Table 1: Number of female defendants dealt with at magistrates' court and Crown Court, 2013 to 2017 (a)(b)(c)

2013

2014

2015

2016

Number of prosecutions at magistrates' court (d)

340,603

360,830

368,580

359,036

Number dealt with at Crown Court (e)(f)

10,454

10,804

11,393

9,899

Source: Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database

(a) Defendants committed for trial or sentencing from the magistrates' to the Crown Court and dealt with within the same year will be counted twice.

(b) If an individual is proceeded against on separate occasions within a year they will be counted twice.

(c) A defendant who is committed from magistrates’ courts to the Crown Court may not have both courts' processes complete within the same year, in which case they would be counted for each stage in the year that the court where it took place completed. Defendants who appear before both courts may also be convicted at the Crown Court for a different offence to that for which they are counted as having been originally proceeded against at magistrates’ court, where the offence is changed after committal.

(d) The proportion of defendants who appear in person before a Magistrate is unknown, as some cases can be dealt with dealt with remotely such as Single Justice Procedure cases.

(e) Includes total for trial at Crown Court and Convicted at magistrates' courts (committed for sentencing).

(f) Figures for defendants dealt with at the Crown Court include individuals who were not tried.