§ Lord Windleshamasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the annual rate of decrease over the most recent 10-year period for which statistics are available in the percentage of either-way cases that are committed to the Crown Court as a result of an election by the defendant. [HL491]
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§ Lord Bassam of BrightonFigures provided by the Attorney General's Department which relate to prosecutions by the Crown Prosecution Service are given in the following table:
Year Per cent of either-way cases committed for trial on election of defendant Year on year change 1990 38 1991 36 -2 1992 37 +1 1993 35 -2 1994 35 0 1995 33 -2 1996 32 -1 1997 28 -4 1998 28 0 January—September 1999 32 +4
§ Lord Windleshamasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many of the either-way cases that are committed to the Crown Court as a result of an election by the defendant over the most recent 10-year period for which statistics are available proceeded to a contested trial by jury in the Crown Court on a plea of not guilty. [HL492]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonNo regular statistics are collected on this. However, there is some information available from the baseline data collected by the Home Office in 1998 for the evaluation of the pilot schemes to reduce delay in the criminal justice system. In a sample of nearly 1,000 cases in the six pilot areas, nearly a third of those who elected trial proceeded to a contested trial by jury.
§ Lord Windleshamasked Her Majesty's Government:
What comparative studies are available to indicate the ethnic origins of defendants charged with either-way offences who elect Crown Court trial. [HL493]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonThe reportEthnic Minorities and the Criminal Justice System prepared for the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice in 1993 described the comparative studies available at that time.
We are aware of no recent research studies that provide robust figures on the ethnic origins of those who elect Crown Court trial. The information that we have on prosecution and sentencing of ethnic minorities is contained in Chapter 6 of Statistics of Race and the Criminal Justice System, published in December 1999.
§ Lord Windleshamasked Her Majesty's Government:
What statistics are available to indicate whether the offence of which a defendant is convicted or acquitted in the Crown Court was less serious than the original either-way offence charged in the Magistrates' Court. [HL494]
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§ Lord Bassam of BrightonNo regular statistics are collected on this. There is some research,Entry into the criminal justice system: a survey of police arrests and their outcomes, which contains information about charge reduction. It shows that the incidence of charge reduction varies with the category of offence: for example, the Crown Prosecution Service reduced charges in 26 per cent of assault cases, 6 per cent of burglary cases and 8 per cent of public order cases. But these findings relate to cases in all courts, not the Crown Court only; and they include reductions from an indictable only charge to an either-way one.