§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his assessment of the extent to which a small number of offenders commit a disproportionate number of offences, the percentage(a) of each age group and (b) of the total population that such a group constitutes and the percentage (i) of crime committed by the age group and (ii) of total crime committed in England and Wales that is attributable to such a group.
§ Mr. MacleanThe information in the following table is taken from a birth cohort study using the "Offenders Index":
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Offenders with six or more convictions2 Under 17 Under 21 Age under 26 Under 31 Under 36 FEMALES Percentage of female population born in 1953 3— 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 Percentage of convictions of those born in 1953 6 11 18 23 27 1Based on the conviction histories of all offenders born in four selected weeks in 1953. 2For 'standard list' offences, ie all indictable and triable either way offences and certain summary offences. 3Indicates less than 0.05 per cent.