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9. Adult prisoners under sentence (Tables 23 to 26B)
Sex and age (Tables 23 to 23B)
9.1 There were 9,122 male and 485 female receptions of adults under sentence in 1998. This compares with 9,246 males and 452 females in 1997, a decrease of 1 per cent and an increase of 7 per cent respectively. The overall decrease was almost wholly attributable to a decrease of 3 per cent (204 receptions) in the 21 to 30 age group.
Main crime/offence (Tables 24 to 24B)
9.2 Adult direct sentenced receptions for non-sexual crimes of violence totalled 1,061 in 1998, very similar to the level in 1997. This included 378 receptions in which the main crime was serious assault (up 7 per cent when compared with the 1997 figure of 352), 305 receptions in which the main crime was handling an offensive weapon and 289 receptions for robbery. Direct receptions for crimes of indecency (223 in 1998) were comparable with the number recorded in 1997 (220). Direct sentenced receptions for crimes of dishonesty, which accounted for 41 per cent of all adult direct sentenced receptions in 1998, totalled 3,949 in 1998, almost identical to the figure of 3,944 recorded in 1997). The single crime category showing the largest numerical decrease was handling an offensive weapon which decreased by 54 (15 per cent). The number of receptions for all offences, including e.g. petty assault, breach of the peace and motor vehicle offences, decreased by 1 per cent between 1997 and 1998.
Sentence length (Tables 25 to 25B)
9.3 The decrease of 91 in overall numbers between 1997 and 1998 reflected decreases in all sentence length categories under 3 months. In contrast, receptions in most of the longer sentence length categories increased, with the only exception being the decrease of 61 (2 per cent) in the number of receptions between 6 months and 2 years. The number of adult direct sentenced receptions with sentence lengths of 4 years or more (excluding life) was reasonably constant between 1996 and 1998. The average sentence length imposed for adults serving sentences of determinate length was 298 days in 1998.
Average sentence length imposed by main crime/offence (Tables 26 to 26B)
9.4 Among the more common crimes and offences, the average sentence length imposed for determinate direct sentenced receptions of adults in 1998 ranged from 80 days (just under 3 months) for breach of the peace to 1,063 days (approximately 2 years 11 months) for robbery. Sixteen per cent of adult direct sentenced receptions for drug offences were for sentences of 4 years or more, only those sentenced for serious assault and attempted murder and robbery had a higher proportion of such long sentences.
10. Fine defaulters (Tables 27 to 33B)
Sex and age (Table 27 to 27B)
10.1 The number of receptions for persons who were imprisoned for defaulting on a fine was 8,400 in 1998. This represented a decrease of 22 per cent on the 1997 figure which reversed the increase of 19 per cent noted between 1996 and 1997. The number of male fine default receptions decreased by 22 per cent from 9,983 in 1997 to 7,771in 1998 and the number of female receptions for fine default decreased by 15 per cent.
10.2 The largest decrease between 1997 and 1998 in volume terms was in the 21 to 30 age group (down 1,240, 23 per cent). Similar decreases were observed in both the 31 to 40 and 41 to 50 age categories, with respective reductions of 545 (23 per cent) and 181 (22 per cent) from 1997 levels.
Main crime/offence — Young Offender and Adults (Tables 28 to 28B, and 31 to 31B)
10.3 Fine defaulters entering the prison system have typically been convicted of less serious crimes or offences than those given direct sentences. Charts 6 and 6A illustrate this point. The pie charts clearly show the significance of the more serious crimes and offences in the direct sentenced category - non-sexual crimes of violence and crimes of dishonesty - and the lesser nature of the more minor crimes in the fine default category. Although the proportions within the crimes of indecency category are identical they are differently constituted. In the direct sentenced category the receptions relate mainly to sexual assault and lewd and indecent behaviour whereas, in the fine default category, the receptions relate to ‘other’ crimes of indecency such as prostitution-related offences. Most crime categories for total fine default receptions exhibited a decrease between 1997 and 1998.
Chart 6 Direct sentenced receptions, 1998
Chart 6A Fine default receptions, 1998
Young Offenders (Tables 29 to 30B)
Sentence length — Young Offenders (Tables 29 to 29B)
10.4 In 1998, the average length of fine default sentences imposed on young offenders was 10 days, the same as the average recorded in 1996 and 1997. Between 1997 and 1998, young offender receptions for fine default decreased from 1,847 to 1,538 - a reduction of 17 per cent. This reduction is almost exclusively attributable to male young offender fine default receptions which reduced by 17 per cent between 1997 and 1998. The reduction in total female young offender fine default receptions was just over 1 per cent (from 76 in 1997 to 75 in 1998). The decrease in the total number of fine default receptions was reflected across most of the young offender sentence length categories (the two exceptions being ‘14 days’ and ‘60 days/2 months’).
Fine outstanding — Young Offenders (Tables 30 to 30B)
10.5 The average fine outstanding for young offenders in 1998 was £227, an increase of 5 per cent on the 1997 figure. The overall decrease in the total number of fine default receptions was reflected in all fine outstanding categories with the exception of the categories ‘£1,000-less than £2,500’, which increased from 16 in 1997 to 19 in 1998, and ‘£2,500-less than £5,000’ which increased from zero in 1997 to 1 in 1998. The largest decreases, in volume terms, occurred in the categories ‘£50-less than £100’ (down from 350 in 1997 to 263 in 1998 — a decrease of 25 per cent) and ‘£100-less than £200’ (down from 630 in 1997 to 476 in 1998 - a decrease of 24 per cent). The average fine outstanding for young offender males in 1998 was £230 (an increase of 6 per cent). The average fine outstanding for young offender females in 1998 was £164, which is a decrease of 5 per cent on the 1997 average amount of £173.
Adults (Tables 32 to 33B)
Sentence length — Adults (Tables 32 to 32B)
10.6 In 1998, the average length of fine default sentences imposed on adults was 11 days which again exhibited no change from the average since 1994. There was a decrease in the total number of adult fine default receptions of 23 per cent (from 8,873 in 1997 to 6,862 in 1998). As with young offenders, this decrease was reflected across most of the adult sentence length categories (the one exception being an increase of 1 in the ‘60 days/2 months’ category). With this exception, fine default receptions fell across all categories for both male and female adults.
Fine outstanding — Adults (Table 33 to 33B)
10.7 The average fine outstanding for adult offenders in 1998 was £242, an increase of 2 per cent on the 1997 figure. The decrease in the total number of fine default receptions was reflected in all fine outstanding categories with the exception of the categories ‘£1,000-less than £2,500’, which increased from 102 in 1997 to 110 in 1998. The largest decreases, in volume terms, occurred in the categories ‘£100-less than £200’ (down from 2,801 in 1997 to 2,069 in 1998 - a decrease of 26 per cent) and ‘£200-less than £500’ (down by 791, from 3,535 in 1997 to 2,744 in 1998 — a decrease of 22 per cent). The average fine outstanding for adult males was £246, an increase of 2 per cent from the previous year. Average fine outstanding for adult females for 1998 (£198) exhibited an increase of less than 1 per cent on 1997’s figure of £197. The adult male percentage changes within the fine outstanding categories from 1997 to 1998 are broadly consistent with the total adult changes. Although the female percentage changes are not as consistent, the numbers involved are small.
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