§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many committed persons are currently detained in (a) detention centres and (b) borstal institutions;
(2) what is the average length of time currently being served by inmates of (a) detention centres and (b) borstal institutions.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesOn 30th April 1977, there were 2,021 people in detention centres and 5,603 in borstals. A sentence of borstal training is not of specific length, so the table below covers only the sentences being served by those in detention centres; because of the form of the variation in the lengths of sentence, the distribution is given instead of the average.
Persons in detention centres on 30th April 1978 by sentence length Sentence length Number Up to and including 3 months 1,507 Over 3 up to and including 4 months 17 Over 4 up to and including 6 months 493 Over 6 months 4 Total 2,021