NCJ Number
146462
Date Published
1993
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The Great Britain Home Office conducted a data collection exercise to monitor the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. Figures were collected on defendants sentenced for indictable offenses in nine magistrates courts and 10 Crown Court centers in the summer of 1992 and early 1993.
Abstract
The findings show a fall in the proportionate use of immediate custody, particularly among offenders with a number of previous convictions. Unemployed offenders and those sentenced for theft and handling stolen goods were more often fined in magistrates court than before passage of the Act. There was a rise in the proportionate use of community sentences, notably among offenders for whom a social inquiry or presentence report was prepared. There was very little change in the average fine for all males aged 21 and over in magistrates' court, but it increased for employed offenders and decreased for unemployed offenders. The use of presentence reports did not change in the magistrates' court, but increased in the Crown Court. 9 tables and 7 notes