§ Mr. Dellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to supply the further information regarding not guilty pleas and acquittals promised to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead by the Minister of State, Home Office, on 9th August, 1972.
§ Mr. CarlisleThe information so far available in reply to the right hon. Member's request is set out in the following tables. The figures exclude a small proportion of offences—about 7 per cent.— where the plea was not indicated in the statistical records.
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TABLE 1 PLEAS IN RESPECT OF INDICTABLE OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN 1971: ANALYSIS BY COURT FINDING MAGISTRATES' COURTS, ENGLAND AND WALES Violence against the person Sexual offences Burglary and robbery Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Bedfordshire and Luton 126 69 274 29 4 83 137 62 792 Cheshire 164 180 673 25 14 158 124 214 2,594 Cumbria 44 52 189 8 5 64 21 49 707 Derby County and Borough 162 119 441 22 11 148 109 66 1,368 Devon and Cornwall 142 170 602 32 28 187 90 126 1,507 Dorset and Bournemouth 107 56 172 40 5 102 103 55 719 Durham 152 165 911 19 19 211 90 283 3,925 Essex and Southend-on-Sea 233 144 510 34 27 129 186 184 1,891 Gloucestershire 43 87 208 20 8 89 33 69 763 Bristol 49 89 232 14 12 72 70 64 658 Gwent 63 96 325 15 15 60 71 94 1,185 Hampshire 216 133 693 54 21 272 252 205 2,149 Hertfordshire 124 88 367 24 17 132 97 73 1,187 Kent 106 133 417 31 27 197 167 164 1,737 Lancashire 394 312 1,945 92 43 533 623 505 7,152 Liverpool and Bootle 183 221 457 16 20 168 310 356 1,952 Manchester and Salford 279 179 879 47 52 225 322 320 3,723 Leicester and Rutland 60 73 321 11 5 94 38 81 1,153 Lincolnshire 108 102 490 28 10 145 52 90 1,269 London City 19 28 65 2 3 7 48 37 172 Metropolitan Police District 2,369 1,400 3,746 398 227 1,339 1,969 1,703 11,102 Mid-Anglia 154 95 297 23 32 126 109 93 866 Norfolk 73 71 181 9 6 72 86 84 807 Northampton and County 103 125 199 26 16 63 107 135 1,033 Northumberland 120 120 407 18 6 153 155 199 3,020 Nottinghamshire Combined 300 247 1,010 28 15 193 127 185 2,202 Somerset and Bath 81 114 198 27 15 90 56 96 849 Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent 255 98 720 36 9 151 205 70 1,882 Suffolk 56 61 244 16 5 55 25 48 630 Surrey 64 71 250 20 13 107 40 89 937 Sussex 147 130 532 44 14 302 103 130 1,748 Thames Valley 143 230 428 15 22 89 126 242 1,369 192W193W
Violence against the person Sexual offences Burglary and robbery Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Warwickshire and Coventry 162 105 513 24 23 148 127 140 1,885 Birmingham 283 121 722 29 34 340 267 143 2,899 West Mercia 63 134 322 20 14 135 52 131 1,663 West Midlands 148 196 582 36 11 122 105 167 2,417 Wiltshire 30 27 130 11 13 55 29 54 570 West Yorkshire 317 298 1,262 66 23 407 272 360 5,537 Bradford 55 64 115 7 15 42 64 126 1,233 Leeds 117 78 330 43 30 177 173 105 2,173 Sheffield and Rotherham 63 77 405 11 9 149 46 67 1,145 York and North East Yorkshire 65 56 313 14 3 133 52 42 1,266 Kingston-upon-Hull 51 47 111 22 66 81 57 24 987 Teesside 74 82 505 14 8 113 106 146 2,218 Dyfed-Powys 87 68 131 19 2 45 63 57 457 Gwynedd 78 110 222 12 10 80 50 78 1,011 South Wales 425 192 604 107 31 234 437 299 3,389 TOTAL—England and Wales 8,657 6,913 24,916 1,658 1,018 8,077 7,951 8,110 91,898 194W195W
Theft and unauthorised taking, handling stolen goods and fraud Other indictable offences Total Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Bedfordshire and Luton 377 172 2,205 53 35 211 722 342 3,565 Cheshire 473 502 5,204 41 44 421 827 954 9,050 Cumbria 95 112 1,694 14 17 63 182 235 2,717 Derby County and Borough 315 215 2,870 55 47 285 663 458 5,112 Devon and Cornwall 430 559 4,682 75 80 444 769 963 7,422 Dorset and Bournemouth 458 324 2,317 82 43 338 790 483 3,648 Durham 226 388 5,938 24 23 358 511 878 11,343 Essex and Southend-on-Sea 667 474 4,184 106 58 424 1,226 887 7,138 Gloucestershire 149 229 1,822 19 34 188 264 427 3,070 Bristol 240 170 2,183 20 29 187 393 364 3,332 Gwent 238 199 2,486 14 42 183 401 446 4,239 Hampshire 828 611 6,485 123 60 705 1,473 1,030 10,304 Hertfordshire 276 180 2,759 84 44 285 605 402 4,730 Kent 417 404 3,942 88 100 636 809 828 6,929 Lancashire 1,302 821 13,945 123 97 1,025 2,534 1,778 24,600 Liverpool and Bootle 619 553 5,742 93 70 357 1,221 1,220 8,676 Manchester and Salford 608 569 7,756 67 51 623 1,323 1,171 13.206 Leicester and Rutland 178 214 2,968 25 32 173 312 405 4,709 Lincolnshire 170 269 3,446 32 37 315 390 508 5,665 London City 117 124 710 43 24 153 229 216 1,107 Metropolitan Police District 6,425 3,911 35,485 1,210 804 3,198 12,371 8,045 54,870 Mid-Anglia 412 294 2,511 14 46 193 712 560 3,993 Norfolk 283 252 1,904 19 39 177 470 452 3,141 Northampton and County 420 274 2,090 28 50 190 684 600 3,577 Northumberland 278 331 4,629 23 15 238 594 671 8,447 Nottinghamshire Combined 513 467 6,247 86 43 662 1,054 957 10,314 Somerset and Bath 244 227 2,319 21 44 158 429 496 3,614 Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent 446 240 4,413 89 19 444 1,031 436 7,610 Suffolk 167 269 1,626 18 37 132 282 420 2,687 Surrey 202 196 2,037 27 45 183 353 414 3,514 Sussex 580 551 5,287 105 77 486 979 902 8,355 Thames Valley 447 589 4,334 51 106 344 782 1,189 6,564 Warwickshire and Coventry 423 332 3,798 86 48 515 822 648 6,859 Birmingham 476 294 6,460 87 58 468 1,142 650 10,889 West Mercia 296 392 3,406 50 51 316 481 722 5,842 West Midlands 288 366 3,941 43 42 387 620 782 7,449 196W197W
Theft and unauthorised taking, handling stolen goods and fraud Other indictable offences Total Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Wiltshire … … 148 181 1,754 12 17 127 230 292 2,636 West Yorkshire … … 692 938 11,244 74 80 1,040 1,421 1,699 19,490 Bradford … … 146 184 1,827 20 30 271 292 419 3,488 Leeds … … 482 285 5,047 39 29 348 854 527 8,075 Sheffield and Rotherham … … 176 189 3,411 34 12 296 330 209 5,063 York and North East Yorkshire … … 178 96 3,137 13 12 214 322 209 5,063 Kingston-upon-Hull … … 148 89 2,882 22 41 221 300 267 4,548 Teesside … … 271 332 4,687 18 16 423 483 584 7,946 Dyfed-Powys … … 219 133 1,196 28 11 99 416 271 1,928 Gwynedd … … 201 290 2,550 25 39 208 366 527 4,071 South Wales … … 1,120 416 6,661 106 61 690 2,195 999 11,578 TOTAL—England and Wales … … 23,864 19,207 218,223 3,529 2,839 19,402 45,659 38,087 362,516 198W199W
TABLE 2 PLEAS IN RESPECT OF OFFENCES DEALT WITH IN 1971: ANALYSIS BY COURT FINDING HIGHER COURTS, ENGLAND AND WALES Violence against the person Sexual offences Burglary and robbery Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Bedfordshire and Luton 64 13 58 18 — 44 60 20 177 Cheshire 61 30 129 16 4 58 51 44 460 Cumbria 26 6 36 8 2 25 5 4 85 Derby County and Borough 54 41 109 12 4 50 40 20 406 Devon and Cornwall 94 54 154 22 18 72 54 26 378 Dorset and Bournemouth 51 26 43 29 5 43 62 30 261 Durham 40 37 138 10 12 91 29 53 800 Essex and Southend-on-Sea 110 48 114 22 16 50 105 52 437 Gloucestershire 12 19 36 17 3 39 15 11 188 Bristol 22 32 63 8 6 35 30 30 214 Gwent 11 24 36 4 4 25 13 29 188 Hampshire 135 24 248 45 3 141 129 26 623 Hertfordshire 64 33 104 17 9 61 33 12 301 Kent 64 44 83 26 18 81 65 57 370 Lancashire 169 52 390 53 7 83 163 42 1,693 Liverpool and Bootle 140 144 154 13 15 41 192 117 432 Manchester and Salford 168 70 176 26 30 67 142 105 539 Leicester and Rutland 46 40 65 9 2 53 31 27 408 Lincolnshire 52 42 98 26 6 80 25 25 290 London City 9 14 10 — — — 30 6 16 Metropolitan Police District 1,810 801 1,194 315 158 380 1,129 591 3,087 Mid-Anglia 60 25 75 16 29 53 29 50 l68 Norfolk 23 34 47 7 5 27 39 33 190 Northampton and County 31 55 42 12 11 25 26 39 254 Northumberland 52 29 83 12 2 66 58 36 496 Nottinghamshire Combined 107 67 137 10 6 57 48 61 508 Somerset and Bath 36 69 39 11 6 27 27 52 140 Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent 133 30 126 24 3 44 87 10 455 Suffolk 17 10 36 11 2 16 14 11 146 Surrey 42 35 80 18 11 59 27 34 283 Sussex 105 35 121 39 3 168 60 46 517 Thames Valley 36 45 32 2 9 19 34 80 125 200W201W
Violence against the person Sexual offences Burglary and robbery Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Warwickshire and Coventry … … 72 33 206 7 13 64 49 24 518 Birmingham … … 197 101 210 21 32 102 171 108 976 West Mercia … … 8 23 57 8 12 56 11 25 359 West Midlands … … 101 82 182 23 3 43 42 33 603 Wiltshire … … 19 3 30 10 9 23 14 11 128 West Yorkshire … … 148 75 253 40 8 177 103 76 1,028 Bradford … … 25 28 19 6 7 6 28 41 231 Leeds … … 59 26 127 35 17 81 80 10 626 Sheffield and Rotherham … … 45 41 157 8 5 67 19 16 240 York and North East Yorkshire … … 10 4 42 8 — 41 13 1 204 Kingston-upon-Hull … … 25 15 54 14 63 35 28 7 305 Teesside … … 23 6 61 1 2 47 32 21 417 Dyfed-Powys … … 28 27 38 11 1 17 12 5 66 Gwynedd … … 9 5 22 7 2 32 12 28 147 South Wales … … 191 103 175 74 19 98 152 87 590 Total—England and Wales … … 4,804 2,600 5,889 1,131 602 3,069 3,618 2,272 21,073 202W203W
Theft and unauthorised taking, handling stolen goods and fraud Other offences Total Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Bedfordshire and Luton 129 36 176 41 11 92 312 80 547 Cheshire 180 58 368 29 17 107 337 153 1,122 Cumbria 35 7 66 8 10 19 82 29 231 Derby County and Borough 54 34 265 25 28 109 185 127 939 Devon and Cornwall 163 97 290 66 53 202 399 248 1,096 Dorset and Bournemouth 195 72 306 77 34 144 414 167 797 Durham 54 81 349 10 13 103 143 196 1,481 Essex and Southend-on-Sea 290 123 303 91 36 173 618 275 1,077 Gloucestershire 56 69 155 12 19 45 112 121 463 Bristol 109 31 231 17 25 64 186 124 607 Gwent 46 64 133 1 22 28 75 143 410 Hampshire 348 76 620 93 21 341 750 150 1,973 Hertfordshire 101 25 259 67 20 132 282 99 857 Kent 162 107 336 79 73 171 396 299 1,041 Lancashire 303 39 919 86 23 301 774 163 3,486 Liverpool and Bootle 305 132 385 75 43 95 725 451 1,107 Manchester and Salford 196 111 261 42 30 93 574 346 1,136 Leicester and Rutland 101 89 275 21 32 70 208 190 871 Lincolnshire 45 49 168 28 13 72 176 135 708 London City 45 24 72 34 20 62 118 64 160 Metropolitan Police District 3,112 984 3,461 1,089 659 1,510 7,455 3,193 9,632 Mid-Anglia 121 64 182 7 36 79 233 204 557 Norfolk 123 87 246 17 23 92 209 182 602 Northampton and County 71 79 155 7 33 63 147 217 539 Northumberland 56 29 283 4 10 48 182 106 976 Nottinghamshire Combined 159 100 320 55 20 109 379 254 1,131 Somerset and Bath 102 53 115 17 36 18 193 216 339 Staffordshire County and Stoke-on-Trent 166 66 388 45 12 114 455 121 1,127 Suffolk 59 114 186 12 29 56 113 166 440 Surrey 97 65 211 24 33 73 208 178 706 Sussex 373 155 793 100 55 251 677 294 1,850 Thames Valley 68 115 149 31 65 48 171 314 373 Warwickshire and Coventry 110 92 566 77 20 345 315 182 1,699 Birmingham 257 214 846 63 54 172 709 509 2,306 West Mercia 68 92 262 46 20 81 141 172 815 West Midlands 106 102 462 39 29 198 311 249 1,488
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Theft and unauthorised taking, handling stolen goods and fraud Other offences Total Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Plea of not guilty Plea of guilty Police force Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Finding of not guilty Finding of guilt Finding of guilt Wiltshire … … 43 29 144 9 8 16 95 60 341 West Yorkshire … … 230 147 714 49 32 285 570 338 2,457 Bradford … … 40 25 127 8 16 53 107 117 436 Leeds … … 147 18 493 23 15 130 344 86 1,457 Sheffield and Rotherham … … 89 36 250 25 10 76 186 108 790 York and North East Yorkshire … … 29 10 138 4 2 55 64 17 480 Kingston-upon-Hull … … 66 16 181 19 36 36 152 137 611 Teesside … … 61 40 322 4 3 50 121 72 897 Dyfed-Powys … … 52 24 97 15 7 20 118 64 238 Gwynedd … … 30 17 69 19 19 98 77 71 368 South Wales … … 277 94 517 72 38 166 766 341 1,546 TOTAL—England and Wales … … 9,029 4,191 17,614 2,782 1,863 6,665 21,364 11,528 54,310
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TABLE 3 PERSONS DEALT WITH AT MAGISTRATES' COURTS OR APPEARING FOR TRIAL AT HIGHER COURTS SHOWING BY OFFENCE GROUP AND SEX THOSE WHOSE CHARGES WERE WITHDRAWN OR DISMISSED OR WHO WERE ACQUITTED ENGLAND AND WALES, 1971 Magistrates' courts Higher courts All courts Offence group Persons dealt with summarily Charge withdrawn or dismissed Percentage Persons for trial Acquitted Percentage Persons for trial and those dealt with summarily Acquitted, or charge withdrawn or dismissed Percentage (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Violence against the person M 22,617 3,107 13.7 6,602 1,301 19.7 29,219 4,408 15.1 F 1,550 308 19.9 388 93 24.0 1,938 401 20.7 Sexual offences M 5,098 441 8.7 2,432 359 14.8 7,530 800 10.6 F 28 10 35.7 23 2 8.7 51 12 23.5 Burglary and robbery M 53,989 2,460 4.6 16,181 1,164 7.2 70,170 3,624 5.2 F 1,610 135 8.4 508 59 11.6 2,118 194 9.2 Theft and unauthorised taking M 139,258 7,673 5.5 7,262 1,733 23.9 146,520 9,406 6.4 F 35,937 1,969 5.5 957 347 36.3 36,894 2,316 6.3 Handling stolen goods M 17,854 1,423 8.0 3,813 803 21.1 21,667 2,226 10.3 F 2,396 232 9.7 383 99 25.8 2,779 331 11.9 Fraud M 10,262 568 5.5 1,700 292 17.2 11,962 860 7.2 F 1,993 113 5.7 181 40 22.1 2,174 153 7.0 Other offences M 6,777 505 7.5 6,717 1,208 18.0 13,494 1,713 12.7 F 1,734 62 3.6 441 101 22.9 2,175 163 7.5 TOTAL M 255,855 16,177 6.3 44,707 6,860 15.3 300,562 23 037 7.7 F 45,248 2,829 6.3 2,881 741 25.7 48,129 3,570 7.4