Written question asked by Lord Grayling (Conservative) on Thursday, 4 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 9 March 2010. It was answered by Claire Ward (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 March 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Fraud: Convictions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2010, Official Report, column 925W, on crime convictions, how many of the convictions in Table 6 placed in the Library, relating to fraud and forgery in Greater London and England and Wales, were of offenders aged (a) 10 or 11, (b) from 12 to 14, (c) from 15 to 17, (d) from 18 to 20 and (e) 21 years old and more.

Answer

The available information from 1997 to 2008 (latest available) is given in the following tables.

Number of defendants found guilty at all courts for fraud and forgery by age group in Greater London and England and Wales, from 1997 to 2008¹, ²
Greater London³
Number of offenders
Age group	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
10 to 11	—	—	1	—	—	1	—	—	—	—	5	1
12 to 14	13	10	16	13	7	13	8	13	6	12	25	6
15 to 17	110	115	153	144	211	194	161	130	115	75	94	93
18 to 20	336	367	425	453	452	463	414	399	359	262	272	289
21 and over	2,686	3,007	2,789	2,728	2,417	2,838	3,122	3,233	3,220	3,331	4,297	4,107
Total	3,145	3,499	3,384	3,338	3,087	3,509	3,705	3,775	3,700	3,680	4,693	4,496

England and Wales
Number of offenders
Age group	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	20084
10 to 11	—	—	6	3	2	6	1	1	4	2	6	3
12 to 14	82	91	86	92	78	98	78	83	70	62	87	47
15 to 17	724	872	988	922	933	842	732	678	614	537	583	469
18 to 20	2,171	2,495	2,866	2,638	2,584	2,331	2,146	1,977	1,785	1,444	1,435	1,409
21 and over	14,030	16,299	16,360	15,573	14,686	14,867	15,064	15,405	15,981	16,145	17,824	17,895
Total	17,007	19,757	20,306	19,228	18,283	18,144	18,021	18,144	18,454	18,190	19,935	19,823
¹ The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
² Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
³ Includes Metropolitan and City of London police force areas.
4 Excludes convictions for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008.
Source:
Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 507 c240W; 321303
Session: 2009-10
Related items: Crime: Convictions
Monday, 1 March 2010
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Convictions Fraud Forgery
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk