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Home Office

Answer

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of males aged (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20, (f) 21, (g) 22, (h) 23, (i) 24, (j) 25, (k) 26, (l) 27, (m) 28, (n) 29, and (o) 30 years or over (i) are currently in prison, (ii) have served a prison sentence or are currently in prison and (iii) have a criminal record. [55432] Mr. George Howarth: Information on the male prison population (excluding foreign nationals), by age, in England and Wales on 30 June 1998 as a percentage of the projected general population of England and Wales for the same date is given in table 1. Information on criminal careers is also published in "Criminal statistics England and Wales" (Chapter 9 of the 1996 edition, CM 3764), a copy of which is in the Library. These analyses are based on a sample of those born in selected years. The proportion of males who have ever been sentenced to custody for those born in selected years between 1953 and 1978 is shown in table 2. Rates for the 1973 and 1978 birth cohorts are lower than for those born in earlier years and are consistent with the reduction in custody for these age groups in the late Eighties and early Nineties. The proportion of males who have been convicted of a "Standard List" offence is shown in table 3. Rates for 1973 and 1978 are also lower than for those born in earlier years and the lower proportion who have a conviction in these age groups reflects the increased use of cautioning in recent years. Table 1: Male prison population{1} in England and Wales on 30 June 1998, by age, as a percentage of the projected general population in England and Wales on 30 June 1998 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Age Percentage{2} 16 0.21 17 0.44 18 0.70 19 0.89 20 0.88 21 0.88 22 0.89 23 0.80 24 0.78 25 0.72 26 0.66 27 0.63 28 0.58 29 0.55 30+ 0.16 Total 0.28 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Excludes foreign nationals {2} Based on comparisons between the prison population in England and Wales on 30 June 1998 and the Government Actuary population projection for England and Wales in mid 1998 Table 2: Estimates of the proportion of the male population who have served a prison sentence or are currently in prison for a standard list offence{1} England and Wales Percentage _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year of birth Age 1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 16 1.6 1.3 1.6 1.4 0.5 0.2 17 2.4 2.3 2.6 2.2 1.0 0.5 18 3.2 3.0 3.5 2.9 1.6 1.0 19 3.8 3.6 4.4 3.6 2.3 1.8 20 4.1 4.1 5.0 4.2 2.8 -- 21 4.4 4.4 5.6 4.5 3.5 -- 22 4.7 4.8 6.0 4.9 4.0 -- 23 4.9 5.2 6.3 5.2 4.2 -- 24 5.1 5.5 6.6 5.5 -- -- 25 5.3 5.7 6.9 -- -- -- 26 5.4 5.9 7.0 -- -- -- 27 5.6 6.1 7.2 -- -- -- 28 5.8 6.3 7.4 -- -- -- 29 5.9 6.4 -- -- -- -- 30 6.1 6.5 -- -- -- -- 31 6.2 6.7 -- -- -- -- 32 6.4 6.8 -- -- -- -- 33 6.5 6.9 -- -- -- -- 34 6.5 -- -- -- -- -- 35 6.6 -- -- -- -- -- 36 6.7 -- -- -- -- -- 37 6.8 -- -- -- -- -- 38 6.9 -- -- -- -- -- 39 6.9 -- -- -- -- -- _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} The standard list consists of all indictable and some of the more serious summary offences. See Appendix 5 of Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1996 (Cm. 3764) for further details Table 3: Estimates of the proportion of the male population with a criminal record for one or more standard list{1} offences England and Wales Percentage _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year of birth Age 1953 1958 1963 1968 1973 1978 16 11.9 13.4 12.8 10.6 5.5 4.1 17 14.9 16.7 16.3 13.8 8.7 6.6 18 17.7 19.7 19.9 16.7 11.8 9.9 19 19.9 22.2 22.8 19.2 13.9 -- 20 21.7 24.3 25.0 21.2 15.6 -- 21 23.3 26.1 26.6 22.9 17.2 -- 22 24.7 27.4 27.9 24.2 19.0 -- 23 25.9 28.6 28.9 25.3 19.8 -- 24 27.0 29.7 29.8 26.0 -- -- 25 27.8 30.5 30.7 -- -- -- 26 28.7 30.5 31.4 -- -- -- 27 29.4 31.7 32.1 -- -- -- 28 30.0 32.7 -- -- -- -- 29 30.6 32.7 -- -- -- -- 30 31.0 33.2 -- -- -- -- 31 31.5 33.6 -- -- -- -- 32 32.0 34.0 -- -- -- -- 33 32.3 34.4 -- -- -- -- 34 32.7 -- -- -- -- -- 35 33.0 -- -- -- -- -- 36 33.2 -- -- -- -- -- 37 33.5 -- -- -- -- -- 38 33.8 -- -- -- -- -- 39 34.0 -- -- -- -- -- _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} The standard list consists of all indictable and some of the more serious summary offences. See Appendix 5 of Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1996 (Cm. 3764) for further details

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

317 c936-8W; 55432

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Criminal records Prisoners Prisons Men Population Sentencing

Contains statistics

Yes