Accredited official statistics

Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales

Published 31 October 2019

Applies to England and Wales

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Quarterly: April to June 2019

Prison population: 30 September 2019

Main Points

83,810 prisoners in England and Wales as at 30 September 2019	The total prison population is at a comparable level (less than 1% decrease) to the same point in the previous year.
18,370 first receptions into prison in the last quarter	The number of first receptions represents a fall of 5% compared with the same quarter last year.
15,708 releases from sentences in the latest quarter	This is 10% lower than in the same quarter in 2018. As the prison population shifts towards those serving longer sentences, we would expect fewer releases in a given period.
53,215 adjudication outcomes in the latest quarter	This is an increase of 9% on the same quarter of last year. Additional days were awarded as punishment on 5,117 occasions in this quarter – this is 8% lower than the same period in 2018.
6,531 licence recalls between in the latest quarter	This is a 9% increase on the same quarter in 2018, driven in part by an increase in HDC recalls following the policy change in early 2018.
254,165 offenders on probation in the latest quarter	This number of offenders on probation has fallen by 3% compared to the same point in 2018.

This publication provides offender management quarterly statistics for the latest date available and provides comparisons to the previous year.

For technical detail please refer to the accompanying guide, ‘Guide to offender management statistics’

1. Population

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The prison population stood at 83,810 on 30 September 2019.

The sentenced prison population stood at 73,366 (88% of the prison population); the remand prison population stood at 9,602 (11%) and the non-criminal prison population stood at 842 (1%).

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Figure 1: Prison population, September 1999 to 2019 (Source: Table 1.1)

Remand prison population

The remand population is broadly unchanged compared with the same point 12 months earlier. The number of males in custody on remand remained stable (at 9,031) whilst the number of females increased by 4% (to 571).

More than half (56%) of those in custody on remand were being held for either:

Violence against the person (23% of the remand population), Drug offences (19%) or Theft Offences (13%).

Sentenced prison population

The sentenced population has increased by 1% in the year leading up to 30 September 2019.

Broadly speaking, the longer term trend shows decreases in the number of prisoners serving determinate sentences of less than 4 years and increases in those serving determinate sentences of 4 years plus.

Sexual offenders

The rise in the long determinate sentenced population is in line with the increasing number of sentenced sexual offenders. However, there is evidence that this trend is levelling off, as there was a 3% decrease in the sentenced sexual offender population in the 12 months to 30 September 2019. As at 30 September 2019 there were 13,101 prisoners serving sentences for sexual offences, which represented 18% of the sentenced prison population.

In June 2018, the number of prisoners serving immediate custodial sentences for sexual offences reached its highest level since at least 2002, but has since been decreasing. On a quarterly prison population basis, the number of prisoners serving immediate custodial sentences for sexual offences is at the lowest level since December 2016.

‘Violence Against the Person (VATP)’ and ‘Possession of Weapons’ offences

One in every four (27%) sentenced prisoners is in prison for a VATP offence. This proportion has remained stable for the past 12 months. The number of those serving sentences for a ‘Possession of Weapons’ offence increased by 6% (to 3,026) compared to the same time last year. This increase can be attributed to a range of factors, including more targeted police operations against knife crime. However, this offence group only accounts for 4% of the sentenced prison population.

Extended Determinate Sentences (EDS)

EDSs were made available for courts to impose from 13 April 2015. On 30 September 2019, 5,546 prisoners were serving such sentences; a 13% increase compared to the same time last year.

Indeterminate sentences

As at 30 September 2019, there were 9,269 (8,918 male; 351 female) indeterminate sentenced prisoners (those serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences and life sentences) in the prison population. This represents an annual decrease of 4%.

There were 2,223 IPP prisoners as at 30 September 2019 which represents a decrease of 14% in the last 12 months. This figure has decreased since the June 2012 peak of 6,080, however the number of IPP prisoners who have been recalled to custody continues to increase; in the past year the recalled IPP population has grown by 25% (to 1,206).

The proportion of the IPP population who are post-tariff continues to increase; 93% of IPP prisoners were post-tariff as of 30 September 2019 compared to 89% at the same time the previous year.

The number of life sentenced prisoners (7,046) has decreased by 1% compared to 30 September 2018. There were 63 whole-life prisoners at the end of September 2019, with 3 additional life prisoners being treated in secure hospitals.

Recall to custody

The prison population who have been recalled to custody (8,096 prisoners) increased by 22% over the year leading up to 30 September 2019. This is linked to the increase in the numbers released on Home Detention Curfew (since the policy change in early 2018), with more of whom are being recalled to custody. Additionally, there have been increases in the numbers recalled from IPP sentences.

Foreign National Offenders (FNOs)

There were 9,221 (1,697 remand, 6,755 sentenced and 769 non-criminal) foreign nationals held in custody and the HMPPS-operated Immigration Removal Centre (IRC, at Morton Hall) as at 30 September 2019; representing 11% of the total prison population.

The number of FNOs in the prison (and HMPPS IRC) population has increased by 2% compared to 30 September 2018. The most common nationalities after British Nationals in prisons are Albanian (10% of the FNO prison population), Polish (9%), Romanian (8%), Irish (8%) and Jamaican (5%).

2. Prison receptions and admissions

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18,370 offenders were received into custody as first receptions in the latest quarter.

9,970 remand first receptions, 8,358 sentenced first receptions and 42 civil non-criminal first receptions.

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Offender first receptions

The total number of first receptions during Q2 2019 was 5% lower than the same quarter in 2018. This is in line with the longer falling trend over the past 15 years.

There were 2,657 first receptions of foreign nationals during Q2 2019 (a 3% decrease compared to April to June 2018). The five foreign nationalities with the highest numbers of first receptions in the latest quarter were: Romanian (456), Polish (324), Albanian (259), Lithuanian (167) and Irish (152). When taken together, these five nationalities accounted for half (51%) of the 2,657 first receptions of foreign nationals between April and June 2019.

Prison admissions

There was a 7% decrease in the number of untried admissions (to 7,465), but the level of convicted unsentenced admissions was broadly stable (0.3% decrease, to 4,949). The number of sentenced prisoner admissions was 5% lower than the same quarter in 2018 (to 13,904).

Conversely there was a 10% increase in the number of recall admissions (to 6,159) in the latest quarter (compared to the same period in 2018), of which the number of recall admissions from determinate sentences increased by 9% and those from indeterminate sentences increased by 24%.

Almost half of all sentenced admissions during the quarter were for sentences of six months or less (6,513, 47% of sentenced admissions). This sentence length band has seen an 8% decrease in the number of admissions when compared with the same quarter last year.

Former Members of the Armed Forces

When individuals are first received into custody, they complete a Basic Custody Screening (BCS) process. This serves to identify their needs in areas including employment, childcare and healthcare. As part of this process, they are asked whether they had served in the armed services.

Between April and June 2019, 357 matched individuals first received into custody answered that they had served in the armed services - this represented 3% of those who provided a response to the question at the point of their first reception during the latest quarter.

3. Releases

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15,708 offenders were released from custody in the latest quarter.

15,517 releases from determinate sentences and 191 from indeterminate sentences.

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Prison releases from custodial sentences – “fewer prisoners are being released from custody”

There were 10% fewer releases during the quarter ending June 2019 compared to the same quarter in 2018.

There were large decreases in the number of releases from short sentences (less than 4 years) but an increase (7%) in releases from longer determinate sentences (4 years or more) compared to the same quarter in 2018. This reflects the general trend in the prison population away from short sentenced offenders, to those serving longer determinate sentences.

There were 191 releases from indeterminate sentences (100 IPP, 91 Life) between April and June 2019, a 19% decrease from the same period in 2018. The number of IPP and life releases fell by 22% and 15% respectively.

Releases on Home Detention Curfew (HDC)

3,250 offenders were released on HDC during the latest quarter – this represents a fall of 15% compared to the same quarter in 2018. This fall in the number released on HDC reflects the reduction in the size of the pool of offenders eligible for HDC (8% lower than the same period in 2018).

Releases on Temporary Licence (ROTL)

There were 102,534 incidences of ROTL during the quarter ending June 2019, which is a 12% increase on the same quarter last year.

4,534 individuals were given at least one incidence of ROTL between April and June 2019 - an increase of 8% compared to the same quarter in 2018.

There were 147 recorded Temporary Release Failures (TRFs) between April and June 2019. This is a decrease of 11 compared with the previous quarter and an increase of 33 compared with the same period the previous year. TRFs as a proportion of temporary release incidences remain at a low level, with approximately only 1 in every 698 incidences of temporary release resulting in a failure between April and June 2019.

Prisoner transfers

There was a total of 20,668 recorded incidences of prisoner transfer during the latest quarter (2% decrease from last year). The majority of these (72%) were routine inter-prison transfers. 17,251 prisoners had at least one incidence of a transfer in quarter ending June 2019.

4. Adjudications

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There were 53,215 adjudication outcomes between April and June 2019.

This is an increase of 9% on the same quarter in the previous year, Additional days were awarded as punishment on 5,117 occasions in this quarter.

64% of all adjudications were proven.

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Around a third (31%) of proven adjudications were for offences of disobedience and disrespect, closely followed by unauthorised transactions (30%). The number of proven offences for disobedience and unauthorised transactions rose by 6% (to 10,585) and 3% (to 10,278) respectively on the same quarter of the previous year.

There was a 6% increase in the number of punishments (to 56,180). There was also a 7% rise in all proven adjudications (to 34,142) from the same quarter in 2018.

Additional days were awarded as punishment on 5,117 occasions between April and June 2019; this is 8% lower than the same period in 2018. A total of 86,357 days was awarded in the latest quarter – this represents a decrease of 10% from the same quarter in 2018 (95,754; April to June 2018).

The average number of punishments per offence was 1.65. This is broadly consistent with figures seen in previous quarters.

More information about the trends in Adjudications between 2011 and 2018 can be found in ‘The Adjudications Story’ publication.

5. Licence Recalls

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The number of licence recalls between April and June 2019 was 6,531, of which 644 were recalls from Home Detention Curfew (HDC).

The total number of recalls increased by 9% compared to the same quarter in 2018.

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The total number of quarterly recalls has generally been increasing since October-December 2016. The number of recalls in April-June 2019 was 363 higher than in the previous quarter. There has been a marked increase in the number of quarterly recalls since 2018, in part due to increased HDC recalls but also due to increased recall of offenders from determinate sentences of 12 months or more.

The number of recalls of offenders released from a sentence of under 12 months, ORA recalls, has been relatively stable since 2017. Between April and June 2019, ORA recalls (2,184) represented an increase of 6 from the previous quarter and a decrease of 27 from the same period in 2018.

After a fall in the number of non-ORA recalls from early 2016 to mid-2017, the number of these recalls (which include recalls of those with indeterminate sentences) has continued to grow. These recalls are usually not fixed-term recalls, so offenders tend to stay in custody longer following a recall. Consequently, increases in non-ORA recalls tend to lead to more sustained increases in the recall prison population.

There usually is more than one reason for recalling an offender on licence. In recent quarters, about 4 in 10 recalls involved the offender recalled for facing further charges. Non-compliance was given as one of the reasons for recalling in about 7 out of 10 recalls in April-June 2019, consistent with recent quarters.

Between April and June 2019, there were 108 prisoners serving an IPP sentence and 43 offenders serving a life sentence who were re-released, having previously been returned to custody for a breach of licence conditions.

Offenders not returned to custody

Of all those released on licence and recalled to custody due to breaching the conditions of their licence between April 1999 and June 2019, there were 1,848 who had not been returned to custody by the end of September 2019.

A further 17 offenders had not been returned to custody as of September 2019 after recall between 1984 and April 1999, meaning the total number of offenders not returned to custody at the end of September 2019 was 1,865. These figures include some offenders believed to be dead or living abroad but who have not been confirmed as dead or deported.

Of the 1,865 not returned to custody by 30 September 2019, 317 had originally been serving a prison sentence for violence against the person offences and a further 58 for sexual offences.

6. Probation

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The total number of offenders on probation (i.e. court orders and pre/post supervision) at the end of June 2019 was 254,165.

This represents a 3% decrease compared to the end of June 2018.

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As at 30 June 2019, there were 254,165 offenders supervised by the Probation Service (Figure 2), representing a 3% decrease compared to 30 June 2018. Overall, court order caseload decreased by 4% from 115,726 to 111,197 over the same period, with the number of offenders on a Community Order (CO) having increased by 3% and those on a Suspended Sentence Order (SSO) with requirements having decreased by 15%. The total caseload of offenders supervised before or after release from prison at the end of June 2019 was 148,741, signifying a decrease of 2% since the end of June 2018; those supervised under post-release alone decreased by 3% over the same period.

Figure 2: Number of offenders under Probation Service supervision, 31 December 2009 to 2018 and 30 June 2019 (source for latest period: Table 4.6; source for years prior to 2018: Table A4.13 of the annual probation tables)

During the quarter April to June 2019, 20,066 offenders started COs and 7,860 offenders started SSOs with requirements, representing decreases of 4% and 6% respectively compared to the same quarter in the previous year. Offenders starting pre-release supervision decreased by 8% over the same period.

There were 31,205 requirements started under COs overall between April to June 2019, within which alcohol treatment increased by 22% since the same quarter in 2018. There were also 13,498 requirements under SSOs between April to June 2019, with drug treatment decreasing by 11% since the same period in the previous year. Over the same period, accredited programmes decreased under COs and SSOs by 6% and 7% respectively.

In terms of the most frequently used combinations of requirements under COs, rehabilitation combined separately with unpaid work and with alcohol treatment increased by 8% and 18% respectively in April to June 2019 compared to the same quarter in 2018, whilst accredited programmes and rehabilitation combined saw a 21% decrease. Under SSOs, rehabilitation and unpaid work combined saw the largest increase at 17%, whilst accredited programmes and rehabilitation had the greatest decrease at 21%.

Of court orders terminated from April to June 2019, 68% of 17,249 COs and 75% of 8,080 SSOs (for the supervision period) were terminated successfully, i.e. ran their full course or were terminated early for good progress.

In the quarter April to June 2019, there was an 8% decrease in the number of pre-sentence reports (PSRs) prepared by the Probation Service compared to the same quarter in 2018. While 89% of immediate custodial sentences proposed in PSRs resulted in that sentence being given in the year ending June 2019.

Further information

This publication presents quarterly trends. For annual figures, and longer-term trends, please refer to our annual bulletin published in April each year.

Our statisticians regularly review the content of publications. Development of new and improved statistical outputs is usually dependent on reallocating existing resources. As part of our continual review and prioritisation, we welcome user feedback on existing outputs including content, breadth, frequency and methodology. Please send any comments you have on this publication including suggestions for further developments or reductions in content.

Accompanying files

As well as this bulletin, the following products are published as part of this release:

• A ‘Guide to Offender Management Statistics’, which provides comprehensive information about data sources and quality, as well as key legislative changes.

• A document outlining the ‘Users of Offender Management Statistics’

• A set of data tables, covering each section of this bulletin, including a prison population data tool.

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It is the Ministry of Justice’s responsibility to maintain compliance with the standards expected for National Statistics. If we become concerned about whether these statistics are still meeting the appropriate standards, we will discuss any concerns with the Authority promptly. National Statistics status can be removed at any point when the highest standards are not maintained, and reinstated when standards are restored.

Contact

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office:

Tel: 020 3334 3536

Email: newsdesk@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to the Justice Statistics Analytical Services division of the Ministry of Justice:

Nick Mavron, Head of Prison, Probation, Reoffending and PbR Statistics
Ministry of Justice, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ

Email: statistics.enquiries@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Next update: 30 January 2020

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly

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