Homicide
(asked on 1st July 2014) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of (a) murder, (b) manslaughter, (c) causing death by dangerous driving and (d) infanticide in each of the last 10 years in England and Wales.
The number of defendants found guilty at all courts for murder, manslaughter, infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving in England and Wales from 2003 to 2013 (latest available) can be viewed in the table.
Generally, crime has fallen over this period, and conviction rates have remained broadly stable.
Since 2010 a greater proportion of convicted criminals are going to prison and their sentences are longer than ever before.
| Defendants found guilty at all courts for murder, manslaughter, infanticide and causing death by dangerous driving, England and Wales, 2003-2013(1)(2) | ||||||||||||
| Offences | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| Murder (3) | 277 | 361 | 394 | 372 | 369 | 439 | 376 | 346 | 343 | 356 | 314 | |
| Manslaughter (4) | 244 | 265 | 260 | 212 | 226 | 248 | 219 | 209 | 173 | 166 | 171 | |
| Infanticide (5) | - | . | 2 | 1 | 2 | . | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Causing death by dangerous driving (6) | 233 | 241 | 255 | 223 | 233 | 221 | 225 | 154 | 114 | 116 | 109 | |
| "-" Nil | ||||||||||||
| (1) The figures given in the table 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. | ||||||||||||
| (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. | ||||||||||||
| (3) Includes all murder offences under Common Law and including by virtue of ss9/10 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 | ||||||||||||
| (4) Offences against the Person Act 1861 S.9 | ||||||||||||
| (5) Infanticide Act 1938 S.1(1) | ||||||||||||
| (6) Road Traffic Act 1988 as added by Road Traffic Act 1991 S.1 | ||||||||||||
| Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice. | ||||||||||||
| PQ 203223 Table | ||||||||||||