Prison Sentences
(asked on 23rd March 2021) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were sentenced to custody for 20 years or more, who were not subject to a life sentence, in each of the last 10 years.
Figures covering the period 2009 to 2019 for the number of individuals sentenced to custody for 20 years or more who were not subject to a life sentence can be found in the table below.
Number of individuals sentenced to custody at all courts, 2009 to 2019(1)(2)
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
Total sentenced to custody | 100,231 | 101,513 | 106,170 | 98,044 | 92,966 | 91,313 | 90,348 | 89,862 | 86,354 | 78,876 | 75,971 |
Less than 20 years | 98,778 | 100,073 | 104,907 | 96,848 | 92,491 | 90,807 | 89,888 | 89,376 | 85,874 | 78,291 | 75,391 |
20 years or more and less than life | 31 | 37 | 49 | 37 | 71 | 64 | 91 | 79 | 118 | 153 | 124 |
Imprisonment for Public Protection(3) | 1,001 | 1,019 | 819 | 747 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Life sentence | 421 | 384 | 395 | 412 | 395 | 442 | 369 | 407 | 362 | 432 | 456 |
Source: MoJ court proceedings database
Notes
1. The figures given in the table relate to defendants 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. 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. Sentences of imprisonment for public protection were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003, and abolished by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.