HC Deb 01 November 1990 vol 178 cc742-3W
Sir Michael McNair-Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the minimum sentence, the maximum sentence and the average length of sentence given in cases of rape between 1984 and 1990; and what was the average sentence served by rapists.

Mr. John Patten

[holding answer 19 October 1990]: The information is not available in precisely the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Available statistics do not distinguish between rape, and aiding and abetting rape. The average determinate sentence for offences of rape, and aiding and abetting rape between 1984 and 1988 was as follows:

Year Average sentence length (months)
1984 44.1
1985 54.2
1986 65.5
1987 74.5
1988 74.5

In both 1984 and 1988, the maximum sentence given for rape was life imprisonment.

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