
Males 
 
 
 
 
 
under 1 year 
5.2%
3.6%
3.4%
3.7% 
3.9%
1 year 
58.3%
54.1%
51.5%
53.2% 
54.1%
2 years(1) 
28.9%
38.4%
41.5%
40.5% 
39.4%
3 years(1) 
7.6%
3.8%
3.5%
2.7% 
2.6%
Total 
45,083
105,350
124,043
123,825 
119,946
Females 
 
under 1 year 
9.8%
6.5%
6.0%
6.8% 
7.0%
1 year 
59.9%
56.5%
54.1%
55.0% 
56.8%
2 years(1) 
25.1%
34.2%
37.9%
37.1% 
35.3%
3 years(1) 
5.1%
2.7%
1.9%
1.1% 
0.9%
Total 
7,146
16,909
20,727
21,305 
21,150
(1) Includes a small number of orders for less than the full number of years. 
                                                
37 Most of these are either: 1) Community orders – introduced as a single community sentence 
by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, which must contain at least one of 12 possible 
requirements (such as unpaid work, curfew, or drug rehabilitation); or 2) Suspended 
Sentence Orders – enable a court passing a custodial sentence of less than 12 months to 
suspend that sentence for a period of between six months and two years, while ordering the 
offender to undertake certain requirements in the community (drawn from the same list as 
those available for the community order). 
38 As at 31 December. 
47 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
The average length of all community sentences for men was longer than 
for women, reflecting the fact that women had higher proportions being 
supervised for shorter periods (see Table 5.01). In 2009, nearly 10% of 
women had a community order of under a year, whereas for men the 
corresponding proportion was over 5%. Trend data indicate that these 
differences between lengths of community sentences for men and women 
have been present since 2005. 
 
However, this pattern masks changes in sentence lengths for community 
orders and Suspended Sentence Orders over the last five years. For the 
latter category of community sentence, larger proportions of both males 
and females have received sentences longer than two years since 2006 
(over 60% for both males and females since 2007 and over 50% since 
2006); in 2005, a larger proportion of females receiving Suspended 
Sentence Orders had sentence lengths of less than two years (54% of 
women compared to 50% of men). 
 
Differences between men and women supervised by the Probation Service 
at the end of 2009 can also be noted. For women receiving a community 
order, the largest proportion had one requirement (46%), whereas the 
largest proportion of men had two requirements (41%). For Suspended 
Sentence Orders, over 40% of both sexes had two requirements. 
 
The Offender Management Tiering framework is a way of categorising 
offenders according to their risk of serious harm and likelihood of 
reoffending. It indicates the level of intervention required with offenders. 
Tier 1 represents the lowest level of intervention and Tier 4 the highest. 
In 2009, there were differences in the probation tiers to which men and 
women were assigned (see Figure 5.01). Women were more often 
assigned to Tiers 1 and 2, while men were more often assigned to Tiers 3 
and 4 (just over 64% of women were assigned to the lower tiers compared 
to 50% of men).39 
                                                
39 Data where the probation tier was unknown were excluded. 
48 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 5.01: Proportionate probation tiers for men and women, 200940 
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
          Tier 1 (low )          
Tier 2 (Low -Medium)       
Tier 3 (Medium-High)      
Tier 4 (High)    
Tier
Percentage prisoners
Men
Women
 
Custody 
This section looks at two sets of figures relating to the population in custody: 
first receptions and prison population. First receptions provide an indication of 
the number of new prisoners in a given time period. A person received into 
prison to serve a sentence may previously have been received on remand 
after conviction prior to sentence and before that as a remand prisoner 
awaiting trial. First receptions will count that prisoner only once in the relevant 
time period in which they were first received. In contrast, the total prison 
population is comprised of and affected by new receptions, those prisoners on 
longer sentences, and the discharge rate. 
 
Women constituted around one-tenth (9%) of receptions into prisons 
between 2005 and 2009. Data from 2005–2009 show that, in the last five 
years, the number of men’s receptions increased by 4% (from 82,390 to 
85,577), and women’s receptions increased by less than 0.5% (from 8,024 
to 8,044). 
 
Between 2008 and 2009, there was a 5% decrease in the number of first 
receptions into prisons. While women’s receptions decreased overall by 
9%, men’s decreased by 5% during this period. 
 
The decrease in the number of men and women entering prisons in 2009 
was attributable to reductions both in the number of individuals entering 
prisons as a result of being remanded, and receiving custodial sentences. 
However, the decrease for those receiving custodial sentences was not 
                                                
40 As at 31 December. 
49 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
equal across all sentence lengths. For women, the greatest reductions in 
2009 were in indeterminate sentences (which decreased by 40%; 65 down 
to 39) and sentences of less than six months (which decreased by 12%). 
For men, the greatest reductions were in indeterminate sentences (which 
decreased by 29%; 1,787 down to 1,276) and fine defaulters (which 
decreased by 13%). 
Figure 5.02: Percentage of reception prisoners (men and women) under 
sentence, by sentence length, 200941 
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Fine defaulter
Less than or
equal to 6 months
Greater than 6
months to less
than 12 months
12 months to less
than 4 years
4 years or more
(excluding
Indeterminate)
Indeterminate
sentences
Sentence category
Percentage of reception prisoners
Men
Women
 
 
In 2009, over 62% of sentences being served by newly received women 
(reception prisoners) were for less than or equal to six months compared 
to 52% for men. This represents a decrease on the previous year, when 
64% of sentences being served by newly received women were for less 
than or equal to six months. These proportions have remained broadly 
stable since 2005. The proportion of men receiving this sentence has 
decreased over this period (from 55% in 2005 to 52% in 2009). 
 
Data on receptions by offence type showed that the largest single offence 
group for women was theft and handling stolen goods (34%). For men, the 
largest single offence group was other offences (23%). As shown in Figure 
5.03, a larger proportion of female receptions were for theft and handling 
stolen goods (34% compared to 17% for men) and fraud and forgery (11% 
for women and 4% for men). This pattern has remained the same since 
2005. 
                                                
41 The number of receptions within each sentence length band in 2009 has been estimated 
using data from January to June 2009 – see Appendix B for details. 
50 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Figure 5.03: Percentage of male and female receptions (immediate 
custodial sentence) by offence type, 200942 
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
Violence
against
the
person
Sexual
offences
Robbery
Burglary Theft and
handling
Fraud
and
forgery
Drug
offences
Motoring
offences
Other
offences
Offence
not
recorded
Offence type
Percentage of reception prisoners
Men
Women
 
 
In 2009, the total prison population (including foreign nationals) in England 
and Wales stood at 81,831. Women made up 4,221 of this total (5%), and 
men made up 77,610 (95%). 
 
In 2009, the total prison population under immediate custodial sentence 
(i.e. excluding prisoners on remand) stood at 68,375. Women made up 
3,382 (5%) of this total, while men made up 64,993 (95%). While the male 
prison population has grown year on year since 2005 (by 11% overall), the 
female population decreased over this period (by 2%). This follows a 
steady increase in the female prison population between 1999 and 2004 
(42% over this period) (see Table 5.02). 
Table 5.02: Population in prison establishments43 under sentence by 
sex, 2005–2009 
2005 
2006
2007
2008 
2009
Females 
3,476 
3,506
3,345
3,524 
3,382
Males 
58,703 
59,898
62,188
64,600 
64,993
Total 
62,179 
63,404
65,533
68,124 
68,375
 
                                                
42 The number of receptions within each sentence length band in 2009 has been estimated 
using data from January to June 2009 – see Appendix B for details. 
43 Excludes police cells. 
51 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
There was a slightly higher proportion of women in the foreign national 
prison population (which stood at 7,502 in 2009) sentenced to immediate 
custody, compared with the British national prison population. Women 
made up 618 (8%) of the total, while men made up 6,884 (92%). 
 
There were differences between the offence profiles of British male and 
female prisoners. In 2009, violence against the person was the most 
prevalent offence type for both sexes (with more than 28% of women and 
30% of men in prison for this offence). However, the rest of the offence mix 
differed, with more women in prison for theft and handling (13% versus 5% 
for men), and more men in prison for sexual offences (12% versus less 
than 2% for women) (see Figure 5.04). 
Figure 5.04: British male and female prisoners by offence type, 
30 June 2009 
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Violence against the person
Sexual offences
Robbery
Burglary
Theft and handling
Fraud and forgery
Drug offences
Motoring offences
Other offences
Offence not recorded
Offence type
Percentage of  prisoners
Males
Females
 
 
 
In 2009, there were larger differences between British national and foreign 
national women in prison than between British men and women. A higher 
proportion of foreign national women were in prison for drug offences 
(48%) and fraud and forgery (24%) than British national women. 
 
The offence profile for foreign national women in British prisons has 
changed over time. The proportion in prison for drug offences decreased 
between 2005 and 2009 (from 68% to 48%), while those in prison for fraud 
and forgery increased (11% in 2005 and 24% in 2009, with a peak of 28% 
52 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
in 2008). Drug offences also decreased over this period as a proportion of 
offences for British national women (from 28% to 22%), while the 
contribution of fraud and forgery remained relatively stable (at around 3%). 
 
In 2009, foreign national women comprised a much smaller proportion of 
the total female prison population than British national women (18% 
compared to 82%). However, there were one and a half times as many 
foreign national women in prison for fraud and forgery than British national 
women (149 compared with 96). 
Home Detention Curfew 
Home Detention Curfew (HDC) refers to those prisoners serving sentences 
between three months and less than four years who spend up to the last two 
months of the custodial part of their sentence on an electronically monitored 
curfew, out of custody. 
 
In 2009, 11,534 prisoners were released on HDC. Of these, 1,370 were 
women (12%) and 10,164 were men (88%). 
 
Of those eligible for HDC, larger proportions of women than men have 
been released under the scheme in each of the last five years, although 
the proportions of both men and women released under HDC have 
decreased over time (see Table 5.03). 
Table 5.03: Number of female and male prisoners released on HDC and 
proportion eligible for HDC who were released on HDC, 2005–2009 
 
2005
2006
2007
2008 
2009
Females released on HDC 
1,904
1,544
1,320
1,482 
1,370
Percentage of females 
eligible for HDC who were 
released 
44%
35%
30%
31% 
31%
Males released on HDC 
15,392
12,122
10,108
10,239 
10,164
Percentage of males 
eligible for HDC who were 
released 
31%
25%
20%
19% 
21%
 
How do women respond to the CJS in terms of their behaviour? 
This section looks at the behaviour of women and men who are under 
supervision or in custody. It examines information relating to releases and 
recalls to custody using data from the Public Protection Unit Database, 
reconviction rates using data from the Reoffending of Adults Cohort 2008, 
prison adjudications using data from the Offender Management Caseload 
Statistics, and self-harm using data from the Safety in Custody statistics 
bulletin. 
53 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Reoffending 
Frequency of reoffending is the number of offences the cohort committed 
during the one-year follow up period which resulted in a conviction at court. 
The actual frequency rate is produced by calculating the number of proven 
offences per 100 offenders in the cohort. The analysis reported here 
concentrates on women and men released from custody or commencing a 
court order44 in the first quarters of 2007 and 2008. 
 
In 2008, there were 7,069 women and 46,649 men in the reoffending 
cohort. The lower numbers of female offenders compared to male 
offenders has been consistent since the first reoffending cohort in 2000. 
 
In 2008, women had a lower frequency of reoffending rate than men per 
100 offenders (150.5 compared to 156.2). These figures represent an 
increase on 2007 rates for both men and women. While rates for men 
increased by 4% (from 149.9 per 100 offenders), those for women 
increased by 16% (from 129.4 per 100 offenders). 
 
However, when looking at those offenders who actually commit a 
reoffence, female reoffenders were more prolific than male offenders, with 
females committing 422.6 offences per 100 offenders and males 
committing 383.1 offences per 100 offenders. 
 Outcomes of community sentences45 
 
Broadly speaking, the outcome of a community sentence can be positive 
(with the order running its full course or terminating early for good 
progress) or negative (with the offender failing to comply with requirements 
of the order or being convicted of a further offence). The available data 
showed that women tend to do better than men, with greater proportions of 
positive outcomes for both community orders (67% versus 63%) and 
Suspended Sentence Orders (73% versus 63%). In addition, fewer women 
failed to comply with requirements or were convicted of another offence 
while serving community orders (23% versus 27% for men) and 
Suspended Sentence Orders (20% versus 30% for men). 
 
A greater proportion of women on community sentences received one 
requirement (45%) than men (35%). Data on terminations of community 
sentences by the number of requirements imposed showed that, for both 
types of community sentence, the largest proportions of both men and 
women breached their requirements or otherwise failed to comply46 with 
their sentence when they had two requirements. 
                                                
44 Sentences under probation supervision excluding fines. 
45 As at 31 December 2009. 
46 Other reasons for termination include: expired (normal); completed (early good progress); 
revoked (further offence); revoked (on application); terminated (death); and terminated 
(other reasons). 
54 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Discipline in prison establishments 
Figures on discipline in prison establishments for 2009 were estimated using 
data from January to June 2009 due to a change in administrative data 
systems (see Appendix B for further information). These estimates suggested 
the following: 
 
In 2009, the rate of punishment in prison establishments was higher for 
women (150 adjudications per 100 prisoners) than for men (124 
adjudications per 100 prisoners). This was also the case in each of the last 
five years.  However, trend data indicate that the 2009 rate for both female 
and male prisoners represented a five-year low. 
 
In 2009, the largest disciplinary offence category that both women and 
men were punished for (69 and 47 adjudications per 100 prisoners 
respectively) was disobedience or disrespect (see Table 5.04). This was 
also the largest offence category in each of the four preceding years 
(2005–2008). 
Table 5.04: Offences punished per 100 population in prison 
establishments by type of offence and gender, 2005–200947 
 
2005
2006
2007
2008 
2009 
Males 
 
 
All offences 
143
131
133
133 
124 
Violence 
23
22
22
22 
21 
Escapes or absconds 
0
0
0
0 
0 
Disobedience or disrespect 
61
53
54
52 
47 
Wilful damage 
10
10
9
10 
10 
Unauthorised transactions/possessions 
36
34
36
37 
35 
Other offences 
13
12
12
12 
11 
Females 
 
 
 
  
  
All offences 
193
204
189
180 
150 
Violence 
33
33
30
31 
24 
Escapes or absconds 
0
0
0
0 
0 
Disobedience or disrespect 
86
99
93
83 
69 
Wilful damage 
14
12
13
14 
12 
Unauthorised transactions/possessions 
34
35
31
34 
29 
Other offences 
25
25
22
19 
16 
 
                                                
47 The number of offences within each offence group in 2009 has been estimated using data 
from January to June 2009. Please refer to Appendix B for detail on the estimation 
methodology. 
55 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
As in previous years, the rate of women prisoners being punished for 
violence was higher than for men (24 adjudications compared to 21 
adjudications per 100 prisoners). 
 
While the overall rate of women prisoners being punished was higher than 
for men, for one offence – unauthorised transactions/possessions – men 
were disciplined at a higher rate (35 adjudications per 100 prisoners 
compared to 29 adjudications for women). 
Safety in custody 
 
In 2009, there were a total of 24,114 incidents of self-harm48 in prisons, 
with 6,977 prisoners recorded as having self-harmed. Of these, 5,403 
(77%) involved men and 1,574 (23%) involved women. Women also 
accounted for around one-quarter of all those self-harming in prison in 
each year between 2005 and 2008. 
 
Between 2005 and 2009, incidents of self-harm for men per 1,000 
prisoners increased by 17% (from 150 to 175 incidents per 1,000), while 
those for women decreased by 17% (from 2,950 to 2,450 incidents per 
1000). 
 
Overall, more than one-third (37%) of all female prisoners self-harmed in 
2009, compared with 7% of all male prisoners. 
 
In 2009, there were 60 self-inflicted deaths in prison custody comprised of 
57 deaths of male prisoners, and three deaths of female prisoners. Males 
also accounted for the majority of deaths in prison custody in each year 
between 2005 and 2008. Due to the very small numbers, these figures 
cannot be taken as a good indicator of underlying trends and therefore 
percentage changes have not been presented. 
                                                
48 Self-harm in prison custody is defined as, “any act where a prisoner deliberately harms 
themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity of any injury”. In the community, 
self-harm is common but often covert. In prisons, such incidents are more likely to be 
detected and counted. 
56 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 6 – Women as practitioners in the Criminal 
Justice System 
This chapter reports on the gender of practitioners, employees, or volunteers 
in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) and how this has changed over time. 
A five-year trend analysis has been undertaken for the police, the National 
Offender Management Service (NOMS), and the Magistracy. However, due to 
changes to the classification or recording of staffing grades, this has not been 
possible for other criminal justice agencies49 where a comparison with the 
previous year only is made. 
The key findings are as follows. 
 
Women’s representation in CJS agencies varied substantially across 
different organisations – women represented 66% of Crown Prosecution 
Service (CPS) staff as at 31 March 2010, and 26% of police officers. The 
Magistracy comprised approximately equal numbers of men and women. 
 
Women were less well represented in senior positions in CJS agencies 
than overall. Women represented 66% of CPS staff overall, and 37% of 
CPS Senior Civil Servants; women accounted for 26% of total police 
officers, and comprised 13% of senior police officers; 42% of Senior Civil 
Servants at the Ministry of Justice were women compared to 68% of all 
staff. 
How many women were working in CJS agencies and at senior 
level posts in 2009/10? 
Police 
 
Women represented 26% of the 143,734 police officers in post (based on 
full-time equivalent posts) in 2009/10. This is a 0.6 percentage point rise 
on the previous year. 
 
Five-year trend analysis shows that the proportion of female police officers 
in post had increased year on year since 2005/06 (see Table 6.01). 
                                                
49 These are: CPS staff, solicitors and barristers, the Judiciary, Probation Service staff, 
Parole Board staff, Victim Support staff, Youth Offending Team members, MoJ HQ and 
Non-Departmental Public Bodies and Serious Fraud Office staff. 
57 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Table 6.01: Percentage of police officers in post (full-time equivalents) by 
gender, as at 31 March 2005/xx-xxxx-xxxx  
 
 
2005/06 
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09 
2009/10 
Females 
22.3 
23.3
24.2
25.1 
25.7 
Males 
77.7 
76.7
75.8
74.9 
74.3 
Total 
141,523 
141,892
141,859
143,770 
143,734 
 
There have been increases over a five-year period in the proportion of 
women employed as senior police officers: 9% of Superintendent and 
above grades at 31 March 2005 were women. By 31 March 2010, the 
proportion had risen to 13% (see Table 6.02). 
Table 6.02: Percentage of senior police officers in post (full-time 
equivalents) by gender, as at 31 March 2005/xx-xxxx-xxxx  
 
2005/06 
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09 
2009/10 
Females 
9.3 
10.1
11.1
12.0 
13.0 
Males 
90.7 
89.9
88.9
88.0 
87.0 
Total 
1,689 
1,662
1,699
1,713 
1,725 
 
Magistrates 
 
Women represented 51% of the 28,607 magistrates in 2009/10. This was 
a 0.2 percentage point increase on the previous year, although overall 
numbers had decreased, reflecting the reduction in the size of the 
magistracy as a whole. 
 
Five-year trend analysis shows that the proportion of females in the 
magistracy increased by approximately one percentage point from 2005/06 
to 2009/10 from 14,346 to 14,540 (see Table 6.03). 
Table 6.03: Percentage of magistrates by gender, as at 31 March 
2005/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
 
2005/06 
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09 
2009/10 
Females 
49.7 
49.7
50.1
50.6 
50.8 
Males 
50.3 
50.3
49.9
49.4 
49.2 
Total 
28,865 
29,816
29,419
29,270 
28,607 
 
Ministry of Justice HQ 
 
At 31 March 2010, there were 27,928 (this figure is headcount and 
includes On and Off Strength) staff in MoJ (excluding NOMS staff); 68% 
58 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
(19,070) of these were women. In 2010, 42% of the 204 Senior Civil 
Servants within MoJ (excluding NOMS) were women. 
 
These are similar to the proportions recorded for the previous year. 
National Offender Management Service 
 
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) includes public 
sector prison (HMPS), NOMS HQ and Probation Service staff. 
 
As at 31 March 2010, women represented 36% of the 51,212 staff in 
NOMS HQ and HMPS. This is a small decrease (0.4 percentage points) 
compared to the previous year (from 19,274 to 18,456). 
 
Female representation among Senior Civil Servants (those with grades 
equivalent to the Treasury grade of Senior Civil Servant50) in NOMS HQ 
and HMPS decreased from 19 to 16 women between 2009 and 2010. 
 
Separate data on the Probation Service show that, in 2009, men 
represented 29% of staff, and women represented 71% of staff. 
 
Five-year trend analysis shows that the proportion of women in the NOMS 
HQ and HMPS workforce increased by just under two percentage points 
between 2006 and 2010 from 34% to 36% (see Table 6.04). 
Table 6.04: Percentage of NOMS Staff by gender, as at 31 March 2006–2010 
  
2006
2007
2008
2009 
2010
Females 
34.2
35.0
36.0
36.4 
36.0
Males 
65.8
65.0
64.0
63.6 
64.0
Total 
48,874
49,571
51,239
52,956 
51,212
 
 
However, five-year trend analysis shows that the proportion of women 
represented among Senior Civil Servants in NOMS HQ and HMPS 
increased from 11% in 2006 to 23% in 2010 (see Table 6.05). 
Table 6.05: Percentage of NOMS Senior Civil Servants by gender, as at 
31 March 2005–2010 
  
2006
2007
2008
2009 
2010
Females 
10.5
21.4
16.3
27.1 
22.9
Males 
89.5
78.6
83.7
72.9 
77.1
Total 
38
42
43
70 
70
                                                
50 The top management grades. Please note that the number of NOMS Senior Civil Servants 
reported here varies from those reported previously because senior medical officers have 
now been included as equivalent to senior civil servants. 
59 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Crown Prosecution Service 
 
As at 31 March 2010, women represented 66% of the 8,882 staff in the 
CPS. This is approximately the same proportion as recorded for the 
previous year (see Table 6.06). 
Table 6.06: Percentage of All staff and Senior Civil Service staff in Crown 
Prosecution Service by gender, 2008/09 and 2009/10 
  
Non-Senior Civil 
Servants 
Senior Civil 
Servants 
All staff 
 
2008/xx-xxxx-xxxx
2008/09
2009/10
2008/xx-xxxx-xxxx 
Females 
67.1 
66.6
34.1
36.8
66.8 
66.3 
Males 
32.9 
33.4
65.9
63.2
33.2 
33.7 
Total 
8,611 
8,795
82
87
8,693 
8,882 
 
 
The proportion of female staff who occupied Senior Civil Servant positions 
in the CPS at 31 March 2010 was 37% having increased from 28 women 
to 32 women between 2009 and 2010. 
Judiciary 
There are more Recorders than other types of judge. A Recorder is a fee paid 
judge who is usually a practising barrister or solicitor. Recorders may sit in 
both Crown and county courts, but most start by sitting in the Crown Court. 
Their jurisdiction is broadly similar to that of the more senior position of a 
Circuit Judge, but they will generally handle less complex or serious matters 
coming before the court. 
 
In 2009/10, over 16% (201) of the total of 1,233 Recorders were women. 
This proportion is slightly higher than in 2008/09 when there were 1,235 
Recorders registered of whom 169 (or just under 14%) were women. 
 
Among senior judges,51 the number of women increased by one from 
2008/09 to 2009/10, from 19 to 20. Women now represent just over 12% of 
the 161 senior judges. 
Other Criminal Justice agencies 
In the supplementary tables accompanying this chapter, data are also 
provided relating to the gender breakdown of Probation Service staff, Parole 
Board staff, Victim Support staff, Youth Offending Team (YOT) members, and 
Serious Fraud Office staff. 
                                                
51 Justices of the Supreme Court, Heads of Division, Lord Justices of Appeal, High Court 
Judges. 
60 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Bibliography 
Corston, J. (2007) The Corston Report: a review of women with particular 
vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system. London: Home Office. 
Flatley, J., Kershaw, C., Smith, K., Chaplin, R. and Moon, D. (2010) Crime in 
England and Wales 2009/10: Findings from the British Crime Survey and 
police recorded crime. Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/10. London: Crown. 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb1210.pdf 
Hales, J., Nevill, C., Pudney, S. and Tipping, S. (2009) Longitudinal analysis of 
the Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2003–06. Home Office Research 
Report 19. http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/horr19c.pdf 
Home Office (2010) User Guide to Home Office Crime Statistics. London: 
Crown. http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/crimestats-userguide.pdf 
Millard, B. and Flatley, J (2010) (Eds.) Experimental statistics on victimisation 
of children aged 10 to 15: Findings from the British Crime Survey for the year 
ending December 2009 England and Wales (Second Edition). Home Office 
Statistical Bulletin 11/10. http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb1110.pdf 
Ministry of Justice (2009) Criminal Statistics: England and Wales 2008. 
Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/criminal-stats-2008.pdf 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Criminal Statistics: England and Wales 2009. 
Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminalannual.htm 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009. 
Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/omcs-2009-complete-210710a.pdf 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System. 
Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/raceandcjs.htm 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Reoffending of adults: results from the 2008 cohort 
England and Wales. Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/reoffending-adults-2008-cohort.pdf 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Safety in Custody Statistics 2009 England and 
Wales. Ministry of Justice Statistical Bulletin. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/safety-in-custody-2009-0710.pdf 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Sentencing Statistics, England and Wales 2009. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm 
61 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Ministry of Justice (2010) Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice 
System. London: Ministry of Justice. 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/womencriminaljusticesystem.htm 
Office for National Statistics (2010) 2009 Population Estimates Tool. Crown. 
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14060 
Povey, D., Coleman, K., Kaiza, P., Hoare, J. and Jansson, K. (2008) 
Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2006/07 (Third Edition). 
Supplementary Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2006/07. Home 
Office Statistical Bulletin 03/08. London: Crown. 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb0308.pdf 
Povey, D., Coleman, K., Kaiza, P. and Roe, S. (2009) Homicides, Firearm 
Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08 (Third Edition). Supplementary 
Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2007/08. Home Office Statistical 
Bulletin 02/09. London: Crown. 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs09/hosb0209.pdf 
Smith, K., Flatley, J., Coleman, K., Osborne, S., Kaiza, P. and Roe, S. (2010) 
Homicide, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2008/09. Supplementary 
Volume 2 to Crime in England and Wales 2008/09 (Third Edition). Home 
Office Statistical Bulletin 01/10. London: Crown. 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0110.pdf 
62 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Appendix A – Glossary 
Absolute discharge 
The court takes no further action against an offender, but the offender’s 
discharge will appear on his or her criminal record. 
Accused 
The person charged. The person who has allegedly committed the offence. 
Acquittal 
Discharge of defendant following verdict or direction of not guilty. 
Act 
Law, as in an Act of Parliament. 
Arrest 
The power of a police officer to deprive a person of his or her liberty in relation 
to the investigation and prevention of crime. Police officers have the power to 
arrest anyone who has committed an offence, is about to commit an offence, 
or is in the act of committing an offence. They also have the power of Arrest 
when a person is suspected of involvement with an offence. 
British Crime Survey (BCS) 
The British Crime Survey (BCS) is a large nationally representative survey that 
asks people in detail about their experiences of crime in the last twelve months. 
Burglary 
When a person enters any building as a trespasser and with intent to commit 
an offence of theft, grievous bodily harm or unlawful damage. 
Caution 
Simple Caution – non-statutory warning given to adults (aged 18 and over) by 
the police following admission of guilt, as an alternative to prosecution, which 
though not a conviction forms part of a person’s criminal record. 
Conditional Caution – warning under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (with 
reparative and/or rehabilitative conditions attached), given by the police after a 
CPS decision to issue and following admission of guilt, to adults (aged18 and 
over) as an alternative to prosecution, which though not a conviction forms 
part of a person’s criminal record. 
Charge 
A formal accusation against a person. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Circuit Judge 
A judge who sits in a Crown Court or in a county court. 
Committal 
Committal for Trial: following examination by the magistrates of a case 
involving an either-way offence, the procedure of directing the case to the 
Crown Court to be dealt with. 
Committal for Sentence: where the magistrates consider that the offence 
justifies a sentence greater than they are empowered to impose they may 
commit the defendant to the Crown Court for sentence to be passed by a 
judge. 
Committal order: an order of the Court committing someone to prison. 
Community sentences 
This term refers to all court orders except Suspended Sentence Orders and 
deferred sentences, which may have a custodial component to the sentence. 
Conditional discharge 
A discharge of a convicted defendant without sentence on condition that 
he/she does not reoffend within a specified period of time. 
Conviction 
When an offender has pleaded or been found guilty of an offence in a court, 
he or she is said to have been convicted. The conviction then appears on the 
offender’s criminal record. 
Court 
Body with judicial powers. 
Court orders 
The term court orders used in the text includes all the ‘orders’ listed. It does 
not include any pre- or post-release supervision. 
Court room 
The room in which cases are heard. There may be more than one court room 
in a court house. 
Court sanctions 
Once found guilty in a criminal court of law an individual can receive one of six 
broad disposals or court sanctions: an absolute/conditional discharge; a fine; a 
conditional sentence; a suspended sentence; a sentence to immediate 
custody; or be otherwise dealt with. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Criminal 
Person who is guilty of a criminal offence. 
Crown Court 
The Crown Court deals with all crime committed or sent for trial by 
magistrates’ courts. Cases for trial are heard before a judge and jury. The 
Crown Court also acts as an appeal court for cases heard and dealt with by 
magistrates. 
Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) 
The Crown Prosecution Service decides whether there is enough evidence to 
take a case to court, and whether it would be in the public interest to do so. 
After the decision to prosecute has been taken, a CPS lawyer or solicitor 
represents the CPS in court. 
Custodial sentences 
Sentences where the offender is detained in a prison, young offender 
institution or secure training centre. 
Defendant 
Person sued, standing trial or appearing for sentence. 
Discharge 
The offender is found guilty of the offence, and the conviction appears on his 
or her criminal record, but either no further action is taken at all (absolute 
discharge), or no further action is taken as long as the offender does not 
offend again in a certain period of time (conditional discharge). 
Disposal 
The end result of a trial at court. In this publication the disposals of interest are 
sentences, but other disposals are possible, for example, where there is no 
finding of guilt. 
District Judge – magistrates’ court 
A judge who sits in the magistrates’ court (not to be confused with those sitting 
in a county court). Previously known as a stipendiary magistrate. 
Domestic violence – BCS 
Domestic violence, as measured by the BCS, counts wounding and assaults 
which involve partners, ex-partners, other relatives or household members. 
Either-way offence 
An offence for which the accused may be tried by magistrates or by committal 
to the Crown Court to be tried by jury. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Family abuse – BCS 
Family abuse, as measured in the British Crime Survey refers to non-sexual 
emotional or financial abuse, threats or physical force or sexual assault carried 
out by a family member other than a partner (father or mother, step-father or 
step-mother or other relative). 
Fine 
A sentence of the court which involves the offender paying money to the court 
as punishment for his/her crime. 
First receptions 
These provide an indication of the number of new prisoners in a time period. 
A person received into prison to serve a sentence may previously have been 
received on remand after conviction prior to sentence and before that as a 
remand prisoner awaiting trial. First receptions will count that prisoner only 
once in the relevant time period in which they were first received. 
Her Majesty’s Courts Service 
Her Majesty’s Courts Service administers the civil, family and criminal courts 
in England and Wales. This covers the Crown, county and magistrates’ courts. 
Home Office 
The government department responsible for reducing and preventing crime. 
Homicide 
The term ‘homicide’ covers the offences of murder, manslaughter and 
infanticide. Murder and manslaughter are common law offences that have 
never been defined by statute, although they have been modified by statute. 
The offence of infanticide was created by the Infanticide Act 1922 and refined 
by the Infanticide Act 1938 (s1). 
Homicide Index 
The Homicide Index is a database held by the Home Office, which is 
continually updated with revised information from the police and the courts. 
Indictable offence 
A more serious criminal offence that can be tried at the Crown Court 
(indictable only) or at the magistrates’ court (either way offences). 
Intimate violence – BCS 
Intimate violence is used in the BCS to describe domestic violence, sexual 
assault and stalking. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Judge 
An independent office holder under the Crown appointed to administer the law 
and who has the authority to hear and try cases in a court of law. 
Judicial/Judiciary 
Relating to the administration of justice or to the judgment of a court. A judge, 
magistrate, or other officer empowered to act as a judge. 
Jury 
Body of 12 people sworn to try a case and reach a verdict according to the 
evidence in a court. 
Law 
The system established by an Act of Parliament, custom or practice. 
Logistic regression 
Logistic regression is a multivariate statistical technique that predicts the 
outcome of one (dependent) variable, from a set of other (independent) 
variables (such as personal, household, area or behavioural characteristics 
associated with a BCS respondent). The variable predicted must have only 
two possible outcomes; for example, logistic regression can model the risk of 
a person becoming a victim of a crime or not. The technique allows the 
assessment of which of the other variables are statistically related to a 
variable when the influence of all other variables in the model is taken into 
account. 
Magistrate 
Someone who sits as part of a group of three and acts as a judge in the 
magistrates’ court. Magistrates in England and Wales are trained volunteers. 
Magistrates’ court 
The magistrates’ courts are a key part of the criminal justice system – virtually 
all criminal cases start in a magistrates’ court and over 95% of cases are also 
completed here. In addition, magistrates’ courts deal with many civil cases, 
mostly family matters. Cases in the magistrates’ courts are usually heard by 
panels of three magistrates (Justices of the Peace), of which there are around 
30,000 in England and Wales. 
Multivariate analysis 
Multivariate analysis involves analysis of more than one statistical variable 
(e.g. age, gender, ethnicity) at a time. 
Notifiable offence 
Offence deemed serious enough to be recorded by the police (also referred to 
as recorded crime). Includes most indictable and triable-either-way offences. 
67 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Offender 
Someone who has been convicted of a crime. 
Partner abuse – BCS 
Partner abuse, as measured in the BCS, includes non-sexual emotional or 
financial abuse, threats or physical force or sexual assault carried out by a 
current or former partner. 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) 
PNDs were introduced as part of the previous Government’s strategy to tackle 
low-level, anti-social and nuisance offending. The police may issue a PND for 
one of twenty-five offences including three notifiable offences. See Appendix B 
for more details. 
Personal crime – BCS 
Personal crimes, as recorded in the BCS, refer to all crimes against the 
individual (not that of other people in the household). An example of a 
personal crime would be an assault. Published BCS data for ‘all personal 
crime’ excludes sexual offences (except for ‘wounding with a sexual motive’) 
as the number of these types of offences picked up by the survey is too small 
to give reliable estimates. 
Plea 
A defendant’s reply to a charge put to him by a court; i.e. guilty or not guilty. 
Police force area (PFA) 
The geographic area of jurisdiction covered by a particular police force. There 
are 43 PFAs in England and Wales. 
Post-release supervision 
All prisoners given a custodial sentence of 12 months or more serve a 
proportion of their sentence in custody and are then released on licence. They 
are supervised by probation staff before and after release from custody. In 
addition, offenders with sentences of less than 12 months who are aged under 
22 receive a minimum of three months post-release supervision, provided this 
does not extend beyond their 22nd birthday. 
Pre-court sanction 
Pre-court sanctions are out-of-court disposals that can be used by the police 
to deal with criminal behaviour. The two out-of-court disposals discussed in 
this publication are Penalty Notices for Disorder (PND) and cautions. 
Pre-release supervision 
Home supervising officers along with probation staff in prisons work jointly with 
prison staff on sentence planning and management, including consideration of 
post-release issues. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Principal suspect – Homicide Index 
For the purposes of the Homicide Index, a suspect is defined as (i) a person 
who has been arrested for an offence initially classified as homicide and 
charged with homicide or (ii) a person who is suspected by the police of 
having committed the offence but is known to have died or committed suicide 
prior to arrest/being charged. As more than one suspect may be tried for an 
offence and sometimes no suspect is ever brought to trial, the number of 
suspects is not the same as the number of offences. 
Probation Service 
The National Probation Service generally deals with those aged 18 years and 
over. They are responsible for supervising offenders who are given community 
sentences and Suspended Sentence Orders by the courts, as well as 
offenders given custodial sentences, both pre and post their release. 
Prosecution 
The institution or conduct of criminal proceedings against a person. 
Prosecutor 
Person who prosecutes – usually the Crown Prosecution Service (see 
prosecution). 
Recorder 
Members of the legal profession (barristers or solicitors) who are appointed to 
act in a judicial capacity on a part-time basis. They may progress to become 
full-time judges. 
Self-harm 
Self-harm in prison custody is defined as, “any act where a prisoner 
deliberately harms themselves irrespective of the method, intent or severity of 
any injury.” In the community, self-harm is common but often covert. In 
prisons, such incidents are more likely to be detected and counted. 
Sexual assault – BCS 
The British Crime Survey measure of sexual assault includes indecent 
exposure, sexual threats and unwanted touching, rape or assault by 
penetration including attempts, by any person including a partner or family 
member. 
Statistical significance 
In statistics, a result is called statistically significant if it is unlikely to have 
occurred by chance. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Stops and searches 
Statutory powers exist under section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 
(PACE), for a police officer to search a person or vehicle without first making 
an arrest. Other police powers not under PACE include Stops and Searches in 
anticipation of violence (under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public 
Order Act 1994) and searches of pedestrians, vehicles and occupants (under 
sections 44(1) and 44(2) of the Terrorism Act 2000). Searches for drugs are 
still permitted by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and those for firearms under 
the Firearms Act 1968. The police can also require people in a public place to 
Stop and Account for themselves i.e. their actions, behaviour, or presence in 
an area or possession of particular items. 
Summary offence 
A criminal offence which can only be tried by a magistrates’ court. 
Supervision tier 
Supervision tier indicates the level of intervention required with offenders, with 
Tier 1 being the lowest and Tier 4 the highest. The Offender Management 
Tiering framework is a way of categorising offenders according to the level of 
risk of serious harm and likelihood of reoffending presented by the individual, 
combined with the complexity of the sentence requirements. This process 
aims to protect the public by ensuring that the appropriate organisational 
resources, in terms of staff and time, are matched to the correct management 
of the case. 
Suspended sentence 
A custodial sentence which will not take effect unless there is a subsequent 
offence within a specified period. 
Suspect 
A person being investigated in relation to a particular offence or offences. 
Terminations 
A period of supervision (e.g. a community order) which comes to an end, 
either because the order has been completed successfully, or because the 
order has been breached and terminated early for negative reasons (such as 
failing to comply with its requirements) or because of some other neutral 
reason, such as the order being quashed by the court or the person having 
died. 
Triable either way 
These offences may be heard either at magistrates’ court or Crown Court. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Violence against the person 
Includes serious violence offences where the injury inflicted or intended is life 
threatening, and offences resulting in death, regardless of intent. The offence 
group also includes offences involving less serious injury, certain offences that 
involve no physical injury and some involving serious intent. 
Violent crime – BCS 
Violent crime, as measured by the British Crime Survey, contains the full 
spectrum of assaults from pushing and shoving that result in no physical harm, 
to murder. 
Witness 
A person who gives evidence in court. 
Witness and Victim Experience Survey (WAVES) 
The Witness and Victim Experience Survey is a quarterly national telephone 
survey which interviews victims and prosecution witnesses aged 18 years and 
over in cases where an offender has been charged and the case with the 
Crown Prosecution Service has been closed (i.e. an outcome or verdict has 
been reached). 
Youth Offending Team (YOT) 
A Youth Offending Team is made up of local representatives from the police, 
Probation Service, social services, health, education, drugs and alcohol 
misuse and housing officers. The YOT identifies the needs of each young 
offender. It identifies the specific problems that make the young person offend 
as well as measuring the risk they pose to others. This enables the YOT to 
identify suitable programmes to address the needs of the young person with 
the intention of preventing further offending. 
71 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Appendix B – Data sources 
Statistics on Women and the CJS draws on data from a number of sources 
across the CJS including data collected by the police, the courts and prisons. 
A brief description of the coverage of each of these sources is provided in this 
appendix together with any known issues relating to data quality. 
Chapter 2: Victims 
Homicides 
Homicide offences up to the financial year 2008/09 are presented in this 
report, with offences shown according to the year in which the police initially 
recorded the offence as homicide (not necessarily the year in which the 
incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made). 
 
The data refer to the position as at 24 November 2009 and are based on 
the latest published homicide chapter, which can be found at: 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb0110.pdf. These data will 
change as subsequent court hearings take place or other information is 
received. 
 
Data from the Homicide Index are deemed a better source of data than the 
separate main recorded crime dataset as it is continually being updated 
with revised information from the police and the courts. The Index also 
provides far greater detail than the main recorded crime dataset. 
 
Due to differences in the recording practice with respect to ‘no crimes’, 
data presented may not be the same as the provisional homicide figures 
presented in the annual Crime in England and Wales statistical bulletin, 
published each July by the Home Office. 
British Crime Survey 
The 2009/10 BCS had a representative sample of 44,638 adults over the age 
of 16.52 Interviews were conducted between April 2009 and March 2010, and 
respondents were asked about crimes they had experienced in the 12 months 
prior to interview. 
 
Respondents are randomly selected from the population resident in 
households in England and Wales. 
 
The survey asks about people’s experiences and perceptions of crime, 
and includes questions on people’s attitudes towards crime-related topics. 
                                                
52 Since January 2009, children aged 10 to 15 have been included in the survey. The first 
(experimental) results for this age group were published in Spring 2010 (see Millard and 
Flatley, 2010: http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb1110.pdf). The main report for 
2009/10 is based on adults aged 16 or over (Flatley et al, 2010). 
72 

Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
For the population and crimes that it covers, the BCS provides a more 
reliable measure of extent and trends than the police recorded crime 
series. 
 
Estimates of crime are unaffected by changes in public reporting rates or 
in police recording practices. 
The primary purpose of the BCS is to provide national level estimates and only 
limited analyses are possible at regional and police force area level. 
The survey has some notable exclusions. 
 
The BCS does not cover crime against commercial or public sector bodies. 
 
The BCS does not include some relatively new crimes in its main crime 
count, such as plastic card fraud, although additional questions have been 
added to the survey to capture such issues and are reported separately. 
 
The BCS does not cover the population living in group residences (e.g. 
care homes or halls of residence) or other institutions. 
 
As a survey that asks people whether they have experienced victimisation, 
homicides cannot be included. 
 
Due to sensitivity of reporting in the context of a face-to-face interview, the 
main BCS crime count does not include rape and other sexual offences. 
However, the BCS does provide estimates of the proportion of adults who 
have been victims of such offences via a separate self-completion module. 
 
The BCS excludes so-called ‘victimless’ crimes (e.g. possession of drugs). 
 
As a sample survey, it interviews relatively few victims of the low-volume 
crimes, such as robbery. Figures presented for these crimes should 
therefore be interpreted with caution. 
Further information on the BCS can be found at: 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/bcs1.html 
The User Guide to Home Office Crime Statistics is a useful reference guide 
with explanatory notes regarding the issues and classifications which are key 
to the production and presentation of the BCS crime statistics. The most 
recent version is available at: 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/crimestats-userguide.pdf 
Witness and Victim Experiences Survey 
WAVES is a quarterly national telephone survey which interviews victims and 
prosecution witnesses aged 18 years and over in cases where an offender 
has been charged and the case with the Crown Prosecution Service has been 
closed (i.e. an outcome or verdict has been reached). In the 12 months to 
December 2009, there were 19,364 interviews with victims. 
 
Telephone interviews are conducted with victims and witnesses in the 
following crime types: violence against the person, robbery, burglary, theft 
and handling stolen goods, and criminal damage. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
 
A sample of respondents aged 18 and over and for each Local Criminal 
Justice Board (LCJB) is drawn from the Witness Management System 
(WMS). 
 
Victims and witnesses in sensitive cases are omitted on ethical grounds: 
victims and witnesses of domestic violence or sexual offences, crimes 
involving a fatality, and any crime where the defendant was a family 
member or a member of the witness’s/victim’s household. 
 
Cases involving drug, fraud and forgery and motoring offences are 
excluded. 
 
Police officers or other Criminal Justice System officials assaulted in the 
course of duty, and all police or expert witnesses are also excluded. 
Chapter 3: Suspects 
Chapter 3 of this report draws on data on arrests for notifiable offences in 
2008/09 taken from the main arrests collection from police forces. These data 
reflect police activity rather than providing a complete overview of the crimes 
committed by offenders or their specific characteristics. These statistics relate 
to arrests for notifiable offences only, which form the basis of recorded crime 
statistics and are drawn from returns from the 43 local police forces in England 
and Wales. As well as trends in arrest rates in England and Wales, they 
contain breakdowns by offence group and sex. 
Police recorded crimes are those crimes which are recorded by the police and 
notified to the Home Office. All indictable and triable-either-way offences are 
included together with a few closely associated summary offences. 
Figures on arrests for recorded crime are not strictly comparable with Cautions 
and Court Proceedings data. This is mainly because the aggregated offence 
categories for notifiable offences do not directly compare with indictable 
(including triable-either-way) offence groups. In addition, there are differences 
between the time periods covered by the two sets of statistics. Court 
Proceedings figures relate to the year of the final court decision, rather than 
the year of arrest, and these may differ. 
Where a person has been arrested for one or more recorded crimes on the 
same occasion, the offence with the highest maximum penalty is recorded. A 
person will appear more than once in the tables if arrested on more than one 
occasion during the year. However, as with any data collection system, 
differences in recording practice (over time and across police force areas) can 
lead to an unknown degree of error. 
Data presented for juveniles and adults were estimated for 2004/05, as age 
breakdowns were not available for all forces during this period. 
Force level figures for arrests are published annually in Police Powers and 
Procedures England and Wales, including the gender breakdown of arrestees. 
Further information on arrests can be found at: 
http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/police-powers.html 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Chapter 4: Defendants 
Data in this chapter are for 2009 and draw on the most recent publications of 
Criminal Statistics 2009 
(http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/criminalannual.htm) and Sentencing 
Statistics 2009 (http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/sentencingannual.htm). 
Records from the criminal proceedings database are individually validated in 
an automated process that highlights inconsistencies. In particular, checks are 
made, where possible, to ensure that: 
 
the disposal given for an offence is applicable in law; 
 
hearings are consistent with the court they are heard in, for example 
indictable-only offences are heard in the Crown Court; 
 
disposals follow sentencing guidance given the age of the offender. 
In 2009, approximately ten per cent of court records received failed validation. 
These were checked with individual courts and appropriately amended. 
The Home Office and Ministry of Justice now group individual offences into the 
same offence categories. As a result bigamy has moved from sexual offences 
to ‘other indictable offences’; ‘concealment of birth’ has moved from ‘violence 
against the person’ to ‘other indictable offences’; and ‘vehicle fraud’ has 
moved from ‘indictable motoring’ to ‘fraud and forgery’. 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) 
Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), more commonly known as ‘on the spot 
fines’, were introduced under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 
(sections 1–11) as part of the previous Government’s strategy to tackle low-
level, anti-social and nuisance offending. The scheme was initially piloted in 
four police force areas in England and Wales beginning in August 2002. It was 
rolled out to all 43 police forces in England and Wales in April 2004. 
Under the legislation, police can issue a fixed penalty of £50 or £80 for a 
specified range of minor disorder offences, either on the spot or at a police 
station. The disposal has been designed to provide officers with a means of 
dealing with simple, straightforward cases in a prompt and effective way, 
saving police time, reducing bureaucracy and reserving courts for disputed 
and more complex cases. 
The statistics included in this report cover all penalty notices for specified 
offences issued by police forces. They include data on all payments made 
within the 21-day payment period, but exclude those paid following “fine 
registration” within the courts and any subsequent payment. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Offences which attract a PND are as follows53: 
Those attracting an £80 penalty: wasting police time or giving a false report; 
using a public telecommunications system for sending false messages; 
knowingly giving a false alarm to a fire brigade; causing harassment, alarm or 
distress; throwing fireworks in a thoroughfare; drunk and disorderly; selling 
alcohol to person under 18; selling alcohol to a person who is drunk; supplying 
alcohol to a person under 18; purchasing alcohol for person under 18 in 
licensed premises; purchasing alcohol for person under 18 for consumption in 
a bar in licensed premises; delivering alcohol to person under 18 or allowing 
such delivery; destroying/damaging property (under £500); theft (retail under 
£200); breach of fireworks curfew; possessing Category 4 firework; 
possessing adult firework by person under 18; and possession of cannabis. 
Those attracting a £50 penalty: trespassing on a railway; throwing stones etc. 
at trains or other things on railways; being drunk in a highway, other public 
place or licensed premises; consuming alcohol in designated public place; 
depositing and leaving litter; consuming alcohol by person under 18 in 
licensed premises; allowing consumption of alcohol by person under 18 in 
licensed premises; purchase of alcohol by a person under 18. 
Cautions 
This report includes data on offenders formally cautioned by the police by 
offence, age and sex. These data include ‘simple cautions’, ‘conditional 
cautions’, and ‘reprimands and warnings’ (which replaced cautions for juvenile 
offenders on 1 June 2000). They exclude informal warnings and other informal 
action, written warnings or cautions issued for motoring offences, and 
warnings or cautions given by non-police bodies, e.g. a department store in 
the case of shoplifting. 
The cautions statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the 
principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a person has been 
cautioned for two or more offences at the same time, the principal offence is 
the more serious offence. 
Cautions data for Nottinghamshire have been revised. Due to an issue with 
the data collation process, cautions for Black people were omitted for the 2008 
calendar year. These have now been recovered, which will increase the total 
number of cautions from the figures originally reported in Criminal Statistics 2008. 
Court proceedings 
The figures given on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these 
offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a 
defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for 
which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed 
for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the 
statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 
                                                
53 Please note that this list is taken from Criminal Statistics 2009. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Court proceedings figures included in this report are based on known ‘males’ 
and ‘females’. Following the introduction of the Libra case management 
system during 2008, offenders at Magistrates’ courts can now be recorded as 
sex ‘Not Stated’. These figures have been excluded from the report. 
Over the last ten years there have been three changes which have had 
significant effects on the division of workload between magistrates’ courts and 
the Crown Court. These were plea before venue, the power for the youth court 
to sentence young offenders to detention and training orders for up to 24 
months, and the power for magistrates’ courts to send persons for trial to the 
Crown Court forthwith without committal proceedings. 
The statistics of court proceedings are based on data supplied by police forces 
or magistrates’ courts. Although these include offences where there has been 
no police involvement, such as those prosecutions instigated by government 
departments and private organisations and individuals, the reporting of these 
types of offences is known to be incomplete. Moreover, it is thought that, for 
some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings (and in particular 
those relating to motoring offences and to TV Licence evasion), may also be 
less than complete. The extent of under-reporting may vary from year to year 
and this could be responsible in part for the annual variations in the published 
statistics. 
During 2008, data from Cardiff magistrates’ court for April, July and August 
were corrupted during the transmission to the Ministry of Justice. Despite all 
efforts by the court staff and IT departments, it has proved impossible to 
retrieve the information and it has subsequently been excluded from this 
report. 
Remands 
Although some information on the use of remands during proceedings is 
collected, the amount of detail recorded is limited and does not identify 
separately every individual offence, except where the data have been supplied 
directly from a court computer system. 
This report focuses on remands for those defendants sent for trial or 
sentencing at the Crown Court only. Data on Crown Court remand decisions 
are taken directly from the Crown Court computer system. The accuracy of 
data about Crown Court remand decisions has improved as a result of data 
being returned directly from the Crown Court computer system. 
Data on remands for the magistrates’ court are included in the supplementary 
tables for Chapter 4. Following the introduction of the Libra case management 
system in 2008, the recording of remand decisions are more complete, 
however technical problems with the coding of magistrates’ remand decisions 
persist. Therefore all magistrates’ courts remand data published in this report 
are estimates. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
The estimates for magistrates’ courts remand included in the supplementary 
tables were produced using additional data sources and assumptions. See 
Criminal Statistics 2009 for further details of the approach. 
Chapter 5: Offenders 
The data presented in this chapter are based on the most recent publications 
of Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2009 
(http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/omcs-2009-complete-
210710a.pdf), 2008 results from the Reoffending of Adults Cohort 
(http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/reoffending-adults-2008-
cohort.pdf) and Safety in Custody Statistics 2009 
(http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/docs/safety-in-custody-2009-0710.pdf). 
Offender Management Caseload Statistics 
Offender Management Caseload Statistics are drawn from administrative IT 
systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, 
the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale 
recording system. While the figures shown have been checked as far as 
practicable, they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily 
accurate to the last whole number shown. Where figures in the tables have 
been rounded to the nearest whole number, the rounded components do not 
always add to the totals, which are calculated and rounded independently. 
Prison data – estimation methodology for 2009 
In May 2009, the National Offender Management Service began the roll-out of 
a new case management system for prisons (Prison-NOMIS). During the 
phased roll-out, data collection issues emerged that affected the supply of 
data for statistical purposes from July 2009 to February 2010. Specifically, 
statistical information on sentence length and offence group is not available for 
any Ministry of Justice prison datasets for this period. For this publication, that 
affects prison receptions, population, and adjudications. 
In order to maintain an annual time series of data, and as announced in the 
statistical notice on the Ministry of Justice website on 26 March 2010, 
wherever possible the missing figures have been estimated for the second half 
of 2009. A number of estimation methods were considered, and each tested 
on the 2008 data (prior to the data problems, hence we had a full year of data) 
to see which yielded estimates closest to the actual 2008 data. 
People starting supervision: The statistics count each person once in each 
year for each type of supervision started in the year (e.g. once under 
community order, even if that person received more than one community order 
in a given year). Each person is counted only once in each total or sub-total 
even if they started several types of supervision in the year. Thus, the sum of 
the number of persons starting each type of community sentence exceeds the 
number of those starting community sentences in total. 
Terminations: The statistics count all terminations of all types of supervision in 
each year, including multiple terminations of the same type of supervision 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
(e.g. two periods of community order supervision terminating in the same year 
would be included in the tables). It is not yet possible to compare percentages 
over time because more time has now elapsed since community orders and 
suspended sentence orders were introduced in April 2005, allowing a higher 
percentage to run their full course. Comparisons will be possible, however, 
between 2008 and later years. 
Prison flows and population – F1032s and Inmate Information System (IIS) 
Prison establishments routinely provide records of the numbers of persons 
held in custody at the end of each month, broadly subdivided according to 
age, sex, custody type and sentence length. The records are collated and 
processed centrally to produce the main estimates of mid-year population 
presented in this report. These aggregate tables are called the F1032s. 
Establishments also record electronically details for individual inmates such as 
date of birth, sex, religion, ethnic origin, custody type, offence and reception 
and discharge dates and, for sentenced prisoners (including those recalled to 
custody), sentence length. These data are collected on a central computer 
database, called the Inmate Information System (IIS), and are used to produce 
the various analyses of receptions, discharges and time served in custody. 
They also form the basis of detailed population breakdowns, supplementing 
the aggregates derived from establishments’ monthly population F1032 
returns to which they are scaled for consistency. A new more detailed method 
of scaling was developed in 2004. 
Efforts are made to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the data, as far 
as is practicable. Establishments are not, however, always in receipt of the 
necessary details, notably regarding offences. Where the offence data are 
incomplete, the category “offence not recorded” is used. 
Counting procedures 
Receptions: There are four main categories of receptions – untried 
(i.e. awaiting commencement or continuation of trial prior to verdict), 
convicted unsentenced (i.e. awaiting sentence), sentenced and non-criminal. 
In the tables on remand receptions, a person is generally counted separately 
once if received as untried and once if received as convicted unsentenced for 
each fresh set of charges. A person first enters the remand population when 
remanded in custody on or after his or her first appearance in court on a 
charge or summons. If subsequently received under sentence, he or she is 
counted in that category also. An individual may thus appear in the tables 
more than once in different categories or on separate occasions in one year. 
However, supplementary Table 5.14 also shows the remand figures with those 
received as untried and subsequently as convicted unsentenced in a particular 
year counted only once. 
When a person is received under sentence and at the same time is dealt with 
for a non-criminal matter, or is already in custody under sentence for a 
criminal offence and is given a further criminal sentence or is dealt with for a 
non-criminal matter, only the initial reception for the criminal sentence is 
counted. Recalls to custody after release on licence or parole are excluded 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
from the sentenced reception figures, but those whose original sentence had 
been re-activated because of a new offence committed during the ‘at risk’ 
period are included. Persons transferred in from other countries, special 
hospitals or other non-Prison Service establishments are included in the 
appropriate category of reception. 
Offences: When a person is received under sentence for several offences, or 
if a person is received under sentence and at the same time is committed for a 
non-criminal matter, only the principal criminal offence is recorded in the 
tables. The basis of selection of the principal criminal offence is as follows: (i) 
where a person is received under sentence for two or more criminal offences, 
the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest sentence is imposed; (ii) 
where the same sentences are imposed for two or more criminal offences, the 
offence selected is the one for which the statutory maximum penalty is the 
most severe. 
Length of sentence: When a person is received under sentence for two or 
more sentences which have been passed at the same time and ordered to run 
consecutively, they are treated as one sentence equal in length to the 
sentences added together. In the case of concurrent sentences, the longest 
sentence is recorded. When a person is received to serve a period of 
imprisonment composed of a sentence for a criminal offence and a 
consecutive period of imprisonment in connection with a non-criminal matter, 
the total period of imprisonment is recorded against the criminal offence. 
Age group: In the statistics on receptions, adults are those aged 21 and over 
at the date of sentence, young adults are those aged 18 to 20. In population 
tables, adults include those aged 21 and over at the date of sentence and 
those sentenced to detention in a young offender institution that have had their 
sentence converted to imprisonment. The term young offender refers to those 
given a custodial sentence when aged under 21 who have not subsequently 
been reclassified as adults; it therefore encompasses inmates under 21 and 
those who have reached 21 but have not yet been reclassified. (Young adults 
are prisoners aged 18 to 20, but also includes those aged 21 who were aged 
20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult 
population.) 
Nationality: The nationality data are obtained from self reports of prisoners: 
this information is not checked by prison establishments before being entered 
on the Inmate Information System. 
Reoffending of Adults Cohort 
The data underpinning the results are felt to be broadly robust. Considerable 
work has been carried out to ensure data quality, and the data have been 
used for research publications. Scrutiny of the data source continues in order 
to ensure the data remain reliable. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
Safety in Custody 
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail 
collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording 
system such as the Incident Reporting System and NOMIS which was rolled 
out in 2009. While the figures shown have been checked as far as practicable, 
they should be regarded as approximate and not necessarily accurate to the 
last whole number. 
In prisons, as in the community, it is not possible to count self-harm incidents 
with absolute accuracy. In prison custody, however, such incidents are more 
likely to be detected and counted. Care needs to be taken when comparing 
NOMS self-harm statistics with other sources where data may be less 
complete. 
Prison data 
In May 2009, the National Offender Management Service began the roll-out of 
a new case management system for prisons (Prison-NOMIS). During the 
phased roll-out, data collection issues emerged that affected the supply of 
data for statistical purposes from July 2009 to February 2010. As a result, 
information on sentence length and offence group is not available for prison 
datasets for this period. 
In order to maintain an annual time series of data, and, as announced in the 
statistical notice on the Ministry of Justice website on 26 March 2010, 
wherever possible the missing figures have been estimated for the second half 
of 2009. 
Chapter 6: Practitioners 
Data on practitioners have been provided by the individual agencies listed in 
this chapter and are based on large administrative systems. As these systems 
are regularly updated, the data were true as at the specific date listed. As a 
result, data in this publication may not always be reconcilable with those 
published by the agencies themselves. 
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Statistics on Women and the Criminal Justice System 
82 
Contact points for further information 
Current and previous editions of this publication are available for download at 
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/womencriminaljusticesystem.htm 
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: Dr Louise Moore, 
Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice, 7th Floor, 102 Petty France London 
SW1H 9AJ, Tel: xx-xxxx-xxxx 
We welcome the views of users on the format, content and timing of reports. 
These views and other general enquiries about the statistical work of the 
Ministry of Justice can be emailed to: xxx@xxx.xx 
Other National Statistics publications, and general information about the 
official statistics system of the UK, are available from www.statistics.gov.uk