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Written question asked by Nick Timothy (Conservative) on Thursday, 10 September 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 September 2026 (named day). It was answered by Jake Richards (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Crimes against the Person and Theft: Convictions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were convicted of (a) theft from a shop, (b) burglary, (c) any theft offence other than theft from a shop, (d) robbery and (e) violence against the person in England and Wales in 2024 and did not receive an immediate custodial sentence; and how many people in each offence group were also convicted of an offence in each one of the other listed groups in the same year without receiving an immediate custodial sentence for that offence.

Answer

The information requested is provided in the attached tables. These tables include data covering the period 2024 on:

- The number of offenders who were convicted of a specified offence type (theft or violence against the person) and did receive an immediate custodial sentence, by the number of previous convictions for that specified offence.

- The number of offenders convicted of specific offences who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence, who were also convicted of another of the listed offence types without receiving an immediate custodial sentence.

This data is not regularly published or held in an easily accessible format. The information supplied has been sourced from a bespoke retrieval from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer.

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for the independent judiciary. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case, including the culpability of the offender, the harm they caused or intended to cause, and any aggravating and mitigating factors, in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines, developed by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor, with Sentencing Guidelines being clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed since the previous convictions.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
28883
Session
2026-27
Attachment
Table
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Crimes against the person Convictions Sentencing Theft
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk