Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average sentence length was in months for people who received an immediate custodial sentence and who had (a) no, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50, (g) between 51 and 75, (h) between 76 and 100 and (i) 101 or more previous convictions, and who were convicted of (i) violence against the person (ii) theft, (iii) drug offences, (iv) robbery, (v) common assault and battery, (vi) burglary in a dwelling, (vi) production, supply and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug - Class A, (vii) possession of article with blade or point and (viii) assaulting, resisting or obstructing a constable or designated officer in execution of duty over the last 10 years.

The information requested is provided in the tables attached with this answer. These tables include data on:

• The average custodial sentence length of offenders with a specified number of previous convictions who were sentenced to immediate custody, covering the period 2007 – 2018.
• The average custodial sentence length of offenders with a specified number of previous convictions who were convicted of a specified offence and sentenced to immediate custody, covering the period 2009 - 2018.

We know that some prolific offending can be driven by a variety of factors, including drug addiction and poor mental health. The Ministry of Justice has also published experimental statistics at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/756282/prolific-offenders-experimental-statistics.pdf which show that theft and summary non-motoring offences are the offences most likely to have been committed by prolific offenders.