§ 40. Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department what was the average time taken from charging to conviction for juveniles in(a) April 1997 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [76347]
§ Mr. HoonThe exact information requested is not available. Information on delay in Crown Court proceedings is not available broken down between juvenile and adult defendants, and therefore this answer includes only information on magistrates' courts.
135WThe Lord Chancellor's Department Time Intervals Survey collects information on the duration of criminal cases completed in magistrates' courts in sample weeks of each February, June and October. The date of conviction is not available; instead the answer is based on the date of completion, which includes sentence, dismissal, committal, discontinuance and other final decisions in magistrates' courts.
The accompanying table gives average times from charge to completion for defendants in indictable cases in the Youth Court. Seasonal variations in the figures mean that assessments of trends are best made between surveys conducted at the same time of year.
Average number of days from charge to completion for charged defendants in indictable cases in the Youth Court, 1997 and 1998 Year Survey Average number of days from charge to completion 1997 February 101 1997 June 93 1997 October 90 1998 February 91 1998 June 81 1998 October 80 Notes:
1. Excludes summonsed defendants.
2. Cases where offence to charge was over 10 years, or where charge to first listing or first listing to completion was over 1 year, are excluded from the analysis.
Source:
Lord Chancellor's Department Time Intervals Survey.