§ Mr. Peter Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give the number of persons convicted over the past four years of terrorist-type offences; and what percentage of this number received non-custodial sentences.
§ Mr. PriorInformation is available only on persons convicted at Belfast Crown court of offences which are scheduled under the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1978. I should point out that a few of these cases—it would not be possible without disproportionate cost to say how many—were by order of the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland tried with a jury as if they were not scheduled offences; and that not all offences tried as scheduled offences are necessarily terrorist-type offences. The number convicted over the last four years and the percentage of these persons who received noncustodial sentences are as follows:
Year Number convicted Non-Custodial sentences Percentage 1978 872 318 36 1979 869 335 39 1980 621 232 37 1981 557 177 32