Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which courts did not send people with the highest number of previous convictions for burglary to prison for a further offence of burglary in each of the years since 2010.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account of the circumstances of the case and the maximum penalty for the offence. However, when sentencing an offender the courts must treat recent and relevant previous convictions as an aggravating factor. There is also a mandatory minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment for a third conviction for domestic burglary. The sentencing guideline for burglary aims to ensure that the effect on victims is at the centre of considerations about what sentence each offender should receive. The average custodial sentence length for domestic burglary has increased from 21.4 months in 2009 to 23.6 months in 2013.

This Government is committed to strengthening sentences, so that they combine both punishment and requirements that are effective at preventing further offending. We are transforming rehabilitation, by bringing together the best of the public, private and voluntary sectors, and only rewarding them when they actually do reduce reoffending.

The highest number of previous convictions for burglary by an offender who was convicted of a further burglary offence and not sentenced to immediate custody for the further offence by court or Local Justice Area (LJA) in England and Wales, from the 12 months ending March 2010 to the 12 months ending March 2014, is given in Table 1.

The offenders concerned (and one of the two offenders in 2010, is the same offender in 2011 and 2013) have long offending histories, and they have received immediate custodial sentences for most of their burglary convictions, the vast majority of which were not for domestic burglary.

Table 1: The highest number¹ of previous convictions for burglary by an offender who was convicted of a further burglary offence and not sentenced to immediate custody for the further offence³ by court or Local Justice Area (LJA) in England and Wales, 12 months ending March 2010 to 12 months ending March 2014.