HC Deb 10 December 1996 vol 287 cc134-5W
Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the peak age of offending for males and females in(a) London and (b) England and Wales in (i) 1979, (ii) 1990 and (iii) the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [7701]

Mr. Maclean

Table A gives information for England and Wales on the peak age of known offending, that is, offenders found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences per 100,000 in the general population in the age group.

Table B gives the readily available information for the Metropolitan police and City of London police force areas on the number of offenders found guilty or cautioned by sex and age.

Table A: Peak age for England and Wales of persons found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences per 100,000 in the general population in the age group; 1979, 1990 and 1995
England and Wales, Indictable offences
Peak age Persons found guilty or cautioned per 100,000
Year Males Females Males Females
1979 15 14 7,404 1,639
1990 18 15 7,921 1,999
1995 18 15 8,376 2,115

Table B: Offenders found guilty or cautioned for indictable offences in the Metropolitan and City of London police force areas by age and sex, 1990 and 19951
Males Females
Age 1990 1995 1990 1995
10 176 64 30 17
11 291 203 60 61
12 607 516 135 182
13 1,112 830 270 351
14 1,737 1,641 442 580
15 2,475 2,538 509 669
16 2,938 2,908 550 541
17 3,640 3,763 596 557
18 4,357 4,464 667 614
19 4,321 4,109 639 559
20 3,960 3,870 613 543
21 to 24 13,813 12,619 2,394 2,005
25 to 30 13,887 16,636 2,648 3,034
31 and over 15,503 17,984 3,562 3,630
All ages 68,817 72,145 13,115 13,343
1 Information for 1979 by detailed age group is not available centrally.