§ Mr. John Wellsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of prosecutions, successful and unsuccessful, brought in magistrates' courts in England and Wales in the last complete year for which figures are available; what was the comparable figure for 10 years previously; and what was the estimated population over the age of criminal responsibility in each of those years.
§ Mr. MayhewThe total number of defendants (including companies etc.) proceeded against in magistrates' courts in England and Wales in the period 1971 to 1981 is published in table 6.1 of "Criminal statistics, England and Wales, 1981", (Cmnd. 8668); information on those defendants found guilty either at magistrates' courts or the Crown court is given in the same publication. The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys publishes estimates of the mid-year population of England and Wales; figures for those aged 10 and over can be derived from the information in table 7 of "Population Trends 30" (Winter 1982).
Persons proceeded against for attempted murder and remanded on bail England and Wales Number of persons 1980 1981 Court in which proceedings were completed Total proceedings completed Of which remanded completed on bail at some stage Total proceedings completed Of which remanded on bail at some stage Magistrates' courts 89 *25 107 *41 The Crown court† 99 18 91 12 * Bail granted by the police and/or by magistrates. † These persons will have previously appeared in magistrates' courts and are also included in the figures for magistrates' courts in the appropriate year.