Criminal Statistics, 2008

The statistics include data on offenders dealt with by formal police cautions, reprimands or warning, or criminal court proceedings for England and Wales for the period up to the end of December 2008. The latest release updates the statistics previously released on 4 December 2008.

The key points for Wales are:

• The number of offences brought to justice in 2008-09 in Wales was 79,000; a 4 per cent decrease compared with the previous financial year. Of these, there were 44,000 convictions and 19,000 cautions. In 2008-09 there were 237,000 crimes recorded by the police in Wales(1).
• Of the 75,000 persons found guilty for all offences in 2008, 76 per cent were male and 24 per cent were female; 6 per cent were aged between 10 and 18, 11 per cent between 18 and 21, and 84 per cent were aged 21 and over(2). There were also 532 other defendants (e.g. companies, public bodies, etc) found guilty.
• Of the 18,000 persons found guilty for all indictable offences in 2008: 33 per cent were found guilty of theft and handling of stolen goods; 18 per cent of drug offences; 14 per cent of violence against the person; 13 per cent of other indictable (non-motoring) offences; 8 per cent of burglary; 5 per cent of criminal damage; 4 per cent of fraud and forgery; 2 per cent of indictable motoring offences; 2 per cent of sexual offences and 1 per cent of robbery.
• Of the 42 police force areas across England and Wales(3), Dyfed-Powys ranked 12 out of 42 for the proportion of the population found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences. South Wales ranked 13 out of 42, Gwent ranked 15 and North Wales ranked 20.
• The number of penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) issued to persons aged 16 and over for all offences in 2008 was 9,800; a 34 per cent decrease compared with 2007. Of these, 40 per cent were issued in North Wales, 30 per cent in South Wales, 20 per cent in Gwent and 10 per cent in Dyfed-Powys.
• 18,000 persons were cautioned. Of these cautions 53 per cent were issued for indictable offences and 47 per cent were issued for summary non-motoring offences. Of those cautioned 34 per cent were aged between 10 and 18, 16 per cent were aged between 18 and 21, and 50 per cent were aged over 21.
• In 2008, Dyfed-Powys had the highest cautioning rate for indictable offences in England and Wales at 53 per cent. Gwent had 41 per cent, South Wales and North Wales both had the lowest rate at  29 per cent.
• 4,600 defendants were proceeded against at the Crown Court centres in Cardiff, Swansea, Mold (all first tier) and Merthyr Tydfil (second tier). Of these, 81 per cent were found guilty. The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates’ courts for indictable offences was 22,000. Of these, 64 per cent were found guilty.
• There were 11,700 proceedings at magistrates’ courts for motoring offences in Dyfed Powys in 2008 (13 per cent lower than 2007), 9,800 proceedings in Gwent (a 42 per cent reduction), 18,700 proceedings in North Wales (a 9 per cent reduction), and 34,100 proceedings in South Wales (34 per cent lower than 2007). All four police force areas had the lowest number of proceedings in the last 10 years. The findings of guilt were 70, 83, 76 and 64 per cent of offences, respectively.

Note: During 2008, data from Cardiff Magistrates’ court for April, July and August were corrupted during the transmission to the Ministry of Justice. Despite all efforts by the court staff and IT departments it has proved impossible to retrieve the information and has subsequently been excluded from this report.

(1) Does not include the British Transport Police
(2) Percentages do not add up to 100 due to rounding
(3) Metropolitan Police & City of London counted together

For further information, please refer to the Ministry of Justice website to access the report in full.

Contact

Tel: 029 2082 5208
E-mail: stats.inclusion@wales.gsi.gov.uk

Next update

November 2010 (provisional - to be confirmed on Due Out Soon page)