Criminal Justice Statistics

This is the 2021 Criminal Justice Statistics annual bulletin; it is based on data that has undergone additional quality assurance and includes cases for previous periods that have become available since earlier publications. The bulletin is accompanied by tools and experimental statistics providing additional insight for users.

This report presents key statistics on activity in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) for England and Wales. It provides commentary for January to December 2021 (referred to as the ‘latest year’) with accompanying data tools providing offence level information.

The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to government policy makers in the development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation. Others will be interested in the way different crimes are dealt with in the CJS, trends in sentencing outcomes and understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The recovery at the criminal courts continued following the impacts of the COVID-19 response. Most measures in this bulletin have been impacted by the COVID-19 response and the latest figures represent both a reflection of the pandemic response impact and the initial indication of the continuation of trends that were apparent prior to the pandemic. 

This is the 2020 Criminal Justice Statistics annual bulletin; it is based on data that has undergone additional quality assurance and includes cases for previous periods that have become available since earlier publications. The bulletin is accompanied by tools and experimental statistics providing additional insight for users. For technical detail about sources, quality and terminology, please refer to the included guide to criminal justice statistics.

The most recent figures in this publication show the impact of the pandemic on courts and the criminal justice system following guidance and restrictions since March 2020. Therefore, most recent trends initially reflect the restricted operation of courts followed by the recovery. 

This is the 2019 Criminal Justice Statistics annual bulletin; it is based on data that has undergone additional quality assurance and includes cases for previous periods that have become available since earlier publications. The bulletin includes a wider range of commentary than the quarterly publications, and is accompanied by tools and experimental statistics providing additional insight for users.

Main points

• 1.52 million individuals have been dealt with by the CJS (excluding cautions)
• 1.37 million defendants were prosecuted in 2019
• The overall conviction ratio remained broadly stable at 87%.
• In the last 5 years the proportion of defendants remanded on bail has continued to fall, while the proportion not remanded continued to increase
• The custody rate for indictable offences fell to 32% from 33% in the latest year
• The average custodial sentence length (ACSL) increased to 21.4 months for indictable offences and was 18.9 months overall

 

This report presents key statistics on activity in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) for England and Wales. It provides commentary for January to December 2018 (referred to as the ‘latest year’) with accompanying analysis and presentation of longer term trends.

The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to government policy makers in the development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation. Others will be interested in the way different crimes are dealt with in the CJS. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with other sources covering activity in the CJS – in particular, numbers of crimes recorded by and the outcomes assigned to those crimes by the police (particularly charged/summonsed and out of court disposals), which is the starting point for some of the crimes dealt with by CJS agencies.

Main points:

• 1.59 million individuals dealt with by the criminal justice system (CJS)
• 1.38 million defendants were prosecuted in 2018
• The conviction ratio remained broadly stable at 87% overall
• The proportion of defendants remanded on bail has continued to fall
• The custody rate was 7% and the average custodial sentence length was 17.3 months
• Offenders with long criminal careers (more than 15 previous cautions or convictions) now account for nearly two-fifths of the offending population
 

This report presents the key statistics on activity in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) for England and Wales. It provides information for January to December 2017 (referred to as the ‘latest year’) with accompanying commentary, analysis and presentation of longer term trends.

The data provides users with information about proven offending and its outcomes in England and Wales. The contents of this bulletin will be of interest to government policy makers in the development of policy and their subsequent monitoring and evaluation. Others will be interested in the way different crimes are dealt with in the CJS. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with various sources covering activity in the CJS – in particular, numbers of crimes recorded by and the outcomes assigned to those crimes by the police, which is the starting point for some of the crimes dealt with by other CJS agencies.

Main Points

• 1.64 million individuals dealt with by the CJS
• 1.39 million defendants were prosecuted
• The conviction ratio was 86%
• For indictable offences, the custody rate was 31.8% and average custodial sentence length (ACSL) was 20.0 months

 

This is the 2016 Criminal Justice Statistics calendar year annual bulletin; it is based on finalised data which has been subject to additional quality assurance relative to the other, provisional quarterlies and includes any cases for previous periods that have since become available. In addition to enabling the examination of high level trends, this bulletin includes a wider range of commentary on topics not covered in other quarterlies, and is accompanied by various tools and experimental statistics enabling users to examine particular offences, outcomes and offender profiles in greater detail

Main points:

• 1.74 million individuals dealt with by the CJS
• 1.46 million defendants were prosecuted
• The conviction ratio was 85%
• For indictable offences, the custody rate was 30% and ACSL was 19.4 months
• First time offenders were more likely to be convicted than they were to be cautioned