Sentencing and immediate custody in Wales: a factfile

Jones, Robert 2019. Sentencing and immediate custody in Wales: a factfile. Justice and Jurisdiction, Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University. Available at: https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0...

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Abstract

This report offers the very first disaggregated analysis of sentencing and immediate custody in Wales and England. The research comes after a report by the Ministry of Justice’s (2017a:8) Justice in Wales Working Group acknowledged the need to take account of any potential “differences in sentencing” between Wales and England. The report draws upon data published by the Ministry of Justice as well as information obtained via the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Some of the key findings are outlined below. • Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe. • Wales has recorded a higher ‘home address’ imprisonment rate than England every year since 2013, the first year comparative data is available. • The total number of immediate custodial sentences handed out in England fell by 16% between 2010 and 2017. In Wales, the number marginally increased (0.3%) during the same period. • Wales recorded a higher average custody rate than England at the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court between 2010 and 2017. • The average custody rate for males was higher at the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court in Wales between 2010 and 2017. • The average custody rate for females sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court was higher in England but higher at the Crown Court in Wales. • Children were more likely to be handed an immediate custodial sentence at the Youth Court in England between 2010 and 2017. The custody rate at the Crown Court was higher in Wales during this period. • The custody rate for young adults was higher at the Magistrates’ Court and Crown Court in Wales between 2010 and 2017. • Adult offenders sentenced at the Magistrates’ Court in England were more likely to receive an immediate custody sentence between 2010 and 2017. The custody rate for adults was higher at the Crown Court in Wales than in England during this period. • Welsh and English prisoners from a White ethnic group were under-represented in prison in 2017. • The level of racial disproportionality was higher amongst the Welsh prison population than the English prison population in 2017. • There were 72 Black people in prison from Wales for every 10,000 of the population in 2017. This rate compared to just 15 White people per 10,000 of the population. There were 25 Asian people in prison per 10,000 and 37 people from a Mixed background per 10,000 in prison. • 1 in 670 Welsh people who self-identified as White were in prison in 2017. This compared to a rate of 1 in 140 for Black, 1 in 274 for Mixed and 1 in 395 for Asian. • The custody rate was higher at the Magistrates’ Court in Wales in 9 out of 12 offence groups between 2010 and 2017. • The custody rate was higher at the Crown Court in Wales than in England in 11 out of 12 offence groups between 2010 and 2017. • A greater number of short-term custodial sentences were handed out in Wales than in England between 2010 and 2017. 68.1% of all custodial sentences in Wales were for less than 12 months compared to 63.9% in England. • A higher number of sentences of 4 years or more were handed out in England (8.9%) than in Wales (6.2%) between 2010 and 2017. • In 2017, the average custodial sentence length for all offences in England was 17.2 months. This compared to an average custodial sentence length of 13.4 months in Wales. • Women are more likely to receive short-term custodial sentences than men. More than three quarters (78.6%) of all females sentenced to immediate custody in Wales between 2010 and 2017 were handed sentences of less than 12 months. This compared to 67% of male offenders sentenced in Wales. • One in four (24.8%) women handed an immediate custodial sentence in Wales were sentenced to one month or less in prison between 2010 and 2017. • White offenders (13.2 months) sentenced to immediate custody in Wales had the lowest average custodial sentence length in 2017. Black offenders recorded the highest average sentence length (21.5 months), followed by Asian (19 months) and Mixed (17.7 months) offenders. • The average custodial sentence length was higher in England within nine out of twelve offence groups in 2017. • The number of Welsh people in prison serving sentences of 4 year or more increased by 8% between September 2017 and September 2018.

Item Type:	Monograph (UNSPECIFIED)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Law Wales Governance Centre (WGCES)
Publisher:	Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 March 2020
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2022 13:33
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/129763

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