Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of previous offences committed was by people given a custodial sentence of (a) up to six months and (b) six to 12 months in the last year for which information is available.

The average number of previous offences of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for (a) up to six months and (b) six to 12 months in year ending September 2018, can be viewed in the table.

The data relates to cautions or convictions for all criminal offences, imprisonable and non-imprisonable. Non-imprisonable offences will never result in a custodial sentence: the maximum penalty is a fine.

Sentencing must match the severity of the crime. We will always hold in prison those criminals whose offences are so grave that no other penalty will suffice. However, sentences should also rehabilitate. There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 found that over a 1-year follow up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended having been sentenced to custody of under 12 months without supervision on release than other similar people given community orders.

Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.