§ Mr. StrawTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 6 February,Official Report, column 107, on offences carrying a discretionary life sentence, for what offences were the five life sentences imposed; what offences were committed by the 29 offenders who did not receive an immediate custodial sentence for a second offence carrying a discretionary life sentence; and what sentence was imposed in these cases. [15191]
§ Mr. Maclean[holding answer 14 February 1996]: I regret that the information given in the answer of 6 February, on offences carrying a discretionary life sentence, has been found to be incorrect due to an error in the way the sample was drawn. The first paragraph and table 1 of this answer show the revised figures.
The information requested is not collected routinely. A sample of those convicted of indictable offences in five weeks of 1993–94 included 1,086 offenders, not 600 as previously stated, convicted of sexual or violent offences carrying a discretionary life sentence, 224, or 21 per cent., not 198, or 33 per cent., of whom had previous convictions for such offences. One hundred and eighty-two not 169—of the offenders with previous convictions for such offences were given a custodial sentence, five, as previously given, of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment. The table shows the average sentence imposed, excluding life sentences, by offence group. Information is not available on sentences actually served by the offenders included in the sample.
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Table 1: Sentencing of offenders reconvicted of sex and violent offences carrying discretionary life sentences Offence Number sentenced to immediate custody on second or greater occasion Average custodial sentence imposed (months) Manslaughter 5 45 Rape 8 81 Robbery 103 40 Buggery 4 75 Wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm 34 48 Aggravated burglary 3 74 Firearms offences 1 48 Other offences 19 36 Total 177 44
Table 2: Offenders reconvicted of sex and violent offences carrying discretionary life sentences and not given a custodial sentence1 Disposal Manslaughter Robbery Wounding with intent to do GBH Other offences Absolute discharge — 1 — — Conditional discharge — — — 3 Supervision order — 6 — 3 Probation order — 4 — 9 Community service order — 1 — — Combination order — 2 — 2 Fully suspended sentence — — — 1 Otherwise dealt with 1 4 1 4 Total 1 18 1 22 1 All offenders convicted of rape, buggery, aggravated burglary or firearms offences were sentenced to immediate custody. Of the five offenders sentenced to life imprisonment, four were convicted of rape and one of robbery. Forty-two offenders with previous convictions for sexual or violent offences were not given a custodial sentence. The offence and disposal for these offenders are shown in the table.