HC Deb 10 May 1995 vol 259 cc499-509W
Mr. Straw

To ask the Attorney General (1) how many cases were discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service in 1994–95;

Table 1: Magistrates' Courts cases 1987–88
Of which
Received (October 1987 to March 1988 only) Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
Inner London 92,761 172,251 1,825 111,506 7,208 16,162 35,550
London North 41,369 75,557 1,425 46,379 4,895 8,709 14,149
London South 35,900 67,720 1,670 50,677 5,749 6,236 3,388
Avon/Somerset 18,373 35,649 1,234 28,099 2,138 3,417 761
Herts/Beds. 16,029 28,091 1,465 21,441 1,942 2,239 1,004
Cambridge/Lincs. 14,791 28,914 916 23,182 1,783 2,396 637
Cheshire 11,849 24,956 1,423 19,248 1,754 1,795 736
Cleveland/North Yorks. 18,808 37,889 3,554 27,296 2,390 3,024 1,625
Cumbria/Lancs. 31,247 64,617 12,125 41,663 4,430 4,773 1,626
Derbyshire 13,666 29,377 730 24,390 1,789 1,977 491
Devon/Cornwall 16,433 31,040 2,409 23,336 2,837 2,211 247
Dorset/Hants. 26,960 51,736 1,663 40,369 4,113 4,753 838
Durham/Northumbria 33,070 62,742 2,124 41,703 4,659 7,030 7,226

(2) what was the total number of cases (a) received by magistrates courts and (b) finalised in magistrates courts for every year since 1987–88;

(3) how many cases were (a) received by the Crown Prosecution Service from the police, (b) completed in the magistrates court, (c) discontinued by the Crown Prosecution Service before or at the magistrates court hearing, (d) committed to the Crown Court by the magistrates court or (e) otherwise disposed of in each Crown Prosecution Service region in total for every year since 1987–88.

The Attorney-General

The following tables show the number of defendants' cases dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service in the magistrates courts since April 1987. Tables 1 to 6 show figures for the original 31 areas of the CPS, while tables 7 to 8 show figures for the present 13 areas. The figures do not include the specialised casework undertaken by CPS headquarters.

The number received comprises all those forwarded to the CPS by the police during each period, and the number finalised comprises all those completed during the period. Both totals include cases forwarded to the CPS for pre-charge advice only, and the number of these is specified for each year.

Also included in the totals received and finalised are a number of non-criminal proceedings, such as forfeiture proceedings under section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act. A separate count of these has been kept since April 1991, and is shown as "other proceedings" for the years 1991–1992 onwards.

The tables show the number completed in the magistrates courts, comprising all those defendants whose case was finalised by way of trial or guilty plea.

Cases discontinued comprise all those defendants whose case was dropped by the CPS, whether in advance of the hearing or at court.

Cases committed comprise all those committed for trial in the Crown Court during the period.

Other disposals comprise the remaining cases: committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace without a trial having taken place, instances where the defendant could not be found, and other cases where the prosecution could not proceed, for example because the defendant had died.

Table 1: Magistrates' Courts cases 1987–88
Of which
Received (October 1987 to March 1988 only) Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
North Wales 16,263 29,036 1,069 23,534 2,249 1,425 759
Essex 14,671 27,554 223 21,299 2,908 2,311 813
Glos/Wilts. 14,090 27,237 633 21,677 2,299 1,858 770
Gt. Manchester 46,451 82,736 689 64,604 6,249 8,565 2,629
Gwent/South Wales 37,610 70,943 2,023 55,724 7,010 4,315 1,871
Humberside 11,753 25,095 1,049 18,483 1,019 3,421 1,123
Kent 17,872 37,448 997 28,444 3,798 3,423 786
Leicester/Northants 21,223 36,919 607 28,012 3,018 3,471 1,811
Merseyside 25,296 48,442 821 35,456 4,415 5,460 2,290
Norfolk/Suffolk 18,656 36,066 2,510 27,698 2,578 1,952 1,328
Nottinghamshire 17,560 37,200 843 33,064 890 2,955 (552)
South Yorkshire 19,933 36,511 1,624 26,610 2,483 4,207 1,587
Staffs/Warwick. 19,934 37,446 2,196 28,461 2,937 2,788 1,064
Sussex 20,242 41,593 1,791 32,375 4,622 2,289 516
Thames Valley 26,708 45,981 3,110 36,271 2,584 3,008 1,008
West Mercia 12,877 27,148 1,163 20,352 2,052 2,269 1,312
West Midlands 38,060 70,346 2,210 53,333 2,453 8,900 3,450
West Yorkshire 35,878 72,732 639 52,799 9,649 7,584 2,061
Total field 786,333 1,500,972 56,760 1,107,485 108,900 134,923 92,904

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant). The minus value for Other Disposals in the Nottinghamshire Area is produced because the sum of advice only, completed, discontinued and committed to the Crown Court cases is greater than the total number of cases recorded as finalised. This result is produced because of limitations in administrative arrangements for obtaining the basic data in the Area at that time. The occurrence of such circumstances is now avoided by validity checks and controls which have since been introduced.

Table 2: Magistrates' Courts cases 1988–89
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
Inner London 176,686 169,844 1,263 107,070 10,683 16,073 34,755
London North 83,399 74,351 1,363 47,041 5,978 9,321 10,648
London South 73,715 73,877 1,712 52,558 6,839 6,036 6,732
Avon/Somerset 38,258 37,629 1,065 29,775 2,573 3,076 1,140
Hert/Beds 32,735 31,600 1,946 24,167 2,211 2,612 664
Cambridge/Lincs. 28,438 25,930 1,132 19,565 1,864 2,419 950
Cheshire 24,291 23,850 1,093 18,400 2,055 1,951 351
Cleveland/North Yorks 38,637 35,958 2,327 26,500 2,435 3,271 1,425
Cumbria/Lancs. 57,891 58,937 7,310 41,361 3,648 5,079 1,539
Derbyshire 24,487 24,510 2,418 18,014 1,653 2,147 278
Devon/Cornwall 31,393 31,521 2,510 23,457 2,419 1,875 1,260
Dorset/Hants 59,983 57,588 1,474 46,198 3,759 4,660 1,497
Durham/Northumbria 67,852 64,376 2,827 41,463 5,778 6,476 7,832
North Wales 32,068 30,284 1,038 24,273 2,793 1,558 622
Essex 30,179 30,193 469 21,549 3,572 2,433 2,170
Glos/Wilts 25,960 26,156 884 20,321 2,492 1,731 728
Gt. Manchester 94,678 89,938 2,209 68,370 8,207 8,622 2,530
Gwent/South Wales 72,264 70,254 2,361 53,192 7,307 4,325 3,069
Humberside 27,276 26,591 1,320 19,309 1,715 3,458 789
Kent 34,392 34,807 1,116 26,216 3,719 2,999 757
Leicester/Northants 38,384 35,616 1,022 28,046 3,186 2,487 875
Merseyside 51,872 50,438 815 38,133 4,419 5,225 1,846
Norfolk/Suffolk 37,690 37,247 3,075 29,091 2,660 2,284 137
Nottinghamshire 38,507 36,464 618 30,304 956 3,324 1,262
South Yorkshire 44,934 41,685 5,045 28,502 2,866 4,101 1,171
Staffs/Warwick 40,008 38,935 1,897 29,351 3,236 3,012 1,439
Sussex 34,598 34,527 2,480 24,671 2,385 2,456 2,535
Thames Valley 48,547 45,479 3,189 34,056 2,748 3,051 2,435
West Mercia 26,777 25,946 932 20,567 2,241 1,787 419
West Midlands 79,276 77,450 2,125 61,123 3,029 8,526 2,647
West Yorkshire 78,941 66,367 603 45,877 11,288 7,352 1,247
Total field 1,574,116 1,508,348 59,638 1,098,520 120,714 133,727 95,749

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Table 3: Magistrates' Courts cases 1989–90
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
Inner London 166,374 169,577 2,522 105,622 12,756 16,497 32,180
London North 82,137 73,167 1,920 46,689 7,236 8,484 8,838
London South 67,902 71,849 1,816 48,947 6,925 5,757 8,404
Avon/Somerset 37,910 38,190 1,225 29,238 2,965 2,918 1,844
Herts/Beds 32,376 32,535 1,851 23,836 2,694 2,565 1,589
Cambridge/Lincs. 32,495 30,527 1,020 23,591 2,410 2,559 947
Cheshire 25,452 24,749 1,143 18,664 2,369 1,978 595
Cleveland/North Yorkshire 36,699 36,378 2,964 25,802 2,816 3,272 1,524
Cumbria/Lancs. 61,369 58,902 2,924 44,422 4,555 5,272 1,729
Derbyshire 26,755 25,840 4,264 17,096 1,798 2,282 400
Devon/Cornwall 34,051 33,937 2,320 25,240 2,518 2,606 1,253
Dorset/Hants 63,602 61,892 1,853 48,706 3,826 5,098 2,409
Durhan/Northumbria 68,322 65,455 2,441 42,777 7,602 5,141 7,494
North Wales 34,621 32,937 865 26,121 3,477 1,597 877
Essex 34,542 34,109 176 24,359 4,592 2,432 2,550
Glos/Wilts 28,221 27,270 840 20,857 2,989 1,626 958
Gt. Manchester 101,713 98,186 3,099 74,557 9,143 7,756 3,631
Gwent/South Wales 76,175 71,402 3,721 52,209 8,311 4,787 2,374
Humberside 26,797 26,430 1,223 19,343 2,047 3,059 758
Kent 36,291 36,180 1,253 26,921 4,081 3,193 732
Leicester/Northants 36,756 33,427 797 24,999 3,186 2,812 1,633
Merseyside 60,932 56,517 841 43,944 4,324 4,896 2,512
Norfolk/Suffolk 39,843 38,450 2,885 29,984 2,702 2,595 284
Nottinghamshire 41,323 39,371 894 32,848 1,674 2,811 1,144
South Yorkshire 48,632 46,277 5,669 31,325 3,468 4,188 1,627
Staffs/Warwick 45,379 43,401 1,665 32,672 3,878 3,420 1,766
Sussex 36,267 35,364 1,641 25,567 2,737 2,562 2,857
Thames Valley 49,572 49,830 2,331 32,833 2,726 2,700 9,240
West Mercia 26,363 26,149 932 20,558 2,568 1,825 266
West Midlands 80,785 77,601 1,806 59,803 4,621 8,586 2,785
West Yorkshire 82,691 79,148 5,223 50,850 13,319 7,473 2,283
Total field 1,622,347 1,575,047 64,124 1,130,380 140,313 132,747 107,483

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Table 4: Magistrates' Courts cases 1990–91
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
Inner London 149,066 154,355 2,518 90,613 12,507 15,997 32,720
London North 79,181 80,764 2,260 48,806 8,350 8,274 13,074
London South 65,872 65,781 1,882 43,195 6,775 6,121 7,808
Avon/Somerset 37,379 37,139 1,247 28,560 3,295 2,667 1,370
Herts/Beds 32,858 34,002 1,731 23,002 3,018 2,032 4,219
Cambridge/Lincs. 31,521 30,363 1,090 22,933 2,906 2,689 745
Cheshire 25,526 24,440 1,055 18,491 2,423 1,921 550
Cleveland/North Yorks 38,070 36,286 2,119 25,948 3,117 3,612 1,490
Cumbria/Lancs. 63,795 59,425 1,946 43,834 5,118 6,184 2,343
Derbyshire 24,356 23,549 2,517 16,410 1,743 2,190 689
Devon/Cornwall 33,629 33,169 1,797 25,139 2,730 2,618 885
Dorset/Hants 62,045 61,971 1,180 48,603 3,784 5,531 2,873
Durham/Northumbria 73,573 71,632 2,725 46,092 9,319 5,425 8,071
North Wales 37,353 35,587 708 28,531 3,983 1,752 613
Essex 37,378 37,346 561 22,638 4,828 2,642 6,677
Glos/Wilts 29,938 29,526 722 22,400 3,637 1,923 844
Gt. Manchester 103,485 98,847 3,242 77,492 9,226 7,323 1,564
Gwent/South Wales 80,708 80,575 4,135 58,331 8,910 5,246 3,953
Humberside 27,952 27,283 1,407 19,269 1,999 3,282 1,326
Kent 33,685 34,183 1,276 24,030 4,844 3,266 767
Leicester/Northants 36,957 38,676 922 28,211 4,128 2,870 2,545
Merseyside 61,576 58,631 671 44,591 5,236 4,800 3,333
Norfolk/Suffolk 38,674 37,232 3,453 26,968 3,142 2,561 1,108
Nottinghamshire 41,615 42,852 589 35,018 1,632 2,827 2,786
South Yorkshire 51,699 53,383 5,518 37,773 3,991 4,345 1,756
Staffs/Warwick 44,463 43,132 1,674 31,393 4,048 3,410 2,607
Sussex 35,943 35,466 1,572 25,590 2,627 2,899 2,778
Thames Valley 48,018 49,072 2,346 33,314 3,915 2,990 6,507
Table 4: Magistrates' Courts cases 1990–91
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals
West Mercia 27,241 26,392 1,175 20,510 2,511 1,959 237
West Midlands 78,970 80,803 1,272 62,133 5,146 8,025 4,227
West Yorkshire 92,531 90,567 17,441 50,491 12,348 7,306 2,981
Total field 1,625,057 1,612,429 72,751 1,130,309 151,236 134,687 123,446

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Table 5: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
Inner London 147,693 145,829 2,421 85,120 19,029 14,383 23,867 1,009
London North 79,637 74,897 2,233 47,219 11,778 7,480 5,307 880
London South 60,768 60,537 1,932 39,940 7,674 5,609 4,961 421
Avon/Somerset 36,472 36,832 1,074 25,461 4,550 3,042 2,174 531
Herts/Beds 31,273 33,392 2,272 20,148 4,228 1,597 4,383 764
Cambridge/Lincs. 29,788 28,562 1,311 20,291 3,142 2,668 908 242
Cheshire 24,766 24,901 849 17,792 2,701 2,050 850 652
Cleveland/North Yorks 39,989 39,471 1,686 25,401 4,371 3,865 2,149 2,000
Cumbria/Lancs. 61,855 61,726 2,428 43,100 5,914 6,293 3,625 366
Derbyshire 24,801 25,054 4,031 14,984 1,595 1,958 2,144 343
Devon/Cornwall 33,194 34,170 1,297 25,541 2,747 2,271 1,898 416
Dorset/Hants 63,300 65,363 1,524 49,598 4,862 5,135 3,497 747
Durham/Northumbria 67,866 66,196 2,235 44,431 9,825 5,575 3,561 569
North Wales 38,774 37,161 810 28,426 3,693 1,670 2,028 534
Essex 41,888 38,387 1,454 27,537 3,333 2,410 3,319 414
Glos/Wilts 32,823 32,991 964 23,292 3,826 1,818 2,570 521
Gt. Manchester 102,983 102,507 2,624 71,969 9,904 7,818 6,410 3,782
Gwent/South Wales 76,878 76,416 4,147 53,035 8,648 5,089 4,262 1,235
Humberside 26,238 26,158 1,557 17,702 1,792 3,109 743 1,255
Kent 29,179 29,907 1,072 19,502 4,848 3,025 1,182 278
Leicester/Northants 37,856 42,023 1,288 28,766 3,807 3,162 4,537 1,046
Merseyside 56,711 61,230 762 44,812 6,428 5,321 3,453 454
Norfolk/Suffolk 38,188 38,695 3,254 27,715 3,434 2,706 1,200 384
Nottinghamshire 28,302 32,536 577 22,977 4,339 2,482 1,767 394
South Yorkshire 43,538 47,227 5,317 28,105 4,652 4,322 4,343 197
Staffs/Warwick 45,059 45,261 2,068 32,713 4,643 3,404 1,696 737
Sussex 36,194 36,320 1,878 25,557 3,664 2,709 2,145 366
Thames Valley 41,994 41,889 2,342 28,095 5,717 2,810 2,394 530
West Mercia 25,094 26,379 1,748 18,444 2,829 1,652 1,310 359
West Midlands 77,827 70,992 709 50,197 7,984 7,028 4,184 890
West Yorkshire 90,247 85,844 15,473 50,877 8,454 7,206 3,408 436
Total field 1,571,175 1,568,853 73,337 1,058,747 174,411 129,667 110,275 22,752

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Other proceedings comprise non-criminal proceedings, such as forfeiture hearings under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act. Figures for these proceedings are only available as from April 1991.

Table 6: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
Inner London 146,480 148,352 2,749 80,785 22,538 11,440 29,075 1,765
London North 76,838 73,918 3,781 44,749 12,284 5,556 6,498 1,050
London South 58,390 58,182 2,322 37,363 8,481 4,720 4,845 451
Avon/Somerset 34,379 34,049 1,283 22,485 4,549 2,650 2,611 471
Herts/Beds 30,415 30,408 1,814 19,159 3,881 1,787 2,757 1,010
Cambridge/Lincs. 31,326 28,325 1,669 20,255 3,328 2,173 720 180
Cheshire 26,300 25,749 1,478 17,752 2,653 1,976 951 939
Cleveland/North Yorks 40,663 40,418 2,135 26,210 5,480 3,655 1,636 1,302
Table 6: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
Cumbria/Lancs. 62,616 61,486 2,398 43,497 6,625 5,097 3,281 588
Derbyshire 23,285 23,613 3,967 14,200 2,062 1,711 1,386 287
Devon/Cornwall 30,174 30,985 1,428 23,106 2,659 2,026 1,394 372
Dorset/Hants 58,043 59,271 1,750 43,874 4,724 3,913 4,330 680
Durham/Northumbria 68,353 69,382 2,151 44,856 12,478 4,748 4,656 493
North Wales 36,250 36,436 1,218 27,077 4,175 1,665 1,757 544
Essex 39,869 41,670 2,030 28,385 3,064 1,974 6,065 152
Glos/Wilts 33,417 33,434 1,168 22,858 3,835 1,496 3,014 1,063
Gt. Manchester 105,716 103,350 2,382 71,911 10,541 7,568 6,202 4,746
Gwent/South Wales 75,537 77,529 5,083 50,273 9,395 4,684 6,647 1,447
Humberside 24,139 24,042 1,382 16,536 1,949 2,320 379 1,476
Kent 28,463 27,643 1,125 17,907 4,865 2,366 1,156 224
Leicester/Northants 38,202 40,406 2,334 26,174 4,773 3,104 2,973 1,048
Merseyside 54,586 56,090 1,099 41,584 5,960 4,835 2,238 374
Norfolk/Suffolk 36,760 37,951 3,484 26,610 3,156 2,244 1,651 806
Nottinghamshire 27,794 28,837 523 19,876 4,083 2,530 1,501 324
South Yorkshire 39,155 39,885 5,257 22,839 6,342 3,106 2,049 292
Staffs/Warwick 46,806 45,895 2,741 33,027 4,981 2,872 1,383 891
Sussex 32,739 32,186 1,719 22,082 4,011 2,049 2,038 287
Thames Valley 45,320 45,489 3,108 28,714 6,201 2,449 4,231 786
West Mercia 27,614 26,977 1,198 19,200 3,833 1,544 908 294
West Midlands 76,593 74,305 1,545 48,616 9,986 6,524 6,095 1,539
West Yorkshire 74,364 76,249 6,228 48,403 10,882 7,300 3,212 224
Total field 1,530,586 1,532,512 72,549 1,010,363 193,774 112,082 117,639 26,105

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Other proceedings comprise non-criminal proceedings, such as forfeiture hearings under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act. Figures for these proceedings are only available as from April 1991.

Table 7: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
North 101,284 101,576 4,094 68,218 13,769 7,246 6,773 1,476
Yorkshire 82,460 80,857 3,652 52,919 11,860 7,844 3,832 750
Mersey/Lancashire 90,333 89,546 3,014 62,982 8,971 8,815 4,851 913
Humber 73,500 71,386 7,268 46,360 7,988 5,673 2,226 1,871
North West 126,665 123,766 3,388 87,454 11,681 9,002 6,177 6,064
East Midlands 89,898 88,417 6,608 58,080 10,962 6,097 5,118 1,552
Wales 103,183 111,736 6,298 69,190 11,119 5,764 17,111 2,254
Midlands 115,623 117,330 5,443 74,001 13,503 8,426 13,755 2,202
Anglia 114,784 112,429 9,468 76,544 9,831 6,787 7,735 2,064
Severn/Thames 96,695 97,602 4,934 65,642 11,422 4,875 8,825 1,904
South West 75,873 75,002 2,884 52,581 8,714 5,003 4,912 908
London 276,913 274,524 9,892 150,955 36,208 19,217 53,968 4,284
South East 112,085 110,068 5,203 76,127 12,679 7,800 7,404 855
Total field 1,459,296 1,454,239 72,146 941,053 168,707 102,549 142,687 27,097

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot be found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Other proceedings comprise non-criminal proceedings, such as forfeiture hearings under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act. Figures for these proceedings are only available as from April 1991.

Table 8: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
North 95,234 101,009 4,237 66,296 12,962 6,864 8,869 1,781
Yorkshire 92,815 87,443 2,771 57,581 13,053 7,818 5,504 716
Mersey/Lancashire 86,393 91 155 3,854 61,132 7,682 8,127 9,073 1 287
Humber 74,192 76,460 6,903 47,634 8,438 6,127 5,616 1 742
North West 120 034 120,286 4,192 83,036 9,556 8,870 8 112 6 520
East Midlands 91,168 91,405 5,557 61,130 10,845 6,026 6,265 1,582
Table 8: Magistrates' Courts cases 1991–92
Of which
Received Finalised Advice only Completed in Magistrates' Courts Discontinued Committed to Crown Court Other disposals Other proceedings
Wales 99,514 100,171 4,812 63,981 10,960 5,894 12,215 2,309
Midlands 113,850 118,324 4,834 70,583 11,849 8,498 19,986 2,574
Anglia 114,896 117,356 8,759 81,557 9,885 6,838 7,751 2,566
Severn/Thames 97,745 99,075 5,543 65,040 11,690 4,945 9,742 2,115
South West 76,579 77,340 3,671 52,815 8,870 5,060 5,993 966
London 269,283 287,158 11,411 159,157 35,294 20,190 57,558 3,548
South East 112,040 110,435 5,625 75,353 10,345 8,336 9,866 910
Total field 1,443,743 1,477,617 72,169 945,295 161,429 103,593 166,550 28,616

Other disposals comprise committal hearings in which the defendant was discharged, cases where the defendant was bound over to keep the peace, instances where the defendant cannot he found, and other cases where the prosecution cannot proceed (e.g. through the death of the defendant).

Other proceedings comprise non-criminal proceedings, such as forfeiture hearings under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act. Figures for these proceedings are only available as from April 1991.