§ Mr. Whitakerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Deparment what figures he has as to the average prison sentence imposed by senior courts for offences against property, compared with those for offences against the person.
§ Mr. Taverne:Information about the length of sentence imposed by the higher courts in England and Wales is given in Table III of the Criminal Statistics. In 1966 the length of imprisonment most frequently imposed was:
For offences against the person, over 1 year and up to 2 years;For offences against property with violence. over 1 year and up to 2 years;For offences against property without violence, over 6 months and up to 1 year.Sentences take account of so many factors and vary so widely within the whole range of custodial and non-custodial treatment that it might be misleading to quote an average length of sentence.