Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2023
Overview of trends in the use of out of court disposals, defendants prosecuted, offenders convicted, remand and sentencing decisions in England and Wales.
Applies to England and Wales
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This report presents key statistics on activity in the criminal justice system for England and Wales. It provides information up to the year ending December 2023 with accompanying commentary, analysis and presentation of longer-term trends.
Statistician鈥檚 comment
Prosecutions and convictions continued to increase in 2023, with prosecutions for indictable offences reaching a similar volume seen in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Theft offences presented the largest increase, driven by theft from shops. Sexual offence prosecutions rose for the fifth consecutive year, primarily driven by adult rape and sexual assault.
The custody rate for indictable offences increased slightly to 33.5% in the latest year and the average custodial sentence length rose for both indictable and all offences.