Philip Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of offenders given custodial sentences for offences committed during the public disorder in London in August 2011 were given terms of imprisonment of 12 months or less.

Mike Penning

Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent judiciary, taking account all of the circumstances of the case. Numerous offences were committed during the disorder including theft, criminal damage, burglary and various disorder offences but most commonly violent disorder. As of 10 August 2012, of the 2,138 persons sentenced, 1,396 (65 per cent) were sentenced at the Crown Court, of which 1,137 (81 per cent) received immediate custodial sentences with an average custodial sentence length (ACSL) of 19.6 months. This compares to an ACSL of 11.3 months for offenders committed for sentence at the Crown Court for similar offences in England and Wales 2010.

The latest available data shows that the number of offenders given a custodial sentence of 12 months or less for offences committed during the public disorder in London in August 2011 was 640.